WCSX Classic Cuts : Rocky Mountain Way
WCSX Classic Cuts
Joe Walsh: Rocky Mountain Way
Hook: Hey, what’s that wild wah-wah sound?
Released: 1973
Album: The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get
Writers: Rocke Grace, Kenny Passarelli, Joe Vitale and Joe Walsh
Stats: “Rocky Mountain Way” was Joe Walsh’s first Top 40 hit, reaching number-23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song propelled The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get into the Top 10, where it peaked at number-six.
Background: “Rocky Mountain Way” was the track that truly launched Joe Walsh’s solo career after he’d left The James Gang. It was one of the first hits to feature the talk box, which Peter Frampton made famous on Frampton Comes Alive three years later. “Rocky Mountain Way” owes a nod to Sly and the Family Stone’s 1969 song “Sex Machine,” as both songs have similar solos and the use of the talk box.
Under the Covers: Triumph and Ozzy Osbourne have covered “Rocky Mountain Way.”
Joe Walsh on why musicians need good sound systems in their cars. OC:…my car. [laughs.] :17
