- published: 08 Jun 2015
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Tennessee (i/tɛnɨˈsiː/) (Cherokee: ᏔᎾᏏ) is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. Tennessee is the 36th most extensive and the 17th most populous of the 50 United States. Tennessee is bordered by Kentucky and Virginia to the north, North Carolina to the east, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi to the south, and Arkansas and Missouri to the west. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern part of the state, and the Mississippi River forms the state's western border. Tennessee's capital and second largest city is Nashville, which has a population of 626,144.Memphis is the state's largest city, with a population of 670,902.
The state of Tennessee is rooted in the Watauga Association, a 1772 frontier pact generally regarded as the first constitutional government west of the Appalachians. What is now Tennessee was initially part of North Carolina, and later part of the Southwest Territory. Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state on June 1, 1796. Tennessee was the last state to leave the Union and join the Confederacy at the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War in 1861, and the first state to be readmitted to the Union at the end of the war.
Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Today, he is best remembered for his hit recording of "Sixteen Tons".
Born in Bristol, Tennessee, to Clarence Thomas Ford and Maud Long, Ford began his radio career as an announcer at WOPI-AM in Bristol, Tennessee. In 1939, the young bass-baritone left the station to study classical singing at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Ohio. First Lieutenant Ford served in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying missions over Japan. After the war, Ford worked at radio stations in San Bernardino and Pasadena, California. In San Bernardino, Ford was hired as a radio announcer. He was assigned to host an early morning country music disc jockey program titled Bar Nothin' Ranch Time. To differentiate himself, he created the personality of "Tennessee Ernie," a wild, madcap exaggerated hillbilly. He became popular in the area and was soon hired away by Pasadena's KXLA radio.
Born on a mountain in Tennessee
Greenest state in the land of the free
Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree
He killed him a b'ar when he was only three
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier
Fought single-handed thru the Injun war
'Till the Creeks was whipped and the peace was in store
And while he was a'handlin' this risky chore
Made hisself a legend forever more
Davy, Davy Crockett, the man who don't know fear
When he lost his love, his grief was gall
In his heart, he wanted to leave it all
And lose hisself in the forest tall
But he answered, instead, his country's call
Davy, Davy Crockett, the choice of the whole frontier
He went off to Congress and served a spell
Fixin' up the government and laws as well
Took over Washington, so I hear tell
And patched up a crack in the Liberty Bell
Davy, Davy Crockett, seein' his duty clear
When he came home, his politickin' done
Why, the big western march had just begun
So he packed his gear and his trusty gun
And lit out a'grinnin' to follow the sun
Davy, Davy Crockett, leadin' the pioneer
His land is the biggest, his land is the best
From grassy plaines to the mountain crest
He's ahead of us all and meetin' the test
And a'follern' his legend right into the west
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier