UPDATED: “Girl on the Billboard” was for real? March 18, 2008
Posted by Ron in Music.trackback
Today, I got a comment from a reader that stopped me in my tracks.
Dennis chimed in with a post about Del Reeves‘ million-selling 1965 hit, “Girl on the Billboard”:
I lived in Edwardsville Illinois and remember that billboard on a curve about where Esic housing entrance is right now. They call that road 157 now instead of 66. Anyway I use to have a picture of that girl but it got lost when I entered the U.S. Marines in 1963.
Alas, Dennis didn’t leave his e-mail or any other information. But the detail about Route 66 in Edwardsville later becoming Illinois Highway 157 is dead-on accurate. And that stretch of road does have a couple of curves that would be ideal for placing a billboard. And “Girl on the Billboard’s” lyrics does mention that the billboard in question is on Route 66 between Chicago and St. Louis.
Please, get back to me, Dennis!
According to AllMusic.com, “Girl on the Billboard” was written by Walter Haynes and Harry Mills. I’ve be unable to uncover any more information about the song or its inspiration.
I always assumed that “Girl on the Billboard” was from the songwriters’ imagination. But Dennis’ comment is tantalizing. Does his recollection jog any other memories out there about such a billboard near Edwardsville, Ill.? What product was being advertised? And was the image of that “girl wearing nothin’ but a smile and a towel” as alluring as the song describes?
Comments and memories are welcome.
UPDATE: I spoke on the phone to Cindy Haynes, wife of “Girl on the Billboard” co-writer Walter Haynes. She explained that Walter was inspired to write it when he became stuck in traffic in Nashville and saw a pretty girl in a swimsuit on a Coca-Cola billboard. He wrote much of “Girl on the Billboard” in the dust that had collected on his car’s dashboard before he got it down on paper.
Later, in a follow-up e-mail, Walter Haynes told me this about the song’s evolution:
… Hank Mills put in a few lines, the one about Route 66 and two or three more. I wrote it in 1965 and I had Del do the demo and he put in the ‘Doo Doo Doo.’ That one kinda got Del Reeves up and running. Of course a million seller will do that for you. Wish I could write one every year.
So the inspiration for the song apparently didn’t come from a Route 66 billboard near Edwardsville after all. But, based on Haynes’ story, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Coca-Cola billboard image was this one from the 1950s.
I can personally attest to the fact that there was NEVER a picture of a girl wearing nothing but a towel and a smile on route 66. I lived near Joliet Illinois and my family made at LEAST 3 trips a year to Springfield Mo. I remember my dad CONSTANTLY looking for that billboard (since we always listened to this song) and mom always telling him drive faster because seeing that billboard would do him no good whatsoever.
The billboard was just outside of Bloomington. I was a college student in the 60’s and remember seeing it.
Mike is right. I grew up in Bloomington, Il and we went to McLean, Il often. The billboard sat in a field right at the edge of Funks Grove. I believe the anvertisement was for “Sugarine” an artifical sweetner. I think the billboard was taken down when they re-routed the road around funks grove. I have been looking for a picture of that billboard for years.
[...] song’s co-writer says it was inspired by a Coca-Cola billboard he saw in Nashville. But a number of of readers claim that such a billboard existed on Route 66 [...]
Actually……..this song was co-written by my cousin Hank Mills. From what I understand, Walter saw the billboard, and came to Hank with an idea for a song about a “girl on a poster”. Hank took it from there. Everything about the song is consistent with Hank’s writing style. Many of his songs had that trademark kind of wordplay and those quirky vocal hooks.
He wrote about a dozen songs that Del recorded. He also wrote classics like “Little Ole Wine Drinker Me”, “Angel’s Sunday”, “Kay”, and many others recorded by George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Jimmy Dickens, Ferlin Husky, Roy Drusky, Charlie Walker, Johnny Wright, Kitty Wells, Clay Hart, Johnny Duncan, Marvin Rainwater, Jimmie Peters, Jay Lee Webb, Bing Crosby, etc.
“Girl on the Billboard” is indeed a classic country track.
I started trying to research this because my aunt said that the girl on the billboard was Dolly Parton who posed for the picture before she became famous. I guess if it were true the words would have been ” a girl with big o’ boobs wearin’ nothin’ but a towel and a smile….”
“Girl on the Billboard” wasn’t about her, but Hank Mills did write a song about Dolly Parton. It’s called “Dolly”. It was recorded by Lonzo & Oscar. It’s a fun little song. He also wrote a song called “Unfortunately”, which she sang for the demo.