Country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson performed the song at the time of its original release for children at bedtime on his show, The Western Express.

She named the town Blue Rock, gave the hero a "raging black stallion" and introduced him to a "yellow-haired" lady riding a bay-colored horse.

[7] Although the song did not chart, it received good radio airplay,[2] in a September 1955, Billboard noted: "Arthur Smith's 'The Red Headed Stranger' [...] after a year or more is still drawing a large number of requests.

[9] A 1960 review of the album by Scholastic Voice remarked "Eddy Arnold is in a storytelling mood, with the sagas of Jesse James, Tom Dooley, and the curious Red Headed Stranger to keep you interested.

[12] While returning from a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado, in 1974, his then-wife Connie Koepke suggested to write a western concept album, based on "The Red Headed Stranger".

Nelson mixed old songs from other artists and original compositions to create the concept of the Red Headed Stranger album: a fugitive on the run from the law after killing his wife and her lover.

[2] In 1993, a 1955 live recording of the song by Glen Glenn, featuring Rose Maddox and her brothers was included in the UK release Missouri Rockabilly 1955 - 1965.