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"Tobacco Road" | ||||
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![]() 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 | ||||
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"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.
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.
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, number 3 in Canada, [4] and number 14 on the U.S. singles chart. While the Teens would have some further success in the UK, in North America "Tobacco Road" became another one-hit wonder of the British Invasion.
Lou Rawls recorded the song as a slow blues and released it as a single in 1963, although it didn't chart; it also became the title track of his subsequent album.
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. In a May 1967 live recording included on the 1992 Jefferson Airplane Loves You boxed set, Marty Balin introduces it as "a song that Lou Rawls put out," suggesting that that's where the band had learned the song, although their folk-rock arrangement of it is unique to them.
Also in 1966, the song was recorded by the Los Angeles band The Leaves on its album Hey Joe , and by the New York band The Blues Magoos on its debut album Psychedelic Lollipop . Both versions appear to be at least loosely modeled on The Nashville Teens' uptempo arrangement.
British psychedelic band Spooky Tooth recorded a version in 1968 for their debut album, It's All About .
Rare Earth included the song on their 1969 album Get Ready .
The band Jamul reached number 83 in Canada with their version June 6, 1970. [5]
The song appeared on Edgar Winter's debut album Entrance in 1970, and in a 17-minute live version on his 1972 double LP Roadwork . Before Entrance, Winter had been performing it as a member of his brother Johnny Winter's band; at the Woodstock festival, Johnny introduced the song as "a tune we used to do a long time ago".
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".
Dan Seals covered the song in his 1985 album release, Won't Be Blue Anymore . While the Nashville Teens version features an attention-grabbing, somewhat-staccato musical track in the verses, the Dan Seals offering is smoother in nature. By way of a contrast between the two, the Seals' version could be called, 'more-sing-able'.
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. [6]
In 1986, "Tobacco Road" was included on David Lee Roth's Eat 'em and Smile album, reaching #10 on the Billboard Rock chart.
Surrealistic Pillow is the second studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on February 1, 1967, by RCA Victor. It is the first album by the band with vocalist Grace Slick and drummer Spencer Dryden. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is considered to be one of the most influential and quintessential works of the early psychedelic rock era and 1960s counterculture.
Michael Peter Hayes, known as Mickie Most, was an English record producer behind scores of hit singles for acts such as the Animals, Herman's Hermits, the Nashville Teens, Donovan, Lulu, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate, Arrows, Racey and the Jeff Beck Group, often issued on his own RAK Records label.
The Nashville Teens are an English rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single "Tobacco Road", a Top 10 hit in the United Kingdom and Canada, and a Top 20 hit in the United States.
"Summertime Blues" is a song co-written and recorded by American rock artist Eddie Cochran. It was written by Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. Originally a single B-side, it was released in August 1958 and peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 on September 29, 1958, and number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. It has been covered by many artists, including being a number-one hit for country music artist Alan Jackson, and scoring notable hits in versions by Blue Cheer, the Who and Brian Setzer, the last of whom recorded his version for the 1987 film La Bamba, in which he portrayed Cochran.
After Bathing at Baxter's is the third studio album by the San Francisco psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in 1967 as RCA Victor LSO-1511 (stereo) and LOP-1511 (mono). The cover art is by artist Ron Cobb.
John Dee Loudermilk Jr. was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter.
Volunteers is the fifth studio album by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in 1969 on RCA Records. The album was controversial because of its revolutionary and anti-war lyrics, along with the use of profanity. The original album title was Volunteers of Amerika, but it was shortened after objections from Volunteers of America, a religious charity.
Crown of Creation is the fourth studio album by the San Francisco psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane, released by RCA Victor in August 1968. The album saw the band continuing their development of psychedelic music, emphasizing acid rock with science fiction themes.
Bless Its Pointed Little Head is a live album by Jefferson Airplane recorded at both the Fillmore East and West in the fall of 1968 and released in 1969 as RCA Victor LSP-4133.
Jefferson Airplane Takes Off is the debut studio album by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane, released on 15 August 1966 by RCA Victor. The personnel differs from the later "classic" lineup: Signe Toly Anderson was the female vocalist and Skip Spence played drums. Both soon left the group—Spence in May 1966, Anderson in October—and were replaced by Spencer Dryden and Grace Slick, respectively.
"Let's Get Together", also known as "Get Together" and "Everybody Get Together", is a song written in the mid-1960s by the American singer-songwriter Chet Powers, from the psychedelic rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service. A hit version by the Youngbloods, included on their 1967 debut album The Youngbloods, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969.
"Black Night" is a song by English hard rock band Deep Purple, released as a single in June 1970 and later included on the 25th Anniversary version of their 1970 studio album, Deep Purple in Rock. It became a hit following its release, peaking at No. 1 on UK New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Top Pops charts, and remains Deep Purple's highest charting UK single. It topped the charts in Switzerland, and is one of only two singles from the band to chart in Ireland, peaking at No. 4, thus making it the group's only Irish Top 10 hit. It was also the second non-album single penned by the band and also reached number 6 in South Africa.
The Worst of Jefferson Airplane is the first compilation album from the rock band Jefferson Airplane, released in November 1970 as RCA Victor LSP-4459. The "Worst" in the title is ironic, as the album features all of Jefferson Airplane's hit singles up to that point. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard 200 in 1971 and has since gone platinum.
"Turn On Your Love Light" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961. It was an important R&B and pop chart hit for Bland and has become one of his most identifiable songs. A variety of artists have recorded it, including the Grateful Dead, who made it part of their concert repertoire.
"Monterey" is a 1967 song by Eric Burdon & The Animals. The music and lyrics were composed by the group's members, Eric Burdon, John Weider, Vic Briggs, Danny McCulloch, and Barry Jenkins. The song provides an oral account of the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, at which the Animals performed. Burdon namedrops several of the acts who performed at the festival such as the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, the Who, the Grateful Dead, and Jimi Hendrix. In 1968, two different video clips of the song were aired.
Psychedelic Lollipop is the debut album by the American rock band the Blues Magoos, and is one of the first records to have the word “psychedelic” on the sleeve. Their single “(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet” was their most successful effort, rising into the Top 10 on many national charts. Guitarist Emil “Peppy” Thielhelm was 16 years old at the time of the single’s release. The band recorded five more albums with various lineups, none reaching the success of Psychedelic Lollipop.
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"Laugh, Laugh" is a song by American rock group the Beau Brummels, written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone. Released in December 1964 as the band's debut single, the song reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart the following February. "Laugh, Laugh" was the first hit single to come out of the emerging San Francisco music scene in response to the British Invasion. The song was later included on the band's first full-length album, Introducing the Beau Brummels, released in April 1965.
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