The Smokey the Bear reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)
Smokey the Bear is a popular song written in 1952 by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. The subject is Smokey Bear, the mascot of the US Forest Service. According to the Forest Service's Smokey Bear website, a the was added to keep the song's rhythm.