On the Road Again (Canned Heat song)
Encyclopedia
"On the Road Again," a song recorded by the American blues rock group Canned Heat
, was released as a single in April 1968, and appeared on their 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat
as well as the 1969 compilation The Canned Heat Cookbook. It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart
and number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100
.
"On the Road Again" was adapted by Alan Wilson
from a song of the same name recorded in 1953 by Floyd Jones
(July 21, 1917December 19, 1989), a Chicago blues musician.http://www.answers.com/topic/floyd-jones?cat=entertainment Jones' song was itself an adaptation of "Big Road Blues," recorded in 1928 by Delta blues
musician Tommy Johnson.
With his knowledge of Eastern music, Wilson used a tambura
drone
to give the song a hypnotic
effect and a psychedelic
edge. The song features Wilson as the lead singer and harmonica player. Wilson's harmonica solo has a note that is not playable without an overblow; he re-tuned his harmonica's six hole up a half step. The B-side of the single was entitled "Boogie Music". A black and white live performance is used in place of a video.
The song appears in the films Alice in the Cities
(1973), Hideous Kinky
(1998), "Frequency" (2000), Cold Creek Manor
(2003), and The Bucket List
(2007).
, the British blues
band led by Dave Edmunds
, recorded "On the Road Again" for their first album Blues Helping which was released at the end of 1968. Tom Jones
covered the song in 1978. An electro-rock version of the song by the French band Rockets
appeared on their 1978 album On the Road Again
. A similar version was released in a 2006 single by the Belgian band Telex
. The Jeff Healey Band covered the song in the film Roadhouse. Andy Prieboy
covered the song on his 1990 album ...Upon My Wicked Son
.
Pete Townshend
performed "On the Road Again" (as well as another Canned Heat song, "Going Up the Country
") in his 1998 concert series, most notably at Woodstock (August 15) and at the House of Blues, Chicago (August 16). The latter concert was partially recorded as the CD A Benefit For Maryville Academy
and included "On the Road Again".
Status Quo recorded the song which was included on their 2003 covers album Riffs
. Katie Melua
recorded it for her 2005 album Piece by Piece. The Smashing Pumpkins included a snippet of this song during a medley version of "Heavy Metal Machine" on their 2007 tour. Dubstep DJ and Producer Stenchman sampled the original track in his 2009 track of the same name.
Canned Heat
Canned Heat is a blues-rock/boogie rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1965. The group has been noted for its own interpretations of blues material as well as for efforts to promote the interest in this type of music and its original artists...
, was released as a single in April 1968, and appeared on their 1968 album Boogie with Canned Heat
Boogie with Canned Heat
Boogie with Canned Heat is the second album by Canned Heat, released in 1968. Unlike their debut, it features mostly original material. It included the top 10 hit "On the Road Again," one of their best known songs. "Amphetamine Annie," a warning about the dangers of amphetamine abuse, also...
as well as the 1969 compilation The Canned Heat Cookbook. It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
"On the Road Again" was adapted by Alan Wilson
Alan Wilson (musician)
Alan "Blind Owl" Christie Wilson was the leader, singer, and primary composer in the American blues band Canned Heat. He played guitar and harmonica, and wrote most of the songs for the band.-Early years:...
from a song of the same name recorded in 1953 by Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones
Floyd Jones was an American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter, who is significant as one of the first of the new generation of electric blues artists to record in Chicago after World War II. A number of Jones' recordings are regarded as classics of the Chicago blues idiom, and his song "On...
(July 21, 1917December 19, 1989), a Chicago blues musician.http://www.answers.com/topic/floyd-jones?cat=entertainment Jones' song was itself an adaptation of "Big Road Blues," recorded in 1928 by Delta blues
Delta blues
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
musician Tommy Johnson.
With his knowledge of Eastern music, Wilson used a tambura
Tambura
The tambura, tanpura, or tambora is a long-necked plucked lute . The body shape of the tambura somewhat resembles that of the sitar, but it has no frets – only the open strings are played to accompany other musicians...
drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
to give the song a hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
effect and a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
edge. The song features Wilson as the lead singer and harmonica player. Wilson's harmonica solo has a note that is not playable without an overblow; he re-tuned his harmonica's six hole up a half step. The B-side of the single was entitled "Boogie Music". A black and white live performance is used in place of a video.
The song appears in the films Alice in the Cities
Alice in the Cities
Alice in the Cities is a 1974 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. This was the first part of Wenders' "Road Movie Trilogy" which included The Wrong Move and Kings of the Road...
(1973), Hideous Kinky
Hideous Kinky (film)
Hideous Kinky is a 1998 film based on a novel about a young English mother who moves from London to Morocco with her two young daughters. It was directed by Gillies MacKinnon. The soundtrack included music by Canned Heat, Richie Havens and the Incredible String Band. The film was marketed with...
(1998), "Frequency" (2000), Cold Creek Manor
Cold Creek Manor
Cold Creek Manor is a 2003 American psychological thriller film directed by Mike Figgis. The screenplay by Richard Jefferies focuses on a family terrorized by the former owner of the rural estate they bought in foreclosure...
(2003), and The Bucket List
The Bucket List
The Bucket List is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Rob Reiner, written by Justin Zackham, and starring Academy Award-winners Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman...
(2007).
Other versions
Love SculptureLove Sculpture
Love Sculpture were a Welsh blues-rock band of the late 1960s, led by Dave Edmunds , plus bassist John Williams - stage name