43 Years Ago: Willie Nelson Hits No. 1 With ‘My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys’

Forty-three years ago today (March 8, 1980), Willie Nelson rode to the top of the charts with his single "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys." The song was the debut single from Nelson's The Electric Horseman album, which was the soundtrack to the film of the same name.

"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" was Nelson's fifth No. 1 hit; it stayed at the top of the charts for two weeks. But while the Texan made the song famous, he wasn't the first artist to record it: Waylon Jennings sang the tune on 1976's Wanted! The Outlaws, a collaborative album between himself, Nelson, Jessi Colter and Tompall Glaser.

Nelson immortalized his version of "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" on a live concert DVD, Willie Nelson Live at the U.S. Festival. The U.S. Festival was a seven-day event that brought together Van Halen, the Police, U2, Hank Williams Jr. and several other acts in San Bernadino, Calif.

Country America magazine named "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" as one of the Top 100 Country Songs of All Time in 1992. The song was also used as the wake-up call for the astronauts on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1993.

The Electric Horseman movie stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda; Nelson also appears in the film.

This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Annie Zaleski.

Willie Nelson, "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" Lyrics:

I grew up a-dreamin' of bein' a cowboy / And lovin' the cowboy ways / Pursuin' the life of my high-ridin' heroes / I burned up my childhood days / I learned of all the rules of the modern-day drifter / Don't you hold on to nothin' too long / Just take what you need from the ladies, then leave them / With the words of a sad country song

My heroes have always been cowboys / And they still are, it seems / Sadly in search of, but one step in back of / Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams

Cowboys are special with their own brand of misery / From being alone too long / You could die from the cold in the arms of a nightmare / Knowin' well that your best days are gone / Pickin' up hookers instead of my pen / I let the words of my years fade away / Old worn-out saddles, and old worn-out memories / With no one and no place to stay

My heroes have always been cowboys / And they still are, it seems / Sadly in search of, but one step in back of / Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams

Sadly in search of, but one step in back of / Themselves and their slow-movin' dreams