Tennessee Ernie Ford translated his affable cornpone persona and resonant, rich baritone into a slew of widely varied country hits from the late 1940s and ’50s—many of which were made when the Tennessee native went west after World War II. In California, his twang and hillbilly bona fides made him a novelty perfect for the burgeoning country and western radio scene, and added a backwoods flair to the country-boogie records that were his signature early on. His composition “Shot-Gun Boogie,” which topped the country charts in 1950, was such a modern fusion of Western swing and boogie-woogie that jazz maestro Cab Calloway covered it. Ford’s impact was felt mostly as a radio and then TV personality; as a recording artist, he was never heard more broadly than on his massively successful version of Merle Travis’ “Sixteen Tons,” a working-man’s anthem that Ford turned into an American standard. After four million copies sold, “I owe my soul to the company store” was an indelible part of country lore.