Musical oddities: "Big Bad John" Jimmy Dean (1961)

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Jimmy Dean was more than a sausage brand. He was a posthumous Country Music Hall of Fame inductee who enjoyed a long and successful country career. Dean had his own TV variety series in the 60s and did some acting most notably in the James Bond movie “Diamonds are Forever.” However he is best remembered for those sausage commercials. Dean’s biggest hit was the crossover smash “Big Bad John.” The gold single was Billboard #1 five consecutive weeks as well as topping the country chart. From the album “Big Bad John and Other Fabulous Songs and Tales,” the song was written by Dean who had his friend country legend Roy Acuff polish it. In the same vein of “Streets of Laredo” and “Ringo,” “Big Bad John” is essentially a spoken word folk story about a physically huge miner nicknamed Big John. There is a mine collapse and Big John heroically holds up a timber so his fellow miners can escape. But the mine collapses completely and her perishes. “At the bottom of the mine lies one hell of a man-Big John” Dean received Grammy Awards for Best Country Western Recording and Best Male Solo Performance. “Big Bad John” was also nominated for Song of the Year.