"Happy Trails" is a song by Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans, known as the theme song for the 1940s and 1950s radio program and the 1950s television show in which they starred. It was written by Evans and always sung by the duo over the end credits of those programs.
"Happy Trails" was released in 1952 as a 78 RPM and 45 RPM by Rogers and Evans with the Whippoorwills and Orchestra, on RCA Victor Records. It was re-issued in 1957 as a 45 RPM record on RCA Victor/Bluebird. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[1]
In 1951, Foy Willing had written a song titled "Happy Trails" for the Republic Pictures movie, Spoilers of the Plains, starring Roy Rogers with Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage. Subsequently, the first three notes of Foy's song and the title were used by Dale Evans in writing her version of "Happy Trails" for both the original The Roy Rogers Show and the short-lived The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, which aired on ABC in 1962. Dale's is the version that is popularly played and sung today, albeit without giving credit to Foy Willing.[2]
Cover versionsedit
There have been numerous notable covers of Dale Evans' version of the song. For example:
On October 1, 1970, Janis Joplin left a taped recording of the song as a birthday greeting for John Lennon, three days before her death. Lennon, whose birthday was October 9, later told Dick Cavett that her taped greeting arrived at his home after her death.[3]
Van Halen covered the song, a cappella in four-part harmony, as the closing track for their album, Diver Down (1982). The band usually ended live performances with their first lead singer, David Lee Roth, with that song.
^Willing, Sharon Lee (October 16, 2006). No One to Cry To. Wheatmark. p. 80. ISBN1-58736-686-X.
^"John Lennon and Yoko Ono Dick Cavett Show Excerpt 4 of 6". YouTube. 2006-12-08. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
External linksedit
Evans, Dale. "Lyrics to 'Happy Trails' by Dale Evans". RoyRogers.com.
January 01, 1970
happy, trails, song, happy, trails, redirects, here, julie, hecht, story, collection, happy, trails, stories, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, mate. Happy Trails to You redirects here For the Julie Hecht story collection see Happy Trails to You Stories This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Happy Trails song news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Happy Trails is a song by Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans known as the theme song for the 1940s and 1950s radio program and the 1950s television show in which they starred It was written by Evans and always sung by the duo over the end credits of those programs Happy Trails Single by Roy Rogers and Dale EvansReleased1952 1952 GenreCountry folk theme songLabelRCA VictorSongwriter s Dale Evans Happy Trails was released in 1952 as a 78 RPM and 45 RPM by Rogers and Evans with the Whippoorwills and Orchestra on RCA Victor Records It was re issued in 1957 as a 45 RPM record on RCA Victor Bluebird Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time 1 Contents 1 Foy Willing s version 2 Cover versions 3 References 4 External linksFoy Willing s version editIn 1951 Foy Willing had written a song titled Happy Trails for the Republic Pictures movie Spoilers of the Plains starring Roy Rogers with Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage Subsequently the first three notes of Foy s song and the title were used by Dale Evans in writing her version of Happy Trails for both the original The Roy Rogers Show and the short lived The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show which aired on ABC in 1962 Dale s is the version that is popularly played and sung today albeit without giving credit to Foy Willing 2 Cover versions editThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Happy Trails song news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message There have been numerous notable covers of Dale Evans version of the song For example Quicksilver Messenger Service released an album called Happy Trails 1969 on which the song appears On October 1 1970 Janis Joplin left a taped recording of the song as a birthday greeting for John Lennon three days before her death Lennon whose birthday was October 9 later told Dick Cavett that her taped greeting arrived at his home after her death 3 Van Halen covered the song a cappella in four part harmony as the closing track for their album Diver Down 1982 The band usually ended live performances with their first lead singer David Lee Roth with that song Randy Travis covered the song with Rogers on his album Heroes amp Friends 1990 References edit Western Writers of America 2010 The Top 100 Western Songs American Cowboy Archived from the original on 19 October 2010 Willing Sharon Lee October 16 2006 No One to Cry To Wheatmark p 80 ISBN 1 58736 686 X John Lennon and Yoko Ono Dick Cavett Show Excerpt 4 of 6 YouTube 2006 12 08 Archived from the original on 2021 12 21 Retrieved 2016 06 09 External links editEvans Dale Lyrics to Happy Trails by Dale Evans RoyRogers com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Happy Trails song amp oldid 1201937159, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
