About the Song
In 1970, Billy Danoff and Taffy Nivert, aspiring musicians, composed a song while driving along Clopper Road in Montgomery County, Maryland. The tune focused on winding country roads, but the challenge arose when the word “Maryland” with three syllables disrupted the song’s rhythm. Seeking a solution, Danoff considered the four-syllable “Massachusetts,” but West Virginia sounded even more fitting.
Danoff, unfamiliar with West Virginia, envisioned it as a place with beautiful mountains and winding roads. Reflecting on this, he remarked, “West Virginia might as well have been in Europe, for all I know.”
Despite their struggles in the music industry, Danoff and Nivert aimed to write a hit song for established artists. Their breakthrough came when they played “Take Me Home, Country Roads” for John Denver after opening for him at a Washington, D.C., club. The trio collaborated until dawn, fine-tuning the song into a masterpiece.
Denver premiered “Take Me Home, Country Roads” at the Cellar Door on December 30, 1970, receiving a standing ovation. The song featured on the album “Poems, Prayers & Promises,” released in spring 1971, and quickly became a hit, peaking at No. 2 on the U.S. Hot 100 singles chart by April 12, 1971. By August 1971, it was certified gold, having shipped over a million copies. The song’s beauty resonated in West Virginia, where it became an anthem for the university’s sports events and functions.
In 1972, West Virginia University adopted the song as a pre-football game anthem, extending its use to other athletic events. Fans joined in singing along with the team, and the song became an integral part of West Virginian culture. In 2014, it was officially designated one of the state’s four anthems, a testament to its enduring popularity among the people of West Virginia.