"Sixteen Tons" is a song written by

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic exp ...

about a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

, based on life in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis first recorded the song at the Radio Recorders Studio B in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Picture ...

, on August 8, 1946. Cliffie Stone played bass on the recording. It was first released in July 1947 by Capitol on Travis's album ''

Folk Songs of the Hills ''Folk Songs of the Hills'' is a 1947 album by American singer Merle Travis. It is a collection of traditional songs from his home of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, including original compositions evoking working life on the railroads and in the c ...

''. The song became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

. The line "You load sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt" came from a letter written by Travis's brother John. Another line came from their father, a coal miner, who would say: "I can't afford to die. I owe my soul to the

company store A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared g ...

Tennessee Ernie Ford version

The best known version was recorded in 1955 by American singer

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for h ...

reached number one in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' charts, while another version, by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...

in 1956, was released only in Western Europe, where it gave Ford's version competition. On March 25, 2015, Ford's version of the song was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.

Authorship

The sole authorship of "Sixteen Tons" is attributed to

on all recordings beginning with Travis's own 1946 record and is registered with BMI as a Merle Travis composition. George S. Davis, a

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

and songwriter who had been a Kentucky coal miner, claimed on a 1966 recording for

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Service ...

to have written the song as "Nine-to-ten tons" in the 1930s; he also at different times claimed to have written the song as "Twenty-One Tons". There is no supporting evidence for Davis's claim. Davis's 1966 recording of his version of the song (with some slightly different lyrics and tune, but titled "Sixteen Tons") appears on the albums ''George Davis: When Kentucky Had No Union Men'' and ''Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian''. The line "another day older and deeper in debt" from the chorus came from a letter written by Travis's brother John. This and the line "I owe my soul to the

" are a reference to the truck system and to

debt bondage Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...

. Under this

scrip A scrip (or ''chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitive payment of employees under truck systems; or for use in local co ...

system, workers were not paid cash; rather they were paid with non-transferable credit vouchers that could be exchanged only for goods sold at the company store. This made it impossible for workers to store up cash savings. Workers also usually lived in company-owned dormitories or houses, the rent for which was automatically deducted from their pay. In the United States the truck system and associated debt bondage persisted until the strikes of the newly formed

United Mine Workers The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unite ...

and affiliated unions forced an end to such practices.

Other versions

recorded "Sixteen Tons" in 1955 as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of his cover of the

Moon Mullican Aubrey Wilson Mullican (March 29, 1909 – January 1, 1967), known professionally as Moon Mullican and nicknamed "King of the Hillbilly Piano Players", was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and pianist. He was associated with t ...

standard " You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry". With Ford's snapping fingers and a unique

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...

-driven pop arrangement, it quickly became a million seller. It hit ''Billboard'''s

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

chart in November and held the No. 1 position for ten weeks, then crossed over and held the number 1 position on the pop music chart for eight weeks, besting the competing version by Johnny Desmond. In the United Kingdom, Ford's version competed with versions by

Edmund Hockridge Edmund James Arthur Hockridge (9 August 1919 – 15 March 2009) was a Canadian baritone and actor who had an active performance career in musicals, operas, concerts, plays and on radio. According to his obituary in ''The Guardian'', his life ...

and

. Nevertheless, Ford's version was the most successful, spending four weeks at number 1 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in January and February 1956. Laine's version was not released in the United States but sold well in the UK. Ford's version was released on 17 October, and by 28 October had sold 400,000 copies. On 10 November, a million copies had been sold; two million were sold by 15 December. Child coal miners (1908) crop

The song has been recorded or performed in concert by a wide variety of musicians: * 1955:

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fr ...

performed the song on their concert album ''The Weavers at Carnegie Hall''. * 1955:

Red Sovine Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine (July 7, 1917 – April 4, 1980) was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck driving songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples are "Gidd ...

recorded the song, released on the Brunswick label. * 1955: B.B. King & His Orchestra recorded on RPM Records. * 1955: Larry Cross recorded on the

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

label. *1955: Marvin & The Chirps recorded on the Tip Top label. * 1955: Sung live by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

on December 17, 1955, at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport Louisiana, but never recorded. * 1956:

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

with Brian Daly recorded on

Topic Records Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.M. Brocken, ...

