Theme Song
It wasn’t just the actors that the audience fell in love with, it was the opening song too. Written by the show’s creator, Paul Henning, The Ballad of Jed Clampett was originally recorded by the bluegrass group, Flatt and Scruggs, with Jerry Scoggins on vocals.
Buddy Ebsen. Source: Shutterstock
Due to the show’s popularity, Flatt and Scruggs re-recorded the track and released it as a single. The track reached 44th place on the Billboard Top 100 in 1962. That’s not a bad spot for a sitcom theme song. The song was used again in 1997 in a Saturday Night Live skit during former President Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. In the spoof, Jed’s name was replaced with Clinton’s, and the location was changed to the White House.