"Movin' On" is a song written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

and The Strangers. It was released in May 1975 as the third single and partial title track from the album '' Keep Movin' On''. Originally, it was the theme song to the 1974-1976 NBC-TV series of the same name and references the lead characters of the series, Sonny Pruitt and Will Chandler, by name. A full-length version of the song was released as a single in 1975, and it topped the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart that July. In addition to serving as the main theme to ''Movin' On'', the song was among many in country music to pay homage to the American over-the-road

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

. It should not be confused with the country standard " I'm Moving On" by

Hank Snow Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian country music guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' country charts betw ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Personnel

– vocals, guitar The Strangers: *

Roy Nichols Roy Ernest Nichols (October 21, 1932 – July 3, 2001) was an American country music guitarist best known as the lead guitarist for Merle Haggard's band The Strangers for more than two decades. He was known for his guitar technique, a mix ...

– lead guitar * Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro *

Tiny Moore Billie "Tiny" Moore (May 12, 1920 – December 15, 1987) was an American Western swing musician who played the electric mandolin and fiddle with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s. He played with The Strangers and Merle Haggard du ...

– mandolin * Ronnie Reno – guitar * Mark Yeary – piano * Johnny Meeks - bass *Biff Adam – drums *Don Markham – saxophone

Sources

*Roland, Tom, ''The Billboard Book of Number One Country Hits'' (Billboard Books, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1991 ()

References

1975 singles 1975 songs Merle Haggard songs Songs written by Merle Haggard Capitol Records singles Television drama theme songs Songs about truck driving {{1970s-country-song-stub