The Four Flickers (Larry and Henry Strzelecki, Ray Snider and Johnny Campbell) recorded "Long Tall Texan" (Henry Strzelecki) in 1959. The group changed their name to The Four Counts and toured the Southern boarder states.

The successful Murray Kellum cover came in 1963 on the K and M label (his parent's initials) that was funded by his mother and father. It was recorded at the Pepper Studios in Memphis where many radio jingles were manufactured. The novelty record took some time to get to the charts and didn't make Billboard's top fifty until November 9, 1963. Two weeks later JFK was killed in Dallas and records like this that mentioned guns and Texas toegther were frowned on. Murray Kellum's 45 was quickly yanked from most radio station playlists.