Hard to believe what a mega-hit this was back in the day.
When I heard my father sing it (with his operetta-size baritone), I was mostly puzzled about why the protagonist of the song was going from Phoenix to Oklahoma, and how he made such good time. It made no sense to a 7 year old.
Wikipedia explains the that Jim Webb the composer knew the geography was borked. It also has the remarkable fact (if true) that this was the third most popular song from 1940-1990 according to BMI.
Here is the man who made it famous:
A Few Reasonable Words 