Sixteen Tons

"Sixteen Tons" was written and recorded by Merle Travis in 1946, with lyrics based on letters from his father and brother, who were coal miners in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Travis's release went gold, only to be outdone ten years later by Tennessee Ernie Ford's version, which hit number one on Billboard's Hot 100. Although the song doesn't require a bass vocalist (Travis was a baritone), Ford's rendition made it a must-cover for even deeper bass vocalists who followed. (Don't miss the international proletarian solidarity version at the bottom of the post.)

Tex Ritter's introduction is wrong; Merle Travis did have a hit with "Sixteen Tons," though the song had become even more popular by the time of this appearance. Ritter, btw, was a graduate of Northwestern Law.

Paul Robeson (audio only)

The Frankie Laine version was a hit in Europe, but for some reason it was not released in the U.S. (audio only):

Lyrics begin at 0:35

There have also been covers  by B.B. King, the Weavers, Frank Zappa, and Bo Diddley, but I cannot find video for them.

And Stevie Wonder (audio only)

UPDATE: I queue these posts over six months in advance, so this one was set up long before the reckless and unforgivable invasion of Ukraine.  This clip by Grygory Pinyasov was recorded in the 1970s; it is a coincidence that it is appearing here today.