Single:
Rocky Mountain Way entered the Australian singles chart* on 28 January 1974 and peaked at #39.
Album:
The song is on The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get.
Songwriters:
Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale, Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli
Producers:
Joe Walsh, Bill Szymczyk
Record label of Australian release:
Probe
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
At Crossroads Guitar Festival, a benefit concert in support of the Crossroads drug treatment centre founded by Eric Clapton:
Wikipedia:
Rocky Mountain Way by rock guitarist Joe Walsh and his band Barnstorm gave writing credits to all four band members: Walsh, Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, and Joe Vitale.
Walsh later went on to join a number of other bands including the Eagles and Ringo Starr & his All-Starr Band.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Way_(song)
Songfacts:
After leaving his group the James Gang at the end of 1971, Joe Walsh moved from Cleveland to Boulder, Colorado, where he wrote Rocky Mountain Way, which celebrates the scenery and lifestyle of Colorado. The song reflects Walsh’s range of emotions after making the big move.
He explained in the book The Guitar Greats: “I got kind of fed up with feeling sorry for myself, and I wanted to justify and feel good about leaving the James Gang, relocating, going for it on a survival basis. I wanted to say ‘Hey, whatever this is, I’m positive and I’m proud’, and the words just kind of came out of feeling that way, rather than writing a song out of remorse. It was special then, and the words were special to me, because the words were like, ‘I’m goin’ for it, the heck with feeling sorry for this and that’, and it did turn out to be a special song for a lot of people. I think the attitude and the statement of that have a lot to do with it – it’s a positive song, and it’s basic rock’n’roll, which is what I really do.”
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/joe-walsh/rocky-mountain-way
Lyrics:
Spent the last year
Rocky Mountain Way
Couldn’t get much higher
Out to pasture
Think it’s safe to say
Time to open fire
Click for full lyrics
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