Bluebirds Over The Mountain

Album: Bluebirds Over the Mountain (1958)
Charted: 75
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Rockabilly singer Ersel Hickey wrote "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" the night after Phil Everly told him he should write his own material. It became his most successful song, charting at #75 in the United States.
  • The song was later recorded by Ritchie Valens in 1958. Four years later, it was a minor hit for The Echoes, reaching #112 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles survey.

    The Beach Boys covered the song in 1968 with Mike Love on lead vocals, releasing it as a single on December 2, 1968. Their version peaked at #61 on the US Hot 100, #33 in the UK and #9 in the Netherlands.
  • Robert Plant released a version of the song on his 2017 album Carry Fire featuring Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. Plant told Entertainment Weekly that when he was recording the track, he realized it could use a harmony, so he asked Hynde if she would sing on the tune and sent her a demo.

    "She was really, really positive and enthralled," he recalled.

    Plant added that the collaboration with Hynde was "a sort of psychedelic Sonny & Cher."
  • Robert Plant told The Sun: "As a kid, I was into the Ritchie Valens version of 'Bluebirds Over The Mountain.' It's stunning and so simplistic. I was born in 1948, so in the middle of everything else happening today, what a relief to just sing a song that goes, 'Bring my baby back to me.'"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.