"The Auctioneer" is a 1956

1956 in music

-Events:*January 26 – Buddy Holly's first recording sessions for Decca Records take place in Nashville, Tennessee*Roy Orbison signs with Sun Records*January 27 – Elvis Presley's single "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was the One" is released...

 country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 song by Leroy Van Dyke

Leroy Van Dyke

Leroy Frank Van Dyke is an American country music singer best known for his hits, "The Auctioneer" and "Walk On By" .-Biography:...

. It was co-written with Buddy Black.

Origin

Van Dyke was inspired to write the song from his own experiences as an auctioneer. He wrote the song while stationed in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 during the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, and first performed it to troops on the same bill as Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....

. After finishing his service, Van Dyke entered the song in a Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 talent contest where he gained his first exposure. The song subsequently topped the pop music chart.

Legacy

One of Van Dyke's talent show performances of the song gained him a record contract with Dot Records

Dot Records

Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...

. A recording of "The Auctioneer" was released, selling 2.5 million copies.