Garage Rock
The song “Tobacco Road” by The Nashville Teens is part of the sixties British music invasion of America. The Nashville Teens were a British band with an American name. It was part of the 1960s British Invasion phenomenon, where the Brits, who grew up listening to American blues, R&B, folk, and rock and roll, then came across the Atlantic and played their version of it back to America. “Tobacco Road” was a semi-autobiographical song written by the country and pop John D. Loudermilk about growing up in Durham, North Carolina. Loudermilk recorded it in 1960, and the song was a minor hit for him. The Nashville Teens, though gave it a whole other feel with a harder edge (with some help from Mickie Most, who also produced The Animals). In 1964, “Tobacco Road” by The Nashville Teens went to #6 on the U.K. Singles chart and #14 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Over the years, many artists have covered the song, including Lou Rawls, Jefferson Airplane, Edgar Winder, Eric Burdon & War, Eric Burdon & The Animals, David Lee Roth, Blues Magoos, Rare Earth, and many more.
The Nashville Teens formed in Weybridge, Surrey, U.K., in 1962. There have been numerous changes in the lineup over the years. For “Tobacco Road,” they were Art Sharp, Ray Phillips, John Hawken, John Allen, Pete Shannon Harris, and Barry Jenkins.
1 Comment
[…] you are interested in another song written by John D. Loudermilk: “Tobacco Road” performed by The Nashville […]