in late 1948 or early 1949. A recording by Stan Jones and his Death Valley Rangers was issued on Mercury 5320 in May 1949. Fellow songwriter Eden Ahbez sent the song to Burl Ives, who recorded his own version in early 1949. Burl Ives recorded the song on February 17, 1949, and the song was released by Columbia Records as catalog No. 38445. The recording first appeared on the Billboard charts on April 22, 1949, lasting six weeks and peaking at No. 21. The version by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra with Vaughn Monroe and The Moon Men on vocals, was recorded on March 14, 1949, and released by RCA Victor Records as catalog No. 20-3411 (in USA) and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog No. BD 1247, HN 3014, HQ 2071, IM 1425 and GY 878. The recording first appeared on the Billboard charts on April 15, 1949, lasting 22 weeks and reaching No. 1. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1949. The Bing Crosby version was recorded on March 22, 1949, and released by Decca Records as catalog No. 24618. The recording first appeared on the Billboard charts on May 6, 1949, lasting 6 weeks and peaking at No. 14. The Peggy Lee version was recorded on April 18, 1949, and released by Capitol Records as catalog No. 57-608. It reached No. 2 on Billboards Most Played By Disc Jockeys listing without appearing in the retail Top 30. The Ramrods released an instrumental rock version in 1961 with eerie and evocative overdubbed shouts, whistles and cattle calls. The record was made a "Pick of the Week" by Cash Box, and rose to No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 8 on the UK singles chart. Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra released an instrumental version in 1961, featuring Neil Levang on guitar, which spent three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reaching No. 87. The Johnny Cash version, recorded for the album Silver, was released by Columbia Records as catalog No. 3-10961 on April 1, 1979. It first appeared on Billboards Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart on April 15, 1979, lasting 16 weeks and peaking at No. 2 on July 27. An instrumental version by the Shadows reached No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1980. The Blues Brothers Band recorded the song as part