Tobacco Road (song)
"Tobacco Road" is a blues song written and first recorded by John D. Loudermilk in December 1959 and released in 1960. This song became a hit for The Nashville Teens in 1964 and has since become a standard across several musical genres.
| "Tobacco Road" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the US single | ||||
| Single by The Nashville Teens | ||||
| from the album Tobacco Road | ||||
| B-side | "I Like It Like That" | |||
| Released | June 26, 1964 (UK) August 1964 (US) | |||
| Recorded | May 1964 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:27 | |||
| Label | Decca (UK) London (US) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John D. Loudermilk | |||
| Producer(s) | Mickie Most | |||
| The Nashville Teens singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Loudermilk original version
Originally framed as a folk song, "Tobacco Road" was a semi-autobiographical tale of growing up in Durham, North Carolina. Released on Columbia Records, it was not a hit for Loudermilk, achieving only minor chart success in Australia. Other artists, however, immediately began recording and performing the song.
Nashville Teens version
The English group The Nashville Teens' garage rock[1][2]/blues rock[3] rendering was a bold effort featuring prominent piano, electric guitar, and bass drum parts and a dual lead vocal. Mickie Most produced it with the same tough-edged-pop feel that he brought to The Animals' hits. "Tobacco Road" was a trans-Atlantic pop hit in 1964, reaching number 6 on the UK singles chart and number 14 on the U.S. singles chart. While the Teens would have some further success in the UK, in the U.S. "Tobacco Road" became another one-hit wonder of the British Invasion.
Jefferson Airplane recorded a version of "Tobacco Road" on their first album, Jefferson Airplane Takes Off, in 1966. It was one of only two songs on their first album not written by a member of the band. Takes Off is the only album they recorded with their original lead singer Signe Anderson.
British psychedelic band Spooky Tooth recorded a version in 1968 for their debut album, It's All About.
Other notable versions and uses
In the 1970s, songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman claimed to have been inspired by "Tobacco Road" while writing The Sweet's "Block Buster!", after accusations of stealing the guitar riff from David Bowie's "Jean Genie".
The song became a hit for Edgar Winter on his debut album Entrance and he plays a 17-minute live version of the song on the double LP Roadwork from 1972.
Roy Clark included the song on his 1986 album Rockin' in the Country. His version peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[4]
References
- Stiernberg, Bonnie. "The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time". Paste. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- Dave Marsh; James Bernard (1 November 1994). New Book of Rock Lists. Simon and Schuster. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-671-78700-4.
- "Tobacco Road" at AllMusic
- Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
External links
- Loudermilk fan site – extensive history of song and recorded versions.