Updated 8/15/2017

Fifty years ago this month, the song “Rocky Top” was written in Gatlinburg by a husband and wife duo.

“Rocky Top, one of the state of Tennessee's adopted songs, had its humble beginnings at the Gatlinburg Inn where it was written by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. Reports say the couple were at the inn in 1967 working on another album project. The Bryants penned the song in Room 388, which is preserved exactly as it was back then. The scribbled original sheet music is still on the wall.

The song was actually was born out of bickering. She was tired of writing slow sad songs. She wanted something upbeat. So in order to pacify her, they stopped and within 10 minutes the song was written on paper.

The Osborne Brothers recorded the song later that same year, and it's been recorded by dozens of artists throughout the decades.

In 1972, “Rocky Top” got its fame on the football field. The band first used it during a halftime show. Now it is University of Tennessee’s unofficial fight song, and USA Today called it the country’s best fight song in 2015.