On this day (November 3) in 1980, Waylon Jennings was at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart with “Theme from The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol’ Boys).” It was also Jennings’ biggest hit on the pop chart, where it peaked at No. 21. The song played over the opening credits of one of the most popular TV shows of the early 1980s. As a result, it sold more than a million copies and became one of the outlaw country legend’s best-known songs.
The Dukes of Hazzard was based on the 1975 movie Moonrunners. Jennings provided narration for the film and was credited as The Balladeer. When CBS began planning the TV series, they invited him to reprise his role as The Balladeer and provide the show’s theme. When the series premiered in January 1979, fans across the United States heard a version of this chart-topping hit.
Despite the show’s instant popularity, Jennings didn’t rush to release the song as a single. He made it the second single from Music Man in August 1980. At the time, the second season of The Dukes of Hazzard had ended. The single was at the top of the country chart, and the third season premiered on November 5, 1980.
Waylon Jennings Recorded Two Versions of This Hit
Fans of The Dukes of Hazzard and those who only heard the song on the radio or on their copy of Music Man heard two slightly different songs. Waylon Jennings recorded one version for the show and another for his album.
The version he recorded for the series includes Larry McNeely on banjo, which is absent on the other version. One of the other glaring differences comes in the third verse. The TV version includes the line “Fightin’ the system like two modern-day Robin Hoods,” followed by a “Yee-haw!” provided by John Schneider (Bo Duke). The single version replaces this with a musical bridge.
Additionally, Jennings added some lyrics about his appearance on the TV series. “I’m a good ol’ boy. You know my mama loves me. / But she don’t understand why they keep showing my hands and not my face on TV.”
According to Songfacts, Jennings appears in all 121 episodes of the series, but viewers almost never see his face. Instead, he is only shown from the neck down playing a guitar during the opening credits throughout most of the series. He appears in the season 7 episode “Welcome Waylon Jennings,” where he was introduced as an old friend of the Duke family.
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