Happy Trails (song)

"Happy Trails to You" redirects here. For the Julie Hecht story collection, see Happy Trails to You: Stories.

"Happy Trails"
Single by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans
Released	1952 (1952)
Genre	Country, Western, theme song
Label	RCA Victor
Songwriter	Dale Evans

"Happy Trails" is a country song written and performed by Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans. It is known as the theme song for both the radio and television versions of The Roy Rogers Show , in which they also starred. It was written by Evans and performed during the outros of the shows. Evans wrote "Happy Trails" after deciding that the shows needed a outro song. Prior to the composition of "Happy Trails", the song "Smiles Are Made Of Sunshine" was used, also by Rogers and 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]

In April 9, 2025, it was inducted into National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, and/or aesthetically significant". ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Foy Willing's version

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. ^[5]

Cover versions

• 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. ^[6]
• "Happy Trails" was covered by Van Halen on their 1982 album Diver Down . ^[7]

References

1. Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.
2. "National Recording Registry Inducts Sounds of Elton John, Chicago, Broadway's 'Hamilton,' Mary J. Blige, Amy Winehouse, Minecraft and Microsoft". Library of Congress - News and Content for Media. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
3. Johnson, Ted (2025-04-09). "Elton John's 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,' 'Hamilton' Cast Album And 'Minecraft' Among Additions To Library Of Congress' National Recording Registry". Deadline. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
4. "National Recording Registry adds Tracy Chapman, Hamilton and the Minecraft game soundtrack". NPR. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
5. Willing, Sharon Lee (October 16, 2006). No One to Cry To. Wheatmark. p. 80. ISBN   1-58736-686-X.
6. "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.
7. Renoff, Gregory (2020). Ted Templeman: A Platinum Producer's Life in Music. ECW Press (published April 21, 2020). ISBN   978-1770414839.

External links

• Evans, Dale. "Lyrics to 'Happy Trails' by Dale Evans". RoyRogers.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-05. Retrieved 2006-11-09.