The Ballad of Jed Clampett

The lyric sets up the series in a few short verses. A poor mountaineer named Jed is hunting for food when oil comes bubbling out of the ground; his relatives tell him to leave, California is named as the place to be, and the family loads up a truck and moves to Beverly Hills, with its swimming pools and movie stars. A closing verse says goodbye to the family and invites the audience back to watch.

Columbia issued the song as a single (4-42606) backed with “Coal Loadin’ Johnny,” and it was later included on the album Hard Travelin’. Louise Scruggs is credited with suggesting that it be released as a single. It entered Billboard’s country singles chart on 8 December 1962, spent 20 weeks on it and held No. 1 for three weeks; it was the first bluegrass record to top that chart. It also reached No. 44 on the Hot 100.

Hylo Brown recorded it for Starday in Nashville on 28 November 1962, and the track was issued in 1963. For the 1993 film version of The Beverly Hillbillies, Earl Scruggs re-recorded the theme with Béla Fleck accompanying him.