One Toke Over the Line

"One Toke Over the Line" is a song written and performed by American folk rock duo Brewer & Shipley. It is a track from their 1970 LP Tarkio, and was released as their debut single in early 1971.

"One Toke Over the Line"
Single by Brewer & Shipley
from the album Tarkio
B-side"Oh Mommy"
ReleasedMarch 1971 (U.S.)
GenreCountry rock, folk rock
Length3:16
LabelKama Sutra Records
Songwriter(s)Mike Brewer, Tom Shipley
Producer(s)Nick Gravenites
Brewer & Shipley singles chronology
"One Toke Over the Line"
(1971)		 "Tarkio Road"
(1971)

Background

Mike Brewer gives this account of the origin of the song, "One day we were pretty much stoned and all and Tom says, “Man, I’m one toke over the line tonight.” I liked the way that sounded and so I wrote a song around it."[1]

The song gained popular acclaim while the band was touring as an opening act for Melanie, after they received an encore but had run out of other songs to play.[2]

In a 2012 interview, Brewer said "The president of the record company we were with at the time came backstage and said, “Oh man, you gotta record that and add it to the LP.” We were kind of like, “Really? Oh well, OK.” We didn’t even take the song seriously. Needless to say it came as a big surprise to us that they released it and not only that it was a big hit but it received so much controversy. The government came down on us."[3]

In 1971, the Federal Communications Commission issued guidance to radio station operators: "Whether a particular record depicts the dangers of drug abuse, or, to the contrary, promotes such illegal drug usage is a question for the judgment of the licensee.... Such a pattern of operation is clearly a violation of the basic principle of the licensee's responsibility for, and duty to exercise adequate control over, the broadcast material presented over his station. It raises serious questions as to whether continued operation of the station is in the public interest."[4]

This had a chilling effect and some radio stations stopped playing popular songs like "One Toke Over the Line." Other stations played the songs even more frequently in protest.

Chart history

The song peaked at No.10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No.8 Cash Box[5] during the spring of 1971, and was the duo's only Top 40 hit. It also reached No.5 in Canada[6] and No.7 in New Zealand.[7]

Cover versions

A cover version was performed in early 1971 by Gail Farrell and Dick Dale on The Lawrence Welk Show, which Welk billed as a "modern spiritual."[16][17]

Later uses

The song is notably mentioned in the opening of Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and was "sung" by Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) in the 1998 film of the same name. In the 2014 movie St. Vincent, the song "One Toke Over the Line" is heard playing on Bill Murray's headphones and is listed on the soundtrack credits.

See also

References
  1. Fong-Torres, Ben (April 15, 1971). "Radio: One Toke Behind the Line". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 25, 2018 – via BrewerAndShipley.com.
  2. Mastropolo, Frank (December 3, 2012). ""One Toke Over the Line" – More Than a "One Hit" Wonder". Rock Cellar. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  3. Mastropolo, Frank. "Dec 3, 2012". rockcellarmagazine.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  4. Burch, Dean (March 5, 1971). "FCC-71-205A1". FCC.
  5. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 24, 1971
  6. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. May 1, 1971. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  7. Flavour of New Zealand, 28 June 1971
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 46. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. May 1, 1971. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  10. Flavour of New Zealand, 28 June 1971
  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  12. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, April 24, 1971
  13. "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  14. Musicoutfitters.com
  15. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1971". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  16. "One Toke On Lawrence Welk". BrewerAndShipley.com. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  17. "Toking" with Lawrence Welk on YouTube
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