Wheeling has long been a place with a lot going on. Rivers, roads, and railways have allowed folks to both breeze into town as well as venture away with ease. Given our setting and history, Wheeling was bound to inspire some catchy tunes. Some songs about West Virginia are well known (looking at you, “Country Roads”), while others are more obscure.
How many of these Wheeling-centric songs have flown under your radar?
Neil Sedaka – Wheeling West Virginia (1969)
Where is the guy from Wheelin’ West Virginia
Why did he have to roam
So far away from Wheelin’ West Virginia,
Thousands of miles from home
In this song released in 1969, Neil Sedaka weaves a sad tale about a Wheelingite who hits the “big time” in Los Angeles and feels some kind of way about it. The chorus contains lyrics questioning his choice to leave his beloved hometown.
Doc William and the Border Riders – Wheeling Back to Wheeling West Virginia (1955)
I’m wheeling back to Wheeling, West Virginia
Clickity-clack clickity-clack on a track that leads me straight to home
I’m wheeling back to Wheeling West Virginia
Clickity-clack clickity-clack, When I’m back I’ll never, never roam
How many times have you driven on the Doc and Chickie Williams memorial highway but never heard their music? Doc and Chickie were integral to the WWVA Jamboree and were fixtures of the program since the early years. Chickie isn’t on this track, but “Wheeling back to Wheeling West Virginia” is a perfect example of the Williams’ cheerful country stylings.
Read More: Doc and Chickie Williams: Wheeling’s Pioneers on the Country Music Trail Part One
Read More: Doc and Chickie Williams: Wheeling’s Pioneers on the Country Music Trail Part Two
Billy Joel – Ballad of Billy the Kidd (1973)
From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia
Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande
From what I can tell Billy the Kidd is not from Wheeling, or even West Virginia. I’m not sure why Billy Joel took creative liberties with this fact, but it makes for an interesting story nonetheless.
Mel Tillis – Goodbye Wheeling (1967)
Well, I’ve been reeling around Wheeling
West Virginia just a little too long
Well, I gotta be leaving ’cause one deceiving
Free wheeling woman done me wrong
This song seems like a bookend to “Detroit City.” Both songs have writing credits to Tills, and they’re both about two Rust Belt cities he didn’t seem to have a good time in.
Phoebe Bridgers – You Missed My Heart (2017)
Driving into downtown Wheeling, showing her off
Backyard barbecues and reunions in the park
“You Missed My Heart” has a couple of nods to the Wheeling area. Beyond mentioning the city by name, the narrator of this grim ballad also name-checks the Ohio River and Moundsville.
Curt Perkins – Wheeling, West Virginia (2021)
Wheeling, West Virginia
Where my baby’s gonna stay
I will never think of you again
Wheeling sounds like a town of heartbreakers, huh? Here’s another broken-hearted singer bemoaning that their ex is choosing to stay in the Friendly City while they presumably move elsewhere. Your loss, bud.
Tough Old Bird – Wheeling, WV
I’ve never been to West Virginia
But somehow I know
That the great white pine is a gracious host
And I rode into Wheeling on the heels of a ghost
And I spent the night with the daughter of the Ohio
Counteracting all of these folks moping around about Wheeling and the one who got away, this song is about someone chasing a ghost into town. I’m sure they’re referring to a metaphorical ghost, but perhaps this is a love-letter to one of our resident ghosts.
Mark Shumacher – Back in Wheeling (2020)
There are no words to describe how lovely Mark Shumacher’s “Back in Wheeling” is. No, really, there are no words. This is a nice instrumental track with a title that suggests a return to the city. It could also be about Wheeling, Illinois, but let’s dare to dream.
Wheeling Steel – “Look for the Old Red Label”
Listen to Wheeling Steel Radio Recordings Here
Look for the old Red Label
Renowned in fact and fable
For its Wheeling corrugating
The country’s highest rating
For bucket, tub, or roofing
Or a fence around the farm
“It’s Wheeling Steel” was a weekly radio show put on by the “Musical Steelmakers” of the Wheeling Steel Corporation. Employees and their family members were invited to perform on the show, and the result was a popular, locally-produced effort that ran until 1944. In addition to performances of popular music, jingles for Wheeling Steel products could be heard throughout the show. This is a jingle that was too catchy not to include in this list…can someone tell me how to get it out of my head?
Read More: Wheeling Steel’s Roots Still Run Deep in the Ohio Valley
The Sunflower Brothers – Wheeling Cowboy
Maybe you’ve seen The Sunflower Brothers playing around town recently. Did you know that their latest release is called “Wheeling Cowboy”? The whole album is a hit, but I’d be remiss not to mention the track that includes the line:
Wheeling Cowboy writes a letter…
Bonus Track: Tweedy Brothers – Sugar in the Gourd
It wouldn’t be a mixtape without a bonus track. While they don’t have a tune that mentions Wheeling by name, they have a unique playing style that would have let folks of the time know they were from our fair city.
The Tweedy Brothers were a local duo that hailed from just north of Wheeling. With riverboats, saloons, fairs, and sideshows, 1920s Wheeling provided a welcoming landscape for them to perform.1 With the recording industry taking off, many labels clamored to record mountain musicians and capitalize on that “mountain sound.” It’s worth noting that while the tunes they recorded are considered “standards” in the old-time community, their use of a piano to accompany the fiddle is not. Leave it to two Wheelingites to make something truly unique.
Well, this concludes our “Songs about Wheeling” roundup. With a place so steeped in history and so full of talent, I wouldn’t be surprised if I missed a tune or two. Sound off in the comments with either your favorite song about Wheeling or one that I’ve somehow overlooked!
• Kate Wietor is currently studying Architectural History and Historic Preservation at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. She spent one glorious year in Wheeling serving as the 2021-22 AmeriCorps member at Wheeling Heritage. Since moving back to Virginia, she’s still looking for an antique store that rivals Sibs.
