"
Highwayman" is a song written by American singer-songwriter
Jimmy Webb, about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a
highwayman, a
sailor, a
dam builder on the
Hoover Dam, and finally as a captain of a
starship. Webb first recorded the song on his album
El Mirage, released in May 1977. The following year,
Glen Campbell recorded his version, which was released on his 1979 album
Highwayman. In 1985, the song became the inspiration for the naming of the supergroup
The Highwaymen, which featured
Johnny Cash,
Waylon Jennings,
Willie Nelson, and
Kris Kristofferson. Their first album,
Highwayman, became a number one platinum-selling album, and their version of the song went to number one on the
Hot Country Songs Billboard chart in a twenty week run. Their version earned Webb a
Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1986. The song has since been recorded by other artists. Webb himself included a different version on his 1996 album
Ten Easy Pieces, a live version on his 2007 album
Live and at Large, and a duet version with
Mark Knopfler on 2010 album
Just Across the River.