. * 1956: Michael Holliday recorded the song on the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

label. * 1956:

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

version released on the compilation album ''Dozen Hits'',

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. * 1957:

The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The a ...

recorded the song, released on the

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it ...

EP ''Millioniéme''. * 1958: Chang Loo recorded a Chinese version that was re-released in 2017 on album ''Songs by Chang Loo''

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. * 1960:

Bo Diddley Ellas McDaniel (born Ellas Otha Bates; December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, inc ...

released a version on his album ''

Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger ''Bo Diddley Is a Gunslinger'' is the fifth studio album by American rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley released in December 1960 by Checker Records. The album title comes from the album's first track called "Gunslinger" and the cover art has Bo D ...

''. *1961:

Lou Monte Lou Monte (born Louis Scaglione; April 2, 1917 – June 12, 1989) was an Italian American singer best known for a number of best-selling, Italian-themed novelty records which he recorded for both RCA Victor and Reprise Records in the late 195 ...

recorded a version titled "16 tons (neapolitan version)" and it contained verses in both English and Italian in his famous style. * 1961:

Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV commercials. He became ...

recorded a cover on his ''Big Bad John and Other Fabulous Songs and Tales'' album. * 1963: Alberto Vazquez, Mexican bass-baritone singer, covered this song for the market in Mexico. * 1964:

Dave Dudley Dave Dudley (born David Darwin Pedruska; May 3, 1928 – December 22, 2003) was an American country music singer best known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred bass. His signature song was " Six Day ...

covered the song on his album ''Songs About The Working Man''. * 1964:

Louis Neefs Louis Neefs (born Ludwig Adèle Maria Jozef Neefs, 8 August 1937, Gierle – 25 December 1980, Lier) was a Belgian singer and presenter, known for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1967 and 1969. Early career Neefs was traini ...

, Belgian singer, played and recorded the song live in Belgium. * 1964:

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

recorded a version for Tower Records. * 1965:

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ad ...

version recorded in the album '' The Man''. * 1965: Tennessee Ernie Ford released another version of the song, "Sixteen Tons '65" (with largely the same lyrics as his first recording of the song, but with a substantially different musical arrangement) on a French EP of the same name. * 1966:

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

recorded a version influenced by

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

on his '' Down to Earth'' album. * 1967: Tom Jones's version with a rock edge, on his album '' Green, Green Grass of Home''. * 1967: James & Bobby Purify version as the

to their single "I Take What I Want". * 1967:

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. In 2022, Taylor ...

covered the song on his 1967 album ''Wanted: One Soul Singer''. * 1968:

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

performed the song on the Jerry Lewis Show (Feb. 1968) * 1970: A psychedelic rock version by Freeman Sound as the B-Side to their unique single "Singing My Own Song". * 1971: Mylon LeFevre version recorded on the album ''Mylon with Holy Smoke''. * 1972: A blues-rock version was recorded by CCS. * 1973:

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", "U.S. Male", " A Thi ...

recorded a version for his ''Hot A' Mighty!'' album. * 1974:

Steve Goodman Steven Benjamin Goodman (July 25, 1948 – September 20, 1984) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many others including John Denv ...

played it live at Columbia studios. * 1976: A

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal ...

version by the Don Harrison Band peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1976. and number 53 in Australia. * 1984: Recorded by the Montreal band Deja Voodoo on their 1984 album ''

Cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...

.'' * 1984: As part of a medley recorded live by Dutch singer

Lee Towers Leendert "Leen" Huijzer (; born 23 March 1946), better known by his stage name Lee Towers, is a Dutch singer with international success. He remains as one of the best-selling artists and holds the record for the most concerts performed by a singl ...

on his 1984 album ''Gala of the Year''. * 1986: A version by English punk band The Redskins on their 1986 album ''Neither Washington Nor Moscow''. * 1986:

Anna Domino Anna Domino (born 1955, Anna Virginia Taylor) is an American indie rock artist based in New York and Los Angeles who released several albums for Les Disques du Crepuscule and Factory Records in the 1980s and 1990s. Domino has collaborated with ...

recorded the song on her eponymous 1986 album. * 1987:

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

released a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

version on his album ''

Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town ''Johnny Cash Is Coming to Town'' is the 73rd album by American country singer Johnny Cash, released in 1987, and his first for Mercury Records. It was re-released in 2003, paired with ''Boom Chicka Boom'' on a single CD. "Sixteen Tons" was prev ...

