"Travelin' Man" is an American popular song, best known as a 1961 hit single sung by Ricky Nelson. Singer-songwriter Jerry Fuller wrote it with Sam Cooke in mind, but Cooke's manager was unimpressed and did not keep the demo, which eventually wound up being passed along to Nelson. His version reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was released as a double A-side with "Hello Mary Lou", which reached No. 9 on the same chart. In the United Kingdom, "Travelin' Man", coupled with "Hello Mary Lou", reached No. 2, becoming Nelson's biggest UK hit. Nelson is accompanied on the recording by the vocal quartet, The Jordanaires. Fans of the Seattle Supersonics probably remember the song being played at their team's home games whenever a player from the visiting team committed a traveling violation, thus turning the ball back over to the Supersonics.

Plot

The song details the loves of a world traveler with an eye for beautiful women. Songwriter Fuller has described it as a "girl in every port" song. The women in each locale are referenced by a word or phrase associated with the location. The women were: a "pretty señorita" in Mexico, an Eskimo in Alaska, a fräulein in Berlin, a china doll in Hong Kong, and a Polynesian in Waikiki. There were others as well, "in every port ... at least one," mentioned obliquely during the opening verse. The song was produced by Joe Johnson who was also famous for The Champs recording of "Tequila". Joe was the owner of 4 Star Records and Challenge Records.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers

Uses in popular culture

Neil Sedaka acknowledged using a portion of the melody and chord progression of "Travelin' Man" in his own song "Calendar Girl." Nelson's version appears in a 2019 TV commercial for the Toyota Corolla hybrid. In episode 5, season 4 of Stranger Things, Nelson's version is heard during Yuri's takeoff from the Yuri's Fish And Fly. In episode 8, season 3 of King of the Hill, Hank sings this song while shaving in the bathroom, before being interrupted by Bobby.