The Ultimate Collection (1949-1965)

• Artist: Tennessee Ernie Ford
• Rating:
• Release Date: March 18, 1997
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Country

Review

As Rhino's excellent 16 Tons of Boogie compilation went out of print once Capitol was no longer their distributor, this 1997 40-track, two-disc collection takes its place and picks up the slack admirably. Covering the prime years of Ford's recording tenure with Capitol (1949-1965), it contains all of his biggest hits, including "Sixteen Tons," "Hicktown," "Tennessee Border," "Mule Train," and "Shotgun Boogie." Keeping things in a fairly chronological order (with the lone exception of a 1975 duet with Glen Campbell), it begins with a nice cross section of his early hillbilly boogie hits, including "Smokey Mountain Boogie" and "Blues Stay Away From Me," a duet with Merle Travis. Ford was also one of the first country artists to be mated with pop performers for country-crossover duet work, and his pairings with the brassy Kay Starr ("I'll Never Be Free" and "Ain't Nobody's Business but My Own"), the Dinning Sisters ("Rock City Boogie"), movie star Betty Hutton ("This Must Be the Place"), ragtime pianist Joe "Fingers" Carr ("Tailor Made Woman"), and big band singer Helen O'Connell ("Hey Good Lookin'") are largely successful for what he brings to the proceedings. The pop crossover years, starting with the 1950s success of "Sixteen Tons," is well-represented by tracks like "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry" (later a pop hit for the Caravelles), and his many fine gospel recordings from the early '60s also come in for a fine selection, with the Jordanaires featured on most tracks. Until a multi-disc box-set retrospective of Ford's complete Capitol recordings gets issued (and with 83 LPs and a pile of singles, this would be bordering on unwieldy), this is the best -- and most digestible -- cross section of his work available, accessible to both fans and historians alike. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide

Tracks

CD 1

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Tennessee Border No. 1	Jimmy Work	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:25)
Milk 'Em in the Morning Blues	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:23)
Country Junction	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Cliffie Stone	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:23)
Smokey Mountain Boogie	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Cliffie Stone	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:38)
Anticipation Blues	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Cliffie Stone	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:08)
Blues Stay Away from Me [*]	Alton Delmore, Henry Glover, Wayne Raney, Rabon Delmore	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Merle Travis	(2:37)
Mule Train	Hy Heath, Johnny Lange, John Lange, Fred Glickman	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(3:04)
Feed 'Em in the Morning Blues [*]	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:25)
My Hobby	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:33)
The Cry of the Wild Goose	Terry Gilkyson	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(3:12)
Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own	Irving Taylor	Kay Starr, Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:39)
I'll Never Be Free	George David Weiss, Bennie Benjamin	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Kay Starr	(2:36)
Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women [*]	Eddie Kirk	Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Starlighters	(3:05)
Shotgun Boogie	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:36)
Stack-O-Lee [*]	Leon T. Gross, Traditional, Bob Dylan	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:48)
Tailor Made Woman	Billy Kemp, Jimmy Bryant	Joe Carr, Joe "Fingers" Carr, Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:20)
The Strange Little Girl [*]	Richard Adler, Jerry Rose	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(3:01)
Mister and Mississippi	Irving Gordon	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(3:08)
Rock City Boogie [*]	Jerry Allison, Anita Kerr	The Dining Sisters, The Dinning Sisters, Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:12)
Kissin' Bug Boogie	Robert Allen, Allan Roberts	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:04)

CD 2

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Hey, Good Lookin'	Hank Williams	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Helen O'Connell	(2:06)
Blackberry Boogie (Lyrics)	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:28)
I Don't Know [*]	Joe "Cornbread" Thomas, Noa, Ollie Hoskins, Paul Westerberg, Willie Mabon, Chris Mars, Tommy Stinson	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:34)
This Must Be the Place	Alan Copeland, Edward Pola	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Betty Hutton	(1:56)
River of No Return	Ken Darby, Lionel Newman	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:31)
The Ballad of Davy Crockett	Tom Blackburn, George Burns, George Bruns	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:53)
His Hands	Stuart Hamblen	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:36)
Sixteen Tons (Lyrics)	Merle Travis	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:36)
You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry	Robert Merrill, Bob Merrill, Terry Shand	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:12)
That's All	Kelly Owens, Merle Travis, Clyde Otis	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:47)
Work Song	Oscar Brown, Jr., Nat Adderley, Nat Adderley, Jr.	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:58)
Sweet Dreams [*]	G.A. Saraf, Lenox, John David, Don Gibson, Stewart, Paul Kennerley	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:49)
Hicktown	Hank Williams	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:52)
Trouble in Mind [*]	Janis Joplin, Traditional, Richard M. Jones	Tennessee Ernie Ford, Glen Campbell	(3:03)
Sweet Hour of Prayer [*]	William Walford, M. Christian, Traditional, Wayne Bradford	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:54)
Softly and Tenderly	Will L. Thompson, Red Bailey, Jim Howell	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(3:09)
The Old Rugged Cross	George Bennard	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:37)
Rock of Ages	Chris Thomas, Augustus Toplady, Bryan Ferry, Thomas Hastings	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:45)
When God Dips His Love in My Heart	W.S. Stevenson	Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:13)
Just a Little Talk With Jesus	Cleavant Derricks	The Jordanaires, Tennessee Ernie Ford	(2:55)

Credits

Mike Ragogna (Producer), Tennessee Ernie Ford (Vocals), The Jordanaires (Performer), David Richman (Project Coordinator), Rich Kienzle (Liner Notes), Frank Lopez (Coordination), Murray Brenman (Design), Rich Kienzle (Compilation Producer), Merle Travis (Performer), Kevin Flaherty (Coordination), Adam Varon (Coordination), Rich Kienzle (?), John Johnson (Photography), Glen Campbell (Performer), Elliott Federman (Mastering), Cheryl Pawelski (Project Assistant), Betty Hutton (Performer), Murray Brenman (Art Direction), Mike Ragogna (Compilation Producer), Rich Kienzle (Annotation), Michelle Azzopardi (Coordination), Kay Starr (Performer), Terence P. Minogue (Coordination), The Starlighters (Performer), Helen O'Connell (Performer), Joe Carr (Performer), The Dinning Sisters (Performer)