''. * 1987: Frank Tovey performed the song on his album ''Tyranny & the Hired Hand''. * 1989: The Gas House Gang (quartet) recorded a barbershop arrangement, written by David Wright (arranger), for their album ''Our "Rough and Tumble" Best'', featuring their bass

Jim Henry (singer) James Earl Henry (born 1964), most commonly referred to as "Jim Henry", is a vocal music professor, barbershop bass singer, and co-director of the Ambassadors of Harmony (AOH). He is a multiple international award-winning quartet member, whose q ...

; he would later sing this arrangement with another quartet,

Crossroads (quartet) Crossroads is the barbershop quartet that won the International Quartet Championship for 2009 at the Barbershop Harmony Society's annual international convention, in Anaheim, California. Bass singer Jim Henry also directed the Ambassadors of Har ...

. * 1990: A rendition of the song by

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

was used for the opening to the comedy film ''

Joe Versus the Volcano ''Joe Versus the Volcano'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Hanks plays a man who, after being told he is dying of a rare disease, accepts a financial offe ...

''. Recorded in the early 1980s, it was not released until 1998 on the album ''Nightwinds Dying'' which is a different arrangement from the one heard in the film. In 1992 he recorded another version, which was released as the only studio track on the live album '' Access All Areas'' in 1993. * 1991: The musical style of Ford's version was used for a mashup with Money for Nothing by Big Daddy on their album ''Cutting Their Own Groove''. * 1991: It was featured as a secret track on progressive thrash metal band

Confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

. It was released on a rare single and occasionally performed in concert. * 1993: The San Francisco alternative metal band

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist ...

covered the song before their cover of the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...

' song 'Let's Lynch The Landlord' at their performance at the 1993 Phoenix Festival. * 1994: The Swedish doom metal band

Memento Mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'Life, Death and Other Morbid Tales''. * 1995:

Tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

, a hard rock band, included a version on their album ''Religious Fix''. * 1995: A traditional roots country version was released by

Corb Lund Corb Lund is a Canadian country and western singer-songwriter from Taber, Alberta, Canada. He has released eleven albums, three of which are certified gold. Lund tours regularly in Canada, the United States and Australia, and has received several ...

on the album ''Modern Pain''. *1996: Serbian retro-swing rockabilly singer Srdjan Popov recorded a swing version of the song. It appears in Turkish documentary "16 Tons" directed by Ümit Kıvanç. * 1996: Western Flyer did a live comical version for their album Back in America (1996). * 1998: Hank Wilson (pseudonym of

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

) included his version on ''Hank Wilson, Vol. 3: Legend in My Time''. * 1998:

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

band Hello Dave did a rendition on their ''16 Tons'' album. * 1999: A slow, jazzy version by

Stan Ridgway Stanard "Stan" Ridgway (born April 5, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original le ...

appeared on the album ''

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having i ...

''. * 2005: A rock version released by

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

was on their live album "Sixteen Tons (10 Songs)". * 2005: Punk band

This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb were a folk punk band from Pensacola, Florida, United States. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records, but now appear on ...

included it on their album ''Dance Party with...'' * 2007: Presidential candidate

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich (; born October 8, 1946) is an American politician. A U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1997 to 2013, he was also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States in 2004 and 2008. He ran fo ...

's rendition of the song on 8 January received fairly widespread TV coverage. * 2007: Lawrence "Lipbone" Redding recorded the song for his album ''Hop The Fence''. * 2010: Lance Guest, portraying

, on the original

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

cast recording of ''

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...

''. * 2011:

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...

, guitarist for

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

and The Nightwatchman; on the EP "Union Town", released by NewWest Records. * 2012:

The Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford. H ...

, released a version of it on their 2012 album ''

This Machine ''This Machine'' is the debut extended play released by a New Zealand band, The Naked and Famous. It was released on May 5 of 2008. Critical reception ''Sunday Star Times'' reviewer Grant Smithies said "I’ve no doubt these songs will still be ...

