In their Television Archives interview, Ray Evans and Jay Livingston said when Desi Arnaz asked them to write a theme song for a Western television show, he told them he could not pay them much for a weekly salary, because the show was only going to last one year. The men made a deal with Desi to keep the rights to the song. When Bonanza became an unexpected smash-hit, owning the rights to the song, the men made millions.