Big Bad John – Jimmy Dean (1961)

Description

Additional information about this, Jimmy Dean vinyl art.

Jimmy Dean – The Artists

Jimmy Ray Dean (1928 – 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, and his likeness and voice continue to be used in advertisements after his death. He became a national television personality starting on CBS in 1957. He rose to fame for his 1961 country music crossover hit into rock and roll with “Big Bad John” and his 1963 television series The Jimmy Dean Show gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national exposure with his character, Rowlf. His acting career included appearing in the early seasons in the Daniel Boone TV series as the sidekick of the famous frontiersman played by star Fess Parker. Later, he was on the big screen in a supporting role as billionaire Willard Whyte in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever (1971), starring Sean Connery.

Big Bad John – The Song

‘Big Bad John’ is a country song originally performed by Jimmy Dean, who wrote and composed it. The song and its sequels tell a story typical of American folklore, reminiscent of Paul Bunyan or John Henry. Big Bad John was also the title of a 1990 television movie starring Dean. The song is about a mysterious and quiet miner who earns the nickname Big John because of his height, weight, and muscular physique – “He stood six foot six and weighed 245”. He apparently hails from New Orleans, where, with “a crashin’ blow from a huge right hand”, he allegedly killed a man in a fight over a Cajun Queen. One day, a support timber cracks at the mine where John works. The situation looks hopeless until John “grabbed a saggin’ timber, gave out with a groan / and like a giant oak tree just stood there alone”, then “gave a mighty shove”, opening a passage and allowing the 20 other miners to escape. Just as men are about to re-enter with the tools necessary to save him, the mine fully collapses and John is believed dead. The mine itself is never reopened, but a marble stand is placed in front of it, with the words “At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man – Big John.”

Big John- The Shape

This record has been modelled into the shape of  the large fictional character Big Bad John.

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