''. * 2012:

LeAnn Rimes Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She originally rose to success as a country music artist at age 13 with 1996's "Blue". She has since crossed over into pop, contemporary Chri ...

was performing the song as part of her live show as of 2012. * 2012: Tim Armstrong recorded a version as a part of his Tim Timebomb and Friends project. * 2013:

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

included it on the deluxe edition of his '' Swings Both Ways'' album. * 2013:

Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie is an American band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2000. Their first album was ''A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC''. The band performs bluegrass cover versions of hard rock songs and also original songs of a mostly satirical or absu ...

released a rockgrass version of the song on their 2013 '' Grasswhooping'' album. * 2014:

Gary Clail Gary Clail (born 1956) is an English singer and record producer, and the founder of the Gary Clail Sound System. He was part of On-U Sound Records (and also the On-U Sound System) and led Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System. They had a big hit in ...

released a break-beat/dub version on his comeback album ''Nail It To The Mast''. * 2019:

Old Crow Medicine Show Old Crow Medicine Show is an Americana string band based in Nashville, Tennessee, that has been recording since 1998. They were inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on September 17, 2013. Their ninth album, '' Remedy'', released in 2014, won the ...

released a version on a Live album ''Live at The Ryman'' * 2021: Opening music of season two ''Confirmations'' episode of

The Morning Show (American TV series) ''The Morning Show'' (also known as ''Morning Wars'' in Australia and Indonesia) is an American drama streaming television series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, that premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019. T ...

used

recording. * 2021: Geoff Castellucci of the vocal group Voiceplay released a version on YouTube. * 2022:

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...

recorded the song for her album ''Unity''.

Foreign-language versions

Armand Mestral Armand Mestral (born ''Armand Serge Zelikson''; 25 November 1917 - 17 September 2000) was a French actor and singer. He appeared in more than seventy films from 1945 to 1992. Filmography References External links * 1917 births 2000 d ...

released a version with French lyrics under the title "Seize Tonnes" in 1956. *

Olavi Virta Olavi Virta (originally to 1926 Oskari Olavi Ilmén) (27 February 1915 in Sysmä, Grand Duchy of Finland – 14 July 1972 in Pispala, Tampere, Finland) was a Finnish singer, acclaimed during his time as the "King" of Finnish tango. Between 19 ...

with Triola Orchestra released a version with Finnish lyrics by Reino Helismaa under the title "Päivän työ" in 1956 (Triola, T 4249), for the 1972 album ''Olavi Virran Parhaat 3.'' (Sävel, SÄLP 717). * A German version of the song did not translate the original lyrics, but rather rewrote them entirely, under the title "Sie hieß Mary-Ann". This was released in several versions on German record labels in 1956 and 1957, most notably by

Ralf Bendix Karl Heinz Schwab (16 August 1924 – 1 September 2014), known professionally as Ralf Bendix, was a German Schlager singer, music producer, composer and songwriter. Biography Early on, Ralf Bendix played the modern music of his time in bands ...

, and Freddy Quinn on his album "Freddy" recorded on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United State ...

. * Spanish version "16 Toneladas" was recorded by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

singer

José Guardiola José Guardiola Díaz de Rada, (22 October 1930 – 9 April 2012) was a Spanish singer of popular music who sang in Spanish and Catalan. Guardiola was born in Barcelona. He performed and recorded mostly Spanish versions of foreign songs and r ...

and became a hit in Spain and Latin America in 1960. * 16 tons (Neapolitan version) by Italian American singer Lou Monte recorded in 1961 with both English and Italian verses * Italian version recorded by I Giganti, on the B-side of a 45 RPM vinyl record in 1968. * Brazilian composer Roberto Neves wrote the Portuguese version "Dezesseis Toneladas", first recorded by Noriel Vilela in 1971, this version is a samba with happy lyrics unrelated to the subject of the original. *

Adriano Celentano Adriano Celentano (; born 6 January 1938) is an Italian musician, singer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is dubbed "''il Molleggiato''" (the springy one) because of his dancing. Celentano's many albums frequently enjoyed both commercial and ...

released an Italian-language version "L'Ascensore" in 1986. * Polish version, called Szesnaście ton has become popular among the local

sea shanty A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...

bands. Because of that the song is mistakenly treated as sea shanty classic in Poland. * A Chinese version called "靜心等" (Jìng Xin Deng, "Wait patiently") is a well-known hit in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, interpreted by Chinese singer 張露 ( Chang Loo or Zhang Lu) and by Teresa Teng (鄧麗君, Deng Lijun). * Hungarian punk band Hétköznapi Csalódások recorded a cover version in 1994 called "16 000 kg=1 600 000dkg" on their album ''Nyaljátok ki'' (Kiss my). * Hungarian rock band

