When Disneyland Entertainment talent booker Stan Freese was tasked with forming a musical group for the "Pigmania" pig races at Big Thunder Ranch, he wanted a comedy bluegrass band.

Guests reacted positively to the band and Entertainment soon had the Barley Boys roaming all over Critter Country and became a regular atmosphere group.

"With Kirk as the head 'Billy' and three other brothers named Billy, the band delighted audiences with their musical talent and uproarious comedy routines," Freese said.

The roster consists of a regular rotation of 10 to 12 musicians, with Kirk Wall generally serving as the lead singer while playing fiddle and guitar.

After intermission, the band re-emerged dressed in overalls, "like some kind of Appalachian Marx Brothers", and performed another hour of country standards including "Hey Good Lookin'", "Tennessee Waltz", and "Orange Blossom Special".

[7] Prior to February 3, 2009, Billy Hill and the Hillbillies were performing seven days a week inside the Golden Horseshoe as three different casts:[8] In 1999, the Billys were moved out of the Golden Horseshoe to Big Thunder Barbecue to make way for a temporary stage show called The All-New Woody's Roundup, to coincide with the release of the Pixar film, Toy Story 2.

On November 6, 2013, Disneyland announced that Billy Hill and the Hillbillies would be retired as of January 6, 2014—ending a run of 21 consecutive years performing in Frontierland.

The current team includes Kirk Wall, Eric Brenton, Rick Dunham, Anders Swanson, and Brad Conyers.