"This Flight Tonight" | |
---|---|
Song by Joni Mitchell | |
from the album Blue | |
Released | June 22, 1971 |
Genre | Folk |
Length | 2:51 |
Label | Reprise |
Songwriter(s) | Joni Mitchell |
Producer(s) | Joni Mitchell |
Official audio | |
"This Flight Tonight" on YouTube |
"This Flight Tonight" is a song originally by Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue . Scottish hard rock band Nazareth released the song as a single in 1973 that charted internationally.
Joni Mitchell wrote and released the song on her 1971 album Blue . The song tells of Mitchell's regrets as she leaves her lover on a flight and wishes to return. The track was also released as the B-side of "Carey". [1]
Mitchell plays guitar and sings, and was the producer, pedal steel guitar is by Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Henry Lewy was the engineer. [2]
"This Flight Tonight" | ||||
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Single by Nazareth | ||||
from the album Loud 'n' Proud | ||||
B-side | "Called Her Name" | |||
Released | October 1973 | |||
Genre | Hard rock [3] | |||
Label | Mooncrest | |||
Songwriter(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
Producer(s) | Roger Glover | |||
Nazareth singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Video | ||||
"This Flight Tonight" (Austrian TV, 1975) on YouTube |
Scottish hard rock band Nazareth reworked the song in 1973 to make it their own with a powerful, driving hard-rock treatment which was a hit in Canada, Germany (where it reached number one) and the UK. [4] [5] It was produced by Roger Glover. [6] The single reached number 11 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1973. The band re-recorded the song in 1991 for the album No Jive .
Writing in The Independent in 2012, Robert Webb said:
The Dunfermline hard-rockers Nazareth loved Blue. You remember them: the gap-toothed vocalist, Dan McCafferty, had hair like a kitchen scourer and a voice to match. They were bad, bad boys. Among the tracks on their 1973 album Loud 'n' Proud , produced by the former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, is a taut version of "This Flight". "We used to listen to Joni as we were travelling round in the van," recalls Nazareth's bass-player, Pete Agnew. "'This Flight Tonight' was a big favourite."
Mitchell was impressed with the makeover: "When she was recording at A&M, we were just starting an American tour," explains Agnew. "We all happened to be in the studio the day the single was released, so we were introduced to her and told her what we had done. She said, 'What, with a rock band?'" Joni paid the Scottish band the greatest compliment after "This Flight Tonight" became a worldwide hit for them, touching down at No 11 in the UK. "She was playing a gig in London and told the audience: 'I'd like to open with a Nazareth song'!". [7]
Nancy Wilson revealed that the guitar riff for Nazareth's version of "This Flight Tonight" inspired the riff for the Heart song "Barracuda". [8]
Chart (1973–1974) | Peak position |
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Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) [9] | 2 |
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [10] | 27 |
Germany (Official German Charts) [11] | 1 |
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [12] | 5 |
UK Singles (OCC) [13] | 11 |
Chart (1974) | Position |
---|---|
Austrian Top 40 | 4 |
German Media Control Singles Chart | 11 |
UK Singles Chart | 98 |
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her personal lyrics and unconventional compositions which grew to incorporate pop and jazz elements. She has received many accolades, including eleven Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic has stated, "Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century."
Stephen Arthur Stills is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Manassas. As both a solo act and member of three successful bands, Stills has combined record sales of over 35 million albums. He was ranked number 28 in Rolling Stone's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and number 47 in the 2011 list. Stills became the first person to be inducted twice on the same night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. According to Neil Young, "Stephen is a genius".
Nazareth are a Scottish hard rock band formed in Dunfermline in 1968 that had many hit singles and albums in Canada, the United Kingdom, and a number of other European countries beginning in the early 1970s. The breadth of their popularity expanded internationally, including in the United States, with their 1975 album Hair of the Dog, which featured their hits "Hair of the Dog" and a cover of the ballad "Love Hurts". They have continued to record and tour internationally for more than 50 years.
