Island Hopping Top Ten: In the Middle of an Island (#2)

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Ah ha! You thought I was gonna be “normal” because I had a huge hit posted yesterday? Ah-ha! Yes, we’re about to pull into the final port on this series of songs with “Island” in the title, dedicated to our cruising queen @JoyDorsey . Here’s today’s song. #2: In the Middle of an Island - Tennessee Ernie Ford Why, bless your pea-pickin’ heart! While Tony Bennett also had a hit with this song, about the same time (1958), it’s the version by Mr. Ernest Jennings Ford that I go to. “Sixteen Tons,” it’s not. This is a happy, upbeat song that talks about taking a vacation simply by looking at the calendar (“though there’s no island at all, just a picture on my wall”). This was Tennessee Ernie’s final “pop” or “crossover” hit. In the 50s he was as popular in the “pop” world as in country, thanks to his TV series. He is rightfully in the Country Music Hall of Fame for his long career. And here’s your trivia: there’s a plaque in front of a building in Knoxville that shows where a radio station’s studios were in 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The DJ on duty that day who announced the news to eastern Tennessee…..was Ernie Ford. In the Middle of an Island Written by Nick Aquaviva and Ted Varnick Recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford Released as a single, 1958 Just the monkeys and the palm trees: