Global InformationRoll On down the Highway information
| "Roll On Down The Highway" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7" single cover | ||||
| Single by Bachman–Turner Overdrive | ||||
| from the album Not Fragile | ||||
| B-side | "Sledgehammer" | |||
| Released | January 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre |
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| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Fred Turner, Robbie Bachman | |||
| Producer(s) | Randy Bachman | |||
| Bachman–Turner Overdrive singles chronology | ||||
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"Roll On Down The Highway" is a song written by Fred Turner and Robbie Bachman, first recorded by Canadian rock group Bachman–Turner Overdrive (BTO) for their 1974 album Not Fragile. The lead vocal is provided by Turner.
Turner and Randy Bachman had originally been contracted by Ford to write a song for the automotive company's commercials, but Ford never picked up any of their compositions.[2] Robbie Bachman later helped develop one of Turner's ideas into a Top 20 hit. "Roll on Down the Highway" peaked at No. 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on March 1, 1975.[3] It reached No. 8 on the Cash Box Top 100 singles, and No. 4 on the Canadian RPM chart, and gave the band their second — and final — hit in the United Kingdom, reaching No. 22 in the UK Singles Chart.[4]
The song was the second of two singles issued from the Not Fragile LP, and was the follow-up to the group's greatest hit, "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet".
Billboard described "Roll On down the Highway" as a "driving rocker combining simplicity of sound with vocal and instrumental skill."[5] Cash Box called it a "great car radio tune," saying "gruff and gritty, they strike the primal chord and growl out the lyrics with gusto."[6] Record World called it "interstate, international, intergalactic rollin' rock!"[7]
- ^ Ogg, Alex (2003). "Bachman-Turner Overdrive". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
- ^ "ROLL ON DOWN THE HIGHWAY by BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2016-11-23.
- ^ "Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Chart History". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ "BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE | full Official Chart History". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. January 18, 1975. p. 65. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
- ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. January 18, 1975. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. January 18, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-11.