The song “Wagon Wheel” is officially credited as being co-written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show.

Who Actually Wrote “Wagon Wheel”?

  • Bob Dylan wrote the original chorus and basic sketch of the song in the early 1970s, under the working idea often referred to as “Rock Me, Mama.”
  • Ketch Secor, frontman of Old Crow Medicine Show, later wrote the verses and finished the song roughly 25 years later, turning Dylan’s fragment into the full version we know as “Wagon Wheel.”
  • Because of this split origin, the song is officially listed as a co-write between Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor on recordings and publishing credits.

How the Song Evolved

  • Dylan’s early recording was an unfinished outtake connected with his 1973 “Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid” era, essentially just the chorus idea and chords.
  • Secor discovered that chorus on a Dylan bootleg, wrote new narrative verses about traveling down the East Coast, and began performing it with Old Crow Medicine Show in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
  • Old Crow Medicine Show’s 2004 recording became an Americana staple and was later certified Platinum in the U.S.

Why People Get Confused

Many listeners think of “Wagon Wheel” as:

  • A Bob Dylan song, because he created the original chorus and is a legendary songwriter.
  • An Old Crow Medicine Show song, because their version popularized it in folk and Americana circles.
  • A Darius Rucker song, because his 2013 country cover turned it into a massive mainstream hit and pushed it up the country and pop charts.

In reality, the songwriting credit stays the same across those versions: Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor are the writers, even though different artists made it famous at different times.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.