| "Rocky Mountain Way" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byJoe Walsh | ||||
| from the albumThe Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get | ||||
| B-side | "(Day Dream) Prayer" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | Blues rock | |||
| Length | 5:17 | |||
| Label | ABC-Dunhill | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Joe Walsh singles chronology | ||||
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| Official audio | ||||
| Rocky Mountain Way onYouTube | ||||
"Rocky Mountain Way" is a 1973 song byrock guitaristJoe Walsh and his bandBarnstorm, with writing credits given to all four band members: Walsh, Rocke Grace,Kenny Passarelli, andJoe Vitale. The song was originally released on the albumThe Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get.
Walsh appeared in studio onThe Howard Stern Show on June 12, 2012, and talked about how the lyrics to the song came to him in 1972 shortly after releasing his first solo effort,Barnstorm.
"I'm living inColorado and I'm mowing the lawn. I look up and there's theFront Range of theRocky Mountains and there's snow on them in the summer. And it knocked me back because it was just beautiful. And I thought, 'Well I have committed. I'm already in Colorado and it's too late to regret theJames Gang. The Rocky Mountain way is better than the way I had, because the music was better.' I got the words. Bam!"[1]
Walsh has varied that story over the years, however, telling theRocky Mountain News that he wrote the lyrics while recording the album atCaribou Ranch Recording Studio. The song features Walsh using a guitartalk box manufactured by sound engineerBob Heil, inventor of theHeil high-powered talk box. The distinct tone "... gives Walsh's blues stomp a futuristic wave, as if a hulking mechanical beast was looming just over those rocky mountains."[2][3][4]
The song was used as the title to Walsh's1985 compilation album, which featured previously released singles and tracks from his albumsBarnstorm,The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get andSo What.
In Jake Brown's 2014 bookBehind the Boards II, producerBill Szymczyk writes about how Walsh first came up with an instrumental "blues-shuffle" recorded at the Criteria studio, then stripped down to drums alone at the Caribou studio and rebuilt from there, adding lyrics to make the final version. Walsh is described as having layered about "six or seven" guitars on the recording, playing through a small amp with oneShure SM57 microphone aimed at it. Szymczyk says the thick guitar sound is from Walsh himself, not from studio trickery.[5]
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 39 |
| CanadaRPM Top Singles[7] | 31 |
| U.S.BillboardHot 100[8] | 23 |
| U.S.Cash Box Top 100[9] | 13 |
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 39 |
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In 1976, Walsh recorded the song on hisYou Can't Argue with a Sick Mind album.
Walsh played the song frequently while on tour with theEagles, including the 1977 Hotel California Tour, again in 1979 and later into the first half of 1980's Long Run tour, also being added yet again to the set in the 1994 reunion tour with Eagles.
In 1985, Walsh joinedAustralian rock band,The Party Boys, and while touring they recorded a live album,You Need Professional Help, which featured an extended guitar duel between Walsh andKevin Borich on "Rocky Mountain Way".[10]
In 1989, Walsh played an eight-minute version in theRingo Starr's All Starr Band, starting with a slide arrangement of "Amazing Grace."
In October 19, 1991 Joe Walsh performed this song withBrian May,Steve Vai,Joe Satriani andNuno Bettencourt at theGuitar Legends festival in Seville.
In 2004 it was sung by Walsh atCrossroads Guitar Festival and along with Eagles on theirFarewell I Tour.
In 2010, "Rocky Mountain Way" was one of three songs played during the encore each night during the Eagles'Long Road Out of Eden Tour. The other two songs performed in the encore were "Desperado" and "Take it Easy".
In 2012, "Rocky Mountain Way" was the first of six songs performed live by Walsh in the Joe Walsh episode (episode 60) ofLive from Daryl's House, which also includes discussion of the song.
On May 24, 2016, Walsh performed "Rocky Mountain Way" on the season 10 finale of theNBC reality television singing competitionThe Voice, along with contestant Laith Al-Saadi.
TheColorado RockiesMajor League Baseball franchise has played the song after every home win atCoors Field since 1995.[11][12]
In 1998, theABC television network wanted to use a classic rock song forMonday Night Football that year, so they asked Walsh to rewrite the lyrics to "Rocky Mountain Way" forDenver Broncos quarterbackJohn Elway. "Rocky Mountain Elway" was the new title of the song and Walsh appeared in a video thatABC Sports showed on a telecast ofMonday Night Football.
The Denver Broncos currently play theGodsmack cover version of the song during home games atEmpower Field at Mile High.[13]
The pair played "Rock Mountain Way," a song from Walsh's former band Barnstorm. The tune has been adopted by the Colorado Rockies baseball team and was also reworked in the '90s when it appeared on "Monday Night Football."
