"Mule Train" is a popular

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by

Johnny Lange John George Lange (August 15, 1905 – January 6, 2006) was an American songwriter, working mostly in the motion picture industry. His chief musical collaborators were Archie Gottler and Jack Meskill. Biography Lange was born in Philadelphia ...

Hy Heath Walter Henry "Hy" Heath (July 9, 1890 – April 3, 1965) was an American entertainer, songwriter, composer and writer. Born in Oakville, Tennessee, he received his education in public schools and then became a comedian in musical comedy, vaudeville ...

Ramblin' Tommy Scott Ramblin' Tommy Scott (June 24, 1917 – September 30, 2013), aka "Doc" Tommy Scott, was an American country and rockabilly musician. Biography Thomas Scott was born outside of Toccoa, Georgia, United States, and began playing the guitar at a ...

and Fred Glickman. It is a cowboy song, with the singer filling the role of an Old West wagon driver, spurring on his team of mules pulling a

delivery wagon A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

. As he goes about his work, the driver mentions the various mail-order goods he is delivering to far-flung customers. "Mule Train" was originally recorded by Ellis "Buz" Butler Jr. in 1947. Butler was the original writer of the song along with Fred Glickman. The original recording was released by Buz Butler on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

. The song was featured in the 1950 Republic Western '' Singing Guns'' (where it was sung by

Vaughn Monroe Vaughn Wilton Monroe (October 7, 1911 – May 21, 1973) was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader who was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and another f ...

) and nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

in 1950, but lost out to "

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in th ...

chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

Charting versions

Charting versions were recorded by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

, and

and the Muleskinners' version was recorded on October 2, 1949, and released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

as catalog number 5345. This version first reached the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart on November 4, 1949 and lasted 13 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 1. Laine's recording of the song was produced by

Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...

. It featured a bellowed vocal delivery (like that of a real driver shouting to be heard) and

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

-created

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

s such as

whipcracking Whipcracking is the act of producing a cracking sound through the use of a whip. Used during livestock driving and horse riding, it has also become an art. A rhythmic whipcracking belongs to the traditional culture among various Germanic peoples ...

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

s. Critic Ralph J. Gleason called it "an early rock and roll hit for adults". It is often cited as an outstanding early example of studio production techniques. The

version was recorded on October 26, 1949, and released by

as catalog number 24798. The flip side was "

Dear Hearts and Gentle People "Dear Hearts and Gentle People" is a popular song published in 1949 with music by Sammy Fain and lyrics by Bob Hilliard. The song refers to the singer's hometown, and different versions allude to a range of U.S. states. Background The songwrite ...

" which peaked at number 2. The record first reached the ''

'' chart on November 25, 1949 and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 4. This recording was featured in an episode of the

NBC radio network The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

radio program ''Lassie Show'' entitled "Mule Train", which aired on December 17, 1949. The

version was recorded on October 18, 1949, and released by

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

as catalog number 40258. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on November 25, 1949 and lasted nine weeks on the chart, peaking at number 10. Ford's version also charted on the ''Billboard'' country chart, reaching number 1 in December, becoming the first song to top the component "Country & Western Records Most Played By Folk Disk Jockeys" chart (on December 10, 1949). Like Laine's version, Ford's version contained whipcracking sound effects and shouting by the driver as he spurs on the mules.

's version was released by

RCA Victor Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

as a 78rpm single (catalog number 20-3600A) and a 45rpm single (catalog number 47-3106) (in the United States). It was released by

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

on the

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

label as catalog number B 9836. The record first reached the ''Billboard'' chart on November 18, 1949 and lasted nine weeks on the listing, peaking at number 10. Monroe also sang the song in the 1950 Republic Western '' Singing Guns''. He played an outlaw who became town marshal with the intent of stealing a shipment of gold, and sang the song while at the reins of what appeared to be a stagecoach.

Other versions

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

and The King Cole Trio, with

Irving Ashby Irving Conrad Ashby (December 29, 1920 – April 22, 1987) was an American jazz guitarist. Ashby was born in Somerville, Massachusetts and started playing guitar when he was nine. His career started in 1940 when he became a member of Lionel Ha ...

, Joe Comfort and Gene Orloff, made a recording of "Mule Train" on November 7, 1949 in New York City, as well as the track "My Baby Just Cares For Me", which were both released by

as a single, catalog number 787, which gave label credit to Herman for "Mule Train" and to the trio for "My Baby Just Cares For Me".

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

recorded a version of the song in the 1950s, featuring the snapping of the whips, and yells.

Gordon MacRae Albert Gordon MacRae (March 12, 1921 – January 24, 1986) was an American actor, singer, and television and radio host. He appeared in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, ''Oklahoma!'' (1955) and ''Carousel'' (1956), and ...

made a recording on October 21, 1949, which was released by

in the United States as the flip side of the single "

" (which he also recorded on October 21, 1949). Les Welch and his Orchestra made a recording in Australia in February, 1950, which was released by Pacific Records (in Australia). The song was subsequently recorded in England by

Frank Ifield Francis Edward Ifield OAM (30 November 1937 – 18 May 2024) was a British-born Australian country music singer and guitarist who often incorporated yodelling into his music. Born in the United Kingdom, Ifield grew up in rural Australia wher ...

in the 1960s. In 1950,

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

sang the tune in a film of the same title. In 1950, a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

version of the song, "Chinese Mule Train," was recorded by

Spike Jones Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones (December 14, 1911 – May 1, 1965) was an American musician, bandleader and conductor specializing in spoof arrangements and satire of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment wer ...

and his City Slickers, with banjoist Freddy Morgan (misspelled on the record like "Fleddy Morgan" as a joke) providing the Chinese-like vocals. It was issued on RCA Victor. The song appeared on

Rod McKuen Rodney Marvin McKuen ( ; ; April 29, 1933 – January 29, 2015) was an American poet, singer-songwriter, and composer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide ...

's 1958 album ''Anywhere I Wander''. In 1960,

Bo Diddley Ellas Otha Bates (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy ...

recorded a version of the song, but it was not released until 2009. The instrumental backing track for this song, however, was released in 1960 as "Travelin' West". A

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

version was recorded by Count Prince Miller in 1971 and then again with

Sly and Robbie Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separat ...

in the 1980s. Bob Blackman appeared on numerous British

light entertainment Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies, variety shows, game shows, quiz shows and the like. In the UK In the early days of the BBC, virtually all broadcast entertainment would b ...

programmes in the 1970s, singing "Mule Train" whilst hitting his head with a tin tray. Comedy duo

Bob and Ray Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...

released a version locally in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1949, with

Ray Goulding Raymond Walter Goulding (March 20, 1922 – March 24, 1990) was an American comedian, who, together with Bob Elliott formed the comedy duo of Bob and Ray. Early life Goulding was born in Lowell, Massachusetts; he was the fourth of five chil ...

singing in the character of Mary McGoon.

References

External links

Impact of ''Mule Train'' on pop music
{{authority control 1949 songs Bing Crosby songs Frankie Laine songs Frank Ifield songs Tennessee Ernie Ford songs Vaughn Monroe songs Songs written by Hy Heath Songs written by Johnny Lange Number-one singles in the United States Capitol Records singles