Haggard’s theme first appeared on network television on September 12, 1974, when the series premiered on NBC. President Gerald Ford counted himself among the show’s fans, but Merle fared much better on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart than the program did in the Nielsen ratings. “Movin’ On” failed to crack the Top 25 among weekly network offerings and the show made its last appearance on September 14, 1976.
Meanwhile, Haggard’s song “Movin’ On” debuted May 24, 1975 and cruised into the #1 position in a scant eight weeks, a comparatively short amount of time for a record to peak. Merle was actually no stranger as a contributor to visual productions. “Movin’ On” was his fourth such project. In 1968 he had composed a couple of songs specifically for the movie “Killers Three” (the film’s theme as well as “Mama Tried,” the latter becoming a #1 country hit). Merle even appeared in that movie, playing a policeman. Then two years later, Haggard provided a song called “Turn Me Around” to the soundtrack of the John Wayne picture “Chisum.”
