6 Early Versions Of Iconic Songs Missing The Iconic Parts
2. “Wagon Wheel”
The popular country song that is the anthem for every bachelorette party in Nashville has a storied history extending across decades.
"Wagon Wheel" started life as a Bob Dylan demo. Dylan recorded the song in 1973. The verses are made up of Dylan mumbling and randomly belting words that sound poetic along the way. When it gets to the chorus the song becomes tangible.
While still in High School, a kid named Critter Fuqua picked up a bootleg copy of Bob Dylan's Pat Garrett sessions. He loaned it to his friend, Ketch Secor. Secor heard the song and decided to write the missing verses. Fuqua and Secor eventually put together a bluegrass band, Old Crow Medicine Show. In 2013, "Wagon Wheel" was a hit single for the band, being particularly popular among country music fans and among those in the short-lived hipster circles. The song was written over the course of 25 years by Dylan and Secor without the two ever meeting.
The song was covered several times, most interestingly by punk band Against Me!, before it landed in Darius Rucker's lap. The former Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish, covered the song, and it became the most popular country single since Taylor Swift stopped making country music.
It is interesting to note, that Rucker and his former Blowfish band mates were sued by Dylan in the 90s for "borrowing" some lyrics from “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up in Blue” for their hit "Only Wanna Be With You." So, "Wagon Wheel" went from unfinished Dylan song, bluegrass hit, and finally became an iconic song associated with a guy who was sued for stealing some of Dylan’s other music.
If anything, this further proves the popular theory that Bob Dylan wrote everyone's favorite songs.