"Pistol Packin' Mama" was a hillbilly honky-tonk record released during World War II, becoming a nationwide sensation. Written by Al Dexter from Troup, Texas, it was recorded in Los Angeles on March 20, 1942, with top session musicians Dick Roberts, Johnny Bond, and Dick Reinhart. The song was featured in the 1943 film "Pistol Packin' Mama," starring Ruth Terry and Robert Livingston.
In 1943, a musicians' strike had halted new recordings, forcing record companies to release older material. Okeh Records released Dexter's "Pistol Packin' Mama" in March, backed with "Rosalita." The song quickly gained popularity, thanks to reports in Billboard magazine and its frequent play on jukeboxes, which were running out of new music. Although Billboard didn't publish its first Folk-Hillbilly chart until January 8, 1944, "Pistol Packin' Mama" became the first hillbilly record to reach number one on the National Best Selling Retail Records chart on October 30, 1943. It spent sixteen weeks in the top 10 and sold three million copies. It also stayed on the Jukebox chart for 28 weeks, with the last 14 weeks shared with Bing Crosby's version, a remarkable achievement for a hillbilly tune. In Billboard's 1943 Yearbook, "Pistol Packin' Mama" was the only hillbilly record among the best-selling records, alongside Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey.
Bing Crosby, a fan of hillbilly music, recorded a cover version with the Andrews Sisters on September 27, 1943, after his label, Decca, settled with the union. Released on October 21, Crosby's version also topped the charts, boosting the song's popularity into 1944. When Billboard published its first "Most Played Jukebox Folk Records" chart, both versions tied for number one and remained tied for seven weeks. However, NBC radio banned Crosby's version due to the line "drinking beer in a cabaret," which had to be changed to "singing songs in a cabaret" for it to air.
