"The father of country music" and "the singing brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers recorded "Blue Yodel #8" in 1930. Since then the title morphed into "Mule Skinner Blues" (Jimmie Rodgers) when Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys recorded the tune.

Called The Fendermen (Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey) because they both played Fender guitars, the one-hit-wonder duo peaked at number five in 1960 with their rock and roll cover. The recording originally broke on WKBH radio in La Crosse, Wisconsin where it sold close to 10,000 copies in two days.