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{{about|the country music song|the film|Big Bad John (film)|the United States Senator from Texas|John Cornyn|the professional wrestler who used the name|Max Muscle}}
{{More citations needed|date=May 2011}}
[[File:Jimmy Dean 1966.JPG|thumb|Jimmy Dean]]▼
{{Infobox song
| name = Big Bad John
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[Jimmy Dean]]
| album = Big Bad John and Other Fabulous Songs and Tales
| B-side = I Won't Go Huntin' With You Jake
| released = September [[1961 in country music|1961]]
| recorded = August 18, 1961
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = [[
| length = 3:00
| label = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer = [[Jimmy Dean]]
| producer = [[Don Law]]
| prev_title = Give Me Back My Heart
| prev_year = 1961
| next_title = Dear Ivan
| next_year = 1962
}}
▲[[File:Jimmy Dean 1966.JPG|thumb|Jimmy Dean]]
'''"Big Bad John"''' is a [[country music|country]] song originally performed by [[Jimmy Dean]], who wrote and composed it.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.amazon.com/John-Wont-Huntin-Vinyl-Single/dp/B001DF4O2Q/ref=sr_1_14?dchild=1&keywords=Big+Bad+John&qid=1617588528&s=music&sr=1-14 | title=Big Bad John / I Won't Go Huntin' with You Jake | website=Amazon }}</ref> It was released in September 1961 and by the beginning of November it had gone to number 1 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. It won Dean the 1962 [[Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording]], and was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year]].
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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." (Some versions of the song change the last line to "lies a big, big man" to replace what was considered profane language.)<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=M0UEAAAAMBAJ
==Sequels==
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The song received a [[Grammy Award|Grammy]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]], while Dean's performance earned him a nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male|Best Male Solo Vocal Performance]], and Dean won [[Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording]].
Dean's [[gramophone record|LP]] ''Big Bad John and Other Fabulous Songs and Tales
The song frequently ranks as one of the best [[country music|country]] songs of the 1960s, and of all time.
[[Nikki Sixx]], of [[Mötley Crüe]], has stated that "Big Bad John" was one of the songs he heard growing up that influenced him the most, along with "[[Helter Skelter (song)|Helter Skelter]]" by [[the Beatles]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trzcinski |first=Matthew |date=2022-09-27 |title=Mötley Crüe Covered The Beatles' 'Helter Skelter' Even Though Nikki Sixx Called the Band 'Wimpy' |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/motley-crue-covered-the-beatles-helter-skelter-even-though-nikki-sixx-called-band-wimpy.html/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kordosh |first=J. |date=2014-02-05 |title=Psychic Gruel and Mötley Crüe - a classic interview from the vaults |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/feb/05/psychic-gruel-and-motley-crue-rocks-backpages |access-date=2023-08-28 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
"Big Bad John" was translated into [[Hebrew]] by [[Israel]]i lyricist [[Ehud Manor]], under the title "John Biryon" (lit. "Strongman John"), as part of the 1982 Israeli television show "Red River Valley" dedicated to Manor's translations of famous [[country music|country]] songs. Performed by Israeli singer and radio personality [[Dory Ben Ze'ev]], it became a hit in Israel.
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{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
{|class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Chart (1961)
!align="center"|Peak<br />position
|-
|New Zealand (''Lever Hit Parade'')<ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
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|align="left"|U.S. ''Billboard'' Easy Listening<ref>{{cite book |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2002 |publisher=Record Research |page=74}}</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|Canada - CHUM Hit Parade
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book
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{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Chart (
! Position
|-
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{{col-end}}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Big Bad John"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Jimmy Dean|title=Big Bad John|award=Gold|relyear=1961|certyear=1961|access-date=July 1, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
==History==
[[Columbia Records]] was considering dropping Dean before the release of this million-selling single, as he had not had a hit in years. Dean wrote the beginnings of "Big Bad John" on a flight from [[New York City|New York]] to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] because he realized he needed a fourth song for his recording session.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} [[Roy Acuff]] later helped him polish it.
The inspiration for the character of Big John was an actor, John Minto, whom Dean had met in a summer stock play, ''[[Destry Rides Again]],'' who was 6'5" (195.6 cm). Dean would call him "Big John" and grew to like the rolling sound of the phrase.<ref>{{citation |url=http://publish-it-online.com/display_article.php?id=440321 |journal=Texas Hot Country |date=July 2010 |title=A Country Music Legend Passes}}</ref>
Country pianist [[Floyd Cramer]], who was hired to play piano on the song, came up with the idea to use a hammer and a piece of steel instead.{{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} This became a distinctive characteristic of the recording.
There are several known recordings of the song by Dean. Notably, there are two different versions of the inscription on the marble stand in front of the mine. The original, ''"At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a
The refrain was also used to end the Jimmy Dean song "[[PT-109 (song)|PT-109]]", referring to [[John F. Kennedy]].
==Parodies==
There were multiple contemporary parodies of "Big Bad John".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://musicweird.blogspot.com/2015/05/jimmy-deans-big-bad-john-sequels.html | title=Music Weird: Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John": Sequels, parodies, and answer songs | date=10 May 2015 }}</ref> Cleveland DJ Phil McLean, had a minor hit about a cowardly character, "Small Sad Sam", which was released in December 1961. [[Country Yossi]], an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] composer and singer, spoofed it as "Big Bad Moish" on one of his children's albums.<ref name=steve>{{cite web
A [[French language]] translation was made in [[Quebec]] [[Canada]] and named "Gros Jambon" ''(Big Ham)''. It was done as a one-time novelty act by TV show host [[Réal Giguère]] but it caught the public's attention and was afterwards recorded by popular demand, selling over 300,000 copies.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lachansonfrancaise.net/2017/11/11/une-chanson-humoristique-quebecoise-danthologie-gros-jambon/ | title=Une chanson humoristique québécoise d'anthologie – Gros Jambon | date=11 November 2017 }}</ref>
In an episode of ''[[The Jimmy Dean Show]]'', Dean and [[Rowlf the Dog]] performed a parody called "Big Bad Dog".<ref>{{cite web |date= January 24, 2018 |title=ROWLF the Muppet Dog - Big Bad John? No, Jimmy sings BIG BAD DOG! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMz_ZuFjUU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/PnMz_ZuFjUU |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
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An [[Icelandic language]] version was written and performed by Guðmundur Jónsson, named "Jón tröll" ''(Jón ogre)''.<ref>{{cite web |date= July 30, 2021 |title=Jón tröll |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZc-5-j6apM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/zZc-5-j6apM |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
The song was used in a television
===Political parodies===
Political candidates have run
In Australia, a parody by John Vincent was released in September 1971 called "The Ballad of [[John Grey Gorton]]", with lyrics that dealt with Gorton's tenure as [[Prime Minister of Australia]].<ref>{{YouTube|PRcTeC8dbzY}}</ref>
In Texas Senator [[John Cornyn]]'s 2008 parody, he presented himself as a maverick politician, seeking a return to the Senate to fight to set things right. "You see I'm from Texas and we do things quick / And the way this place [the Senate] is run is about to make me sick", the
In the same year, the [[Democratic National Committee]] employed the song in an
The song was also used in the closing credits of the UK politics show ''[[This Week (BBC TV series)|This Week]],'' whenever the show discussed the former [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]], [[John Bercow]]. It was used to humorous effect due to Bercow's short stature and perceived weak control in Parliament.
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[[Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Columbia Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs about fictional male characters]]
[[Category:Songs written by Roy Acuff]]
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