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WCSX Classic Cuts : Middle of the Road

WCSX Classic Cuts The Pretenders: “Middle of the Road” The Hook: Chrissie Hynde getting philosophical. Album: Learning to Crawl Year: 1983 Writer: Chrissie Hynde Stats: Peaked at number-two on Billboard‘s mainstream rock chart and number-19 on the Hot 100 singles chart….

INGLEWOOD, CA – DECEMBER 18: Musician Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders performs at The Forum on December 18, 2016 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Kevin Winter / Gettyimages

WCSX Classic Cuts

The Pretenders: "Middle of the Road"

The Hook: Chrissie Hynde getting philosophical.

Album: Learning to Crawl

Year: 1983

Writer: Chrissie Hynde

Stats: Peaked at number-two on Billboard's mainstream rock chart and number-19 on the Hot 100 singles chart.

Background: What inspired Chrissie Hynde to write The Pretenders "Middle of the Road"? She says it certainly wasn't a radio format.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders on writing "Middle of the Road." OC:...middle way. :19

"'Middle of the Road' is a sort of Daoist groove going on here -- the middle way. But at that time I came over to the States and I started seeing this MOR format on the radio. And the middle of the road, I thought it was very funny -- middle of the road was always considered 'average' -- that they'd made it a kind of format. But for me, I was referring to the middle way."