"Woodstock" is a song written by Canadian-American singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. At least four notable versions of the song were released in the same year, 1970. Mitchell's own version was first performed live in 1969 and appeared in April 1970 on her album Ladies of the Canyon and as the B-side to her single "Big Yellow Taxi". This publication was preceded by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's version, which appeared on their March 1970 album Déjà Vu and became a staple of classic rock radio and the best-known version in the United States. A third version, by the British band Matthews Southern Comfort became the best known version in the United Kingdom, and was the highest charting version of the song, reaching the top of the UK Singles Chart in 1970. A fourth version by studio project the Assembled Multitude also became a chart hit.
"Carey" is a song from the 1971 Joni Mitchell album Blue. It was inspired by her time spent with Cary Raditz, living with a cave-dwelling hippie community at Matala, on the Greek island of Crete.
For the Roses is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It was released in November 1972, between her two biggest commercial and critical successes—Blue and Court and Spark. In 2007 it was one of 25 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.
Miles of Aisles is the first live album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1974 on Asylum Records. It is a double album documenting her concerts in support of the Court and Spark album with her backing band for the tour, the L.A. Express. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and became one of her biggest-selling records, certified a gold record by the RIAA.
Blue is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released on June 22, 1971, by Reprise Records. Written and produced entirely by Mitchell, it was recorded in 1971 at A&M Studios in Hollywood, California. Created just after her breakup with Graham Nash and during an intense relationship with James Taylor, Blue explores various facets of relationships from love on "A Case of You" to insecurity on "This Flight Tonight". The songs feature simple accompaniments on piano, guitar and Appalachian dulcimer. The album peaked at number 3 on the UK Albums Chart, number 9 on the Canadian RPM Albums Chart and number 15 on the Billboard 200.
"Barracuda" is a song by American rock band Heart, released in 1977 on their third studio album, Little Queen, and was released as the album's lead single. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, "Barracuda" was named the 34th-best hard rock song of all time by VH1.
Loud 'n' Proud is the fourth studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, and their second to be released in 1973. It is the first of two albums the band released to reach #1 in the Austrian charts.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1975. By this time Nazareth had experienced considerable success with albums and singles. This compilation showcased tracks from the band's third album Razamanaz through their sixth album Hair of the Dog, as well as some non-album singles.
Close Enough for Rock 'n' Roll is the seventh studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1976.
Hot Tracks is a compilation album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1976. The album covers from 1973's Razamanaz album to 1976's Play 'n' the Game. The album also features a slightly longer version of "This Flight Tonight" and the single version of "I Want to Do Everything for You". An EP featuring tracks from the album reached Number 15 in the UK singles chart in the following year.
Play 'n' the Game is the eighth studio album by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in November 1976.
The Fool Circle is the twelfth studio album by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in February 1981. "Cocaine" was a live cover of the song written by J. J. Cale and recorded in 1977 by Eric Clapton. There are remastered editions of the album with different sets of bonus tracks.
No Jive is the eighteenth studio album by the Scottish hard rock band Nazareth, released in 1991. This album marked the return of guitarist Billy Rankin as a replacement for departing guitarist Manny Charlton.
"River" is a song by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell, from her 1971 album Blue. Written on piano, it has become a standard for artists in many music styles, and has become popular as Christmas music. Although never released as a single, "River" holds second place among Mitchell's songs most recorded by other artists. In 2021, it was ranked at No. 247 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time".
"Hair of the Dog" is a song by Scottish rock band Nazareth, released on their 1975 studio album, Hair of the Dog. The song, alongside "Love Hurts", remains their most successful and popular.
"Broken Down Angel" is a song and single by Scottish rock group Nazareth. It was first released in 1973.
"Raised on Robbery" is a song written by Joni Mitchell. It was the lead single from her 1974 album Court and Spark.
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