As the story goes, Jim was driving down the road with his wife Mary listening to the radio, when he first heard what would become his biggest hit and signature song. The song was recorded by a little known singer named Billy Brown and was written by a California DJ and his wife, Joe and Audrey Allison. Normally, Jim would spend a great deal of time playing a song over and over until he was certain that he wanted to record it. But right away, he knew that He'll Have to Go could be a smash. Out of fairness to the singer of the song, Jim did not want to record and release it right away. Finally, when it was obvious that the song would not become a big hit for Billy Brown, Jim went into the studio and with Chet Atkins producing, his greatest hit was born. Released in 1959, He'll Have to Go became number one in the country charts and number three in the popular charts. The picture is of Jim receiving his gold record for He'll Have to Go along with Chet Atkins on the right. Below are the words to the song. Joe Allison is now a member of the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.