The Ballad of Davy Crockett

"The Ballad of Davy Crockett" is a song with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn.

The song was introduced on the television miniseries Davy Crockett, first telecast on December 15, 1954, on ABC's Disneyland. Fess Parker played the role of Davy Crockett and continued in four other episodes made by Walt Disney Studios. It was sung by The Wellingtons. Buddy Ebsen co-starred as George "Georgie" Russel, and Jeff York played legendary boatman Mike Fink.

The first album version was recorded by Bill Hayes, quickly followed by versions by Fess Parker and Tennessee Ernie Ford (recorded February 7, 1955). All three versions made the Billboard magazine charts in 1955: Hayes' version made #1 on the weekly chart (from March 26 through April 23) 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. A fourth version, by bluegrass singer Mac Wiseman, reached #10 on the radio charts in May 1955. The song also reached #1 on the Cash Box charts, from March 26 through May 14, 1955. A contemporary version also exists of the Western singing group the Sons of the Pioneers. Over ten million copies of the song were sold.

The Crockett craze
Walt Disney Productions launched a massive marketing campaign in the UK in 1955 to publicize the film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (released in Britain in 1956) and to make the country's youth "Crockett conscious." There was already a "Crockett craze" in the U.S., where the episodes had become wildly popular. 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 Ocean. A French version by Annie Cordy was number 1 for 5 weeks in France in August 1956.

United States Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, a Democratic presidential hopeful, wore a Davy Crockett cap during the 1956 campaign, as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. Stevenson-Kefauver lost in the general election to Eisenhower-Nixon.

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 craze was referenced in the film Back to the Future, which is set predominantly in 1955. In the film, the Fess Parker version of the song is heard on a jukebox and, in a later scene, one of Lorraine Baines' brothers appears wearing a coonskin cap. The song is sung by the characters Henry and Sammy in the Country Bear Jamboree. The 2009 film Fantastic Mr. Fox opens with the eponymous fox playing the song on his belt radio.

Parodies
Several parodies were issued in 1955 such as Mickey Katz, "Duvid Crockett"; Eduardo Lalo Guerrero, "Pancho Lopez" ; Yogi Yorgesson, "Ole Svenson" and Homer and Jethro, "The Ballad of Davy Crew-Cut."

Covers

 * A 1955 single release on Dot Records by International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee, Mac Wiseman, reached the #10 position on the Country charts.
 * A rendition was recorded and released on The Kentucky Headhunters' 1991 album Electric Barnyard, and was released as a single.
 * Mannheim Steamroller's New Age instrumental rendition appeared in their 1999 album Mannheim Steamroller Meets the Mouse.
 * They Might Be Giants covered the song, with modified lyrics, as "The Ballad of Davy Crockett (in Outer Space)" on their 2009 album Here Comes Science.