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

recorded a cover version in 1998 called "Tizenhat tonna feketeszén" ("16 tons black coal") on their album ''Üzenet'' (''Message''). Republic's lyrics uses lines from a Hungarian campfire song, a more literal translation of the original ballad. * Hungarian music composer and singer Breitner János recorded and released a cover version in 1960 called "Húsz tonna" on 7 inch record EP. The lyrics is translated from the original, but for the number of syllables the 16 tons is changed to 20 (húsz) tonna. * A slow, jazzy version by Finnish Turo's Hevi Gee appeared on the 1999 album ''Ei se mitn!'' as "Velkavankilaulu". * Serbian hard rock band

Riblja Čorba Riblja Čorba ( sr-Cyrl, Рибља Чорба, pronounced ; translation: lit. ''Fish Stew'') is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1978. The band was one of the most popular and most influential acts of the Yugosla ...

recorded a cover version in 1999 called "16 noći" ("16 nights") on their album ''Nojeva barka''. * July 2013, in Ukraine, the song was recorded by ukrabilly (Ukrainian folk) group "Ot Vinta!". * A Mexican group Hermanos Barron from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico recorded the song in the 1980s as "16 Toneladas". * A Swedish version ("Sexton ton") was recorded 1956 by Karl-Erik Israelsson, Cacka Israelsson and released as a B-side on the single "Tro och Kärlek". It was adapted into Swedish by Ingrid Reuterskiöld. * Another Swedish version ("Sexton ton") was recorded in 1970 by Gunnar Wiklund. The song is about a truckdriver who drives 16 tons of wooden crates over the border. * Alex To version in his 2014 concert. He sang both the original version and his mom's (Chang Loo) version.

In popular culture

* Disney animated the Ford version in a short D-TV music video with footage from ''Donald's Gold Mine'' and the Roustabout song from ''Dumbo''. * In the South Park (season 22), season 22 ''South Park'' episode "Unfulfilled", Ford's version of "Sixteen Tons" plays in the background of a montage of an Amazon (company), Amazon fulfillment center. * In ''The Simpsons'' episode "Bart Gets an Elephant", "Sixteen Tons" is being played on the radio as Bart is forced by Marge to do housework. * In the pilot of ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'', the first band shown in the comedy club the Gaslight is playing "Sixteen Tons". * In the game ''Fallout 76'', set in a post-apocalyptic West Virginia, the song can be heard on one of the in-game radio stations. * In the game ''Deep Rock Galactic'', a cosmetic item called Sixpence references the song in its description. * In Season 2 of ''The Big Bang Theory'', Sheldon sings a verse. *

's version of "Sixteen Tons" is used as the opening song of the Tom Hanks film ''

''. * Dwight Schultz sings a verse of the song in the first episode of the fifth season of ''The A-Team'' TV series. * Morecambe and Wise danced with other dancers in a comedy parody beat music style routine, using this song as the backing track, on black and white TV in the UK in the 1960s. * A reference to the song is made in the show ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' episode 912 "The Screaming Skull". The reference is made early during the Gumby short “Robot Rumpus” by Tom Servo. * In season 3 episode 7 of ''Mad Men'' the song can be heard during the credits. * In the movie ''Back to the Future'', Marty (Michael J. Fox) is seen in front of the record store in 1955 with a sign on the sidewalk that is advertising the Tennessee Ernie Ford records "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett" and "Sixteen Tons". * Songwriter Rupert Holmes has cited "Sixteen Tons", in conjunction with the TV cooking program ''The Galloping Gourmet'', as an inspiration for his song "Timothy (song), Timothy", about a pair of miners who are implied to have cannibalized their fellow miner when the three are trapped following a mine collapse. * The Rock-afire Explosion performed the song during their "Country Night" show.

References

Citations Bibliography * * * * {{Authority control 1947 songs 1955 singles Songs written by Merle Travis Merle Travis songs Tennessee Ernie Ford songs Frankie Laine songs The Platters songs James & Bobby Purify songs Eric Burdon songs Billboard Top 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia United States National Recording Registry recordings Songs about labor Works about mining