Teenage tragedy songs dominated radio in the late 1950s and early 1960s. For whatever reason, melodramatic ballads about young lovers meeting heartbreaking ends struck a chord with listeners.
"Running Bear" was one of the genre's biggest hits, reaching No. 1 twice, first for Johnny Preston in 1959, then for Sonny James a decade later.
Once stars like Elvis Presley proved teenagers could drive the music business, record companies started chasing that audience. Soon, songs about young romances gone tragically wrong were everywhere.
Wayne Cochran's "Last Kiss" and the Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" became two of the trend's biggest hits, and "Running Bear" was right there alongside them.
The song tells the story of two Indigenous teenagers, Running Bear and Little White Dove, who fall in love despite coming from rival tribes.
With their tribes keeping them apart and a river blocking their path, the two lovers make one last attempt to be together. They jump into the water and swim toward each other, but they never make it across.
According to Songfacts, the song was actually written by the Big Bopper, who chose not to record it himself. He was known for novelty songs, and this one just felt too heavy for his style. So he passed it along to Preston instead.
Preston's original recording didn't come out until August 1959, with George Jones on backing vocals. The song hit a snag after the Big Bopper died in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, which left copyright questions to sort out.
Once it was finally released, "Running Bear" took off. Preston's track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1960, staying there for three weeks. It also topped the charts in the U.K.
A decade later, James showed the song still had life left in it. He took his own version to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1969, where it also stuck around for three weeks.
Jones took a crack at the song as well, but his version never found the same success as Preston's or James'.
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