Red Headed Stranger is a song written by Edith Lindeman and Carl Stutz, published in 1953. Originally written for Perry Como, the song was not recorded by him due to publishing issues. In 1954, Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith released a version of the song on MGM Records that received good radio play.

Country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson performed the song at the time of its original release for children at bedtime on his show, The Western Express. In 1974, inspired by his then-wife Connie Koepke, he wrote the concept album Red Headed Stranger based on the song. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

The lyrics were written by Edith Lindeman, the entertainment editor of Virginia's Richmond Times-Dispatch. Carl Stutz, a musician who worked as an accountant and high school mathematics teacher, composed the music. The song was first published in 1953.

"The Red Headed Stranger" follows the story of "The Stranger", who rambles into town on a black stallion, leading the bay horse of his dead wife. The stranger meets a blond woman on a tavern, who follows him out as he leaves. The stranger shoots the woman as she grabs his bay, but leaves town after being found not guilty, considering that the woman tried to steal his horse.

Edith Lindeman recounts the origin of the lyrics: "I was just sitting at home one night, playing with the idea of colors." The redhead she had in mind was her husband. She named the town Blue Rock, gave the hero a "raging black stallion" and introduced him to a "yellow-haired" lady riding a bay-colored horse.

The ballad was originally written for Perry Como, but never recorded by him due to a publishing dispute. It was first recorded by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith in 1954. Smith of Charlotte, North Carolina, was the host of the nationally syndicated country music program The Arthur Smith Show. The single was released on MGM Records with the number K11784, featuring on the flipside "Sobbin' Women" and credited to Arthur Smith and His Cracker-Jacks. Although the song did not chart, it received good radio airplay, in a September 1955, Billboard noted: "Arthur Smith's 'The Red Headed Stranger' [...] after a year or more is still drawing a large number of requests."

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