Number One Songs—Big Bad John

The enormous popularity of "Big Bad John" ultimately led to a TV show comeback by Dean for ABC in 1963. Previously Dean had hosted a morning show for CBS in 1957-58.

While Dean's #1 hit is generally considered the definitive version of "Big Bad John," with the great Floyd Cramer on piano and classic sound effects, the song was covered by many others including greats Johnny Cash and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

To younger folks, Jimmy Dean may be most famous for his line of Jimmy Dean Sausages sold in grocery stores everywhere.

"Jimmy Dean had grown up in Plainview, Texas. He bought a hog processing plant in his hometown, put his brother in to run it and began making his own sausage. He named it Jimmy Dean Sausage. He became the spokesman for the company. In his television commercials, he sold himself as well as the high quality of the sausage. The sausage was a big hit and became the number one breakfast sausage on the market. It became a $500 million a year business. Jimmy Dean sold the company to Sara Lee in 1984 for a huge stack of stock." —FreeEnterpriseLand.com

In 1990 Big Bad John was brought to the screen as a made-for-TV movie starring Dean.

In 2006 Dean and his second wife Donna published his memoir, Thirty Years of Sausage, Fifty Years of Ham.

In 2008 "Big Bad John" was used for political gain by Democrats as the theme for a John McCain-bashing commercial, "Exxon John," linking the Republican presidential candidate unfavorably to the interests of big oil companies.

In 2011 giant tire maker Firestone used "Big Bad John" in a television commercial, replacing the words "Big John" with "Fire-stone."

Jimmy Dean passed away on June 13th, 2010 at the age of 81.

The Complete Columbia Hits and More

Big John
Big John

Every morning at the mine, you could see him arrive.
He stood 6 foot 6, weighed 245.
Kind of broad at the shoulders, narrow at the hip.
And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big John.

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone.
He didn't say much, kind of quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all, you'd just say hi to Big John.
Somebody said he came from New Orleans,
Where he got into a fight over a Cajun Queen.
And a crash and a blow from a huge right hand,
sent a Lousiana fella to the promise land.

Big John
Big John
Big bad John
Big John

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine,
when a timber cracked and men started crying.
Minors were praying, and hearts beat fast
and everybody thought they had breathed thier last
cept' John.
Through the dust and the smoke of this man made hell,
walked a giant of a man that the minors knew well.
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan,
and like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, Big John

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

And with all of his strength, he gave a mighty shove.
Then a minor yelled out, 'theres a light up above!'.
And 20 men scrambled from a 'would be' grave
now theres only one left down there to save, Big John.
With jacks and timbers, they started back down,
then came that rumble way down in the ground.
And as smoke and gas smelched out of that mine,
everybody knew it was the end of the line, for Big John.

Big
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John

Now they never re-opend that wortheless pit,
they just placed a marble stand in front of it.
These few words are written on that stand,
'At the bottom of this mine, lies one Hell of a man, Big John'

Big John
Big John
Big Bad John
Big John