(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post.)
Jimmy Dean - "Big Bad John"
Hit Number 1: November 6, 1961
Stay at Number 1: 5 Weeks
In the early 1960s, it was very popular to write corny songs about young love and romance before it all crashes down when one of the lovers die. These songs are referred to as "teen tragedy" songs, and I've never been a fan of them. I think that there is no point to them at all, and the ways these writers think of to have their characters die are almost always ridiculous. Please look at "Running Bear" and "Teen Angel" if you want to get a better idea on what I'm talking about. In Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John", it tells a story about a big guy that keeps to himself, but still intimidates everyone around him. The difference between this song and those dreaded teen tragedy songs, however, is that John does in fact die, but he dies a hero.
The artist, Jimmy Dean, is best known today as being the founder of his own sausage company. (So yes, it IS in fact the same guy, in case you were wondering) But he also had a moderately successful career as a country singer. Dean doesn't really sing on "Big Bad John", but since the song is telling a story, he talks to the listeners like anyone would if they were telling a story. Written by Dean and fellow famed country singer Roy Acuff, the song starts out with Dean telling us how big John is, that he works at a mine, and that his fellow workers all think of their own theories on where he came from. But everyone is so intimidated by him, and John is so shy, that all anyone ever says to him is "Hi". But then one day a support timber cracked and everyone was convinced that they were going to die. Not John. John grabbed what Dean describes as "a saggin' timber", shoves it, and allows the other miners to escape. Before the miners got the necessary tools to save John, he couldn't take the weight anymore and the rest of the mine collapsed on top of him, presumably killing him in the process. But John would have a lasting legacy. They never reopened the mine, but they placed a marble stand in front of it that said "At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man. Big John". Some versions of the song had that part changed to "At the bottom of this mine lies a big, big man. Big John", because the word "hell" was still considered profane language back then. The times were different.
Dean delivers the song in his southern drawl of a voice, speaking the words instead of singing them. That was the right approach to take, since the song is telling a story to us. And a great story at that. "Big Bad John" isn't one of those teen tragedy songs that involve a ridiculous death in it. Instead John dies a hero, and has a legacy tied to him. That last line that says "at the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man", or even the "big, big man" version, is a true kicker to the song. It almost brings a smile to your face. In the beginning, John was thought to be an intimidating figure that you just needed to leave alone, but at the end, he's now thought of as an incredible human being that made an ultimate sacrifice. He was one hell of a man.
GRADE: 8/10
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