The tune is believed to have been originally composed as "Tell the World," although who wrote the song is disputed. One story suggests that it was written by Stephens and Torres of the String-A-Longs, who were called the Leen Teens in their early days. The song was recorded at
Norman Petty Recording Studios in Clovis, New Mexico. Keith McCormack, who was the singer for the band, caught a cold and became too hoarse to sing at the recording session, so they recorded instead two instrumentals. How "Tell the World" became "Wheels" is believed to be the result of an error; according to one story, "Tell the World" was backed by Petty's composition entitled "Wheels", but the labels for the two sides were switched by accident by Warwick Records when the record was pressed, and "Tell the World" became "Wheels". However, Torres said that Petty switched the labelling of the song deliberately, and when the song became a hit, Petty claimed composition credit for a song he did not write on the basis of what was given on the label. Another version of the origin of "Wheels" credited Norman Petty as the writer of the hit instrumental rather than Stephens and Torres. The String-A-Longs had composed a boogie instrumental titled "Wheels", while Petty's instrumental was initially called "Tell the World". The labels were then reversed, and it listed Torres and Stephens as the writers of Petty's instrumental, while Petty was credited as the writer on the flip-side. It seems that Petty was able to claim a credit for writing "Wheels" (some releases credited
Johnny Flamingo and Petty as the writers, and some listed him as the only writer) but the confusion has never really been resolved. It was originally released as "Wheels"/"Tell the World", but when both sides of the single started to take off, Warwick Record split the single into two: "Wheels"/"Am I Asking Too Much", and "Tell the World"/"For My Angel". The String-A-Longs version sold 7 million copies, while all versions of the song sold 16 million combined. The band, however, was not properly compensated for their work as Warwick Records declared bankruptcy when the band tried to get a settlement from Warwick. The band was owed $700,000, the equivalent of $ 7 million in 2004. ==Charts==