Songs I Play: Wagon Wheel

I first heard Wagon Wheel on a CD Kate Wallace (local SB songwriter legend) gave to me.  I was tentative about playing it at first but it is probably the one song I play that most resonates with people. Bob Dylan originally sketched out the chorus and melody for the Pat Garrett & BTK movie sessions (think Knockin' on Heaven's Door) but never finished the song. A young musician (17yrs) from Virginia, Ketch Secor, was given a bootleg of Dylan's outtake and added words for the verses and began touring it solo. He was from the Carolinas but went to school in the northeast so the lyrics reflect his journeys. He later became part of The Old Crow Medicine Show who really made it popular. I perform a a rendition closer to a version done later by Darius Rucker (of Hootie & the Blowfish fame) who took it to #1 on the country charts. At one point, Ketch realized maybe he'd better check with the Chief and he splits royalty's with Bob 50/50. He said that Dylan's son said..."it makes sense that a teenager might do that, because no one in their 30s would have the guts to try to write a Bob Dylan song".  =) Worth reading the whole story...