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The Ballad of Davy Crockett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ballad, Folk song | ||
| Writer | George Bruns music Tom W. Blackburn lyrics |
|
"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" is a song with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Tom W. Blackburn.
The first recording of the song was made by Bill Hayes, quickly followed by versions by Parker and Tennessee Ernie Ford (recorded February 7, 1955), all in 1955. All three versions made the Billboard charts: Hayes' version made #1 on the weekly chart (from March 26 through April 23, 1955) and #7 for the year, Parker's reached #6 on the weekly charts and #31 for the year, while Ford's peaked at #4 on the weekly country chart and #5 on the weekly pop chart and charted at #37 for the year. The song also reached #1 on the Cash Box charts, from March 26 through May 14, 1955. Over ten million copies of the song were sold.[1]
It was introduced on the television series Disneyland in December, 1954. Fess Parker played the role of Davy Crockett on the series and continued in several movies made by Walt Disney's company.
The following stanza begins the twenty-stanza ballad:
- Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
- Greenest state in the land of the free.
- Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree,
- Killed him a b'ar when he was only three.
- Davy, Davy Crockett
- King of the Wild Frontier."[citation needed]
The ballad contains one of the more popular mondegreens. The lyrics "Kilt him a b'ar when he was only three" are often misheard as "Killed in a bar when he was only three".[citation needed]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |
To publicise the 1954 film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, (released in Britain in 1956) Walt Disney Productions launched a massive marketing campaign in the UK in order to make the country's youth "Crockett conscious." Crockett merchandise was produced en masse, the most iconic item being the imitation coonskin cap. The craze became immensely popular amongst schoolchildren, and the ballad made its way across the Atlantic.
However, the verses children sang in the playground were not the official ones. A typical unofficial verse ran:
- Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
- Killed his Ma when he was only three,
- Killed his Pa when he was only four,
- And now he's looking for his brother-in-law!
- Davy, Davy Crockett,
- King of the Wild Frontier.[2]
The Crockett phenomenon is referenced in books of the time such as Back in the Jug Agane, one of the Molesworth series by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle.
The Fess Parker version of the song was used in Back to the Future, played on a jukebox in a cafe in 1955.
Stephen Colbert stated in an interview with New York, that as a child he used to listen to the song and cry before going to bed.
- A version of the song was recorded by Tim Curry, in a fashion similar to that of his famous role in the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
- A version was recorded and released on the Kentucky Headhunters' 1992 album Electric Barnyard.
- A 1967 version by The Supremes was recorded for the proposed album "Sing Disney Classics", but was shelved until rediscovered many years later.
- ^ http://www.texnews.com/1998/2002/texas/davy0302.html
- ^ Opie, Iona and Peter, The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren; Paladin (1977); ISBN 0-586-08311-1
| Preceded by Melody of Love |
Cash Box magazine best selling record chart #1 record March 26, 1955–May 14, 1955 |
Succeeded by Unchained Melody |