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"Rock Candy" | |
---|---|
Song by Montrose | |
from the album Montrose | |
Released | October 17, 1973 |
Recorded | 1973 |
Genre | Hard rock, blues rock |
Length | 5:03 |
Label | Warner Bros. |
Songwriter(s) | Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, Bill Church, Denny Carmassi |
Audio | |
"Rock Candy" on YouTube |
"Rock Candy" is a song by American hard rock band Montrose, and the last song written and recorded for their 1973 debut album. It was composed by all four band members. The song still gets performed on Sammy Hagar's solo tours and even had been re-recorded as the b-side to the Hagar single "Little White Lie" by the original band. It was also included on Hagar's 2003 live release Live: Hallelujah .
The song is well known for its distinctive drum intro played by Denny Carmassi. According to Ronnie Montrose in radio interviews, the song originated from Carmassi's experimentation with alternatives to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's intro to "When the Levee Breaks".
According to Hagar,
'Rock Candy' is like a standard for bands like Def Leppard or The Cult. Over the years, anybody who wants to jam with me wants to jam 'Rock Candy' – Chad Smith, Joe Satriani, Matt Sorum, Slash. Lemmy from Motörhead came up to me at a show in England, and what did Lemmy say? 'Fucking Rock Candy, mate.' [1]
The song was featured in the 1994 movie The Stöned Age , and has appeared in the U.S. television series My Name is Earl . In May 2015, Hagar sang the song with Daryl Hall and Hall's band at Hagar's Cabo Wabo nightclub for an episode of Live from Daryl's House . [2]
A recording of "Rock Candy" by Montrose can be heard in a helicopter shot from the 1976 version of the film A Star is Born. It was filmed at a concert put on by the producers of the film at Sun Devil Stadium at Arizona State University on March 20, 1976. [3]
Van Halen was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and for the virtuosity of its guitarist, Eddie Van Halen. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
Sam Roy Hagar, also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a successful solo career, scoring a hit in 1984 with "I Can't Drive 55". He enjoyed further commercial success as the lead vocalist of Van Halen from 1985 through 1996, and from 2003 to 2005.
Montrose was an American hard rock band formed in 1973 and named after guitarist and founder Ronnie Montrose. The band's original lineup featured lead vocalist and frontman Sammy Hagar, who later found greater success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen. Rounding out the original foursome were bassist Bill Church and drummer Denny Carmassi. The band experienced moderate success before disbanding in early 1977. The 1973 debut album Montrose eventually proved to be an international sleeper hit, selling in excess of one million copies and attaining platinum status in 1986.
Ronald Douglas Montrose was an American musician and guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie Hancock, Beaver & Krause, Boz Scaggs, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, The Beau Brummels, Dan Hartman, Tony Williams, The Neville Brothers, Marc Bonilla and Sammy Hagar.
Dennis Joseph "Denny" Carmassi is an American drummer most notable for playing with many rock bands.
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Gamma was an American hard rock band formed by guitarist Ronnie Montrose and singer Davey Pattison in San Francisco in 1979. They released four albums: Gamma 1 (1979), Gamma 2 (1980), Gamma 3 (1982) and Gamma 4 (2000). Their biggest hit was 1982's "Right the First Time", which was a minor chart entry in the US, but a top 40 hit in Canada. Some of their other best known songs include "Fight to the Finish" from their first album, and "Meanstreak" and "Voyager" from the second album.
Montrose is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Montrose, released in October 1973 by Warner Bros. It was produced by Ted Templeman. Montrose marks the career debut of singer-guitarist Sammy Hagar, who would later achieve significant success as a solo artist and as a member of Van Halen.
"'Bad Motor Scooter" is a song by American hard rock band Montrose, released on the band's 1973 debut album. Along with "Rock Candy", it is arguably the band's best-known song.
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"I Got the Fire" is a song written by American musician Ronnie Montrose and originally recorded by his band Montrose in 1974. It was later covered by Axe in 1982 and Iron Maiden in 1983.
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All Night Long is Sammy Hagar's first live album, released in 1978. The album was recorded during concerts in San Francisco, San Antonio, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz and Santa Monica.
The 5150 Tour was a concert tour by American hard rock band Van Halen in support of their seventh studio album, 5150.
The Very Best of Montrose is the only compilation album by American hard rock band Montrose. It was released in 2000 by Rhino Records. The album contains songs from the group's five albums, the first four in consecutive years in the mid-seventies and another from 1987.
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Keith St. John is an American rock singer, songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his work as the frontman for the hard rock bands Montrose and Burning Rain.
"Winner Takes It All " is a 1987 rock song written by record producer Giorgio Moroder and Thomas Whitlock and recorded by Sammy Hagar. Originally was included in the soundtrack of the Sylvester Stallone movie Over the Top, being the first track and second single from the album, released through CBS Records. The song peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and No. 54 on their Hot 100 chart. It appears in Hagar's 2004 compilation album The Essential Red Collection.