When Jerry Reed released “The Bird” on October 4, 1982, listeners heard a bird that could sing like Willie Nelson one minute and George Jones the next. Over the years, some music writers have praised Reed’s own impressions. Some record dealers still list the single as featuring cameos by Jones and Nelson themselves. The album credits tell a different story. The extra vocals on the bird’s part, and on each of the three borrowed choruses, are credited to Hal Coleman, the Georgia man who co-wrote the song.
A tall tale at a bar on the interstate
Coleman wrote “The Bird” with his friend and fellow musician Barry Etris. The story is simple and quick. A thirsty working man is sitting in a bar on the interstate late at night when a stranger walks in with an odd-looking bird on his shoulder and starts bragging about its singing.
The narrator doesn’t believe it. So the stranger tells the bird to do Willie, and the bird breaks into the chorus of “Whiskey River.” Then it sings George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” The narrator, already dreaming of the money a singing bird could make, buys it on the spot for $500. The stranger leaves. A moment later, so does the bird, flying out the door and into the night with a twisted-up version of “On the Road Again.” As the record fades, Reed is yelling for the bird to come back and asking somebody to buy him a drink.
From a Nashville recording to Jerry Reed in Muscle Shoals
Coleman told Pest Control Technology magazine in 2020 that he first went to Nashville and recorded the song himself. “It came out really well,” he said. A couple of days later, someone from the studio called him. Jerry Reed was recording down in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They had played him the song, and Reed loved it. He wanted it for his album.
Coleman sold the rights to the song. He also once used it as collateral for a $5,000 car loan. And on Reed’s record, the bird sings in Coleman’s voice. The album, produced by Rick Hall, credits Coleman with additional vocals on “The Bird” and on the snippets of “Whiskey River,” “On the Road Again” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Reed sang the story and played guitar.
The songwriter who stayed home
Hal Coleman grew up on Canton Street in Roswell, Georgia. For about ten years he worked for the Georgia Department of Agriculture as a pest control inspector, writing songs on the side. He later ran his own pest control company, grew it from a one-man business into a million-dollar enterprise, and served as president of the Georgia Pest Control Association.
He never moved to Nashville to write full time. Family and other commitments kept him in the Atlanta area. Still, songs he co-wrote reached other big names, including Ray Stevens, who recorded “If Ten Percent Is Good Enough for Jesus,” and the Burch Sisters.
No. 2 at Christmas
“The Bird” was the lead single from Reed’s album of the same name. It climbed to No. 2 on Billboard’s country chart just before Christmas 1982 and reached No. 1 on Canada’s RPM country chart. It was one of the last big hits of Jerry Reed’s recording career.
According to a recent profile of Coleman in Appen Media, the song also earned him a BMI country award. Because the record borrowed from Willie Nelson’s songs, Coleman, Barry Etris and Willie Nelson accepted that award together. So the man who sang Willie’s part ended up accepting an award alongside Willie himself.
Coleman was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame in November 2001. In late 2025, he was still playing a monthly show in his hometown of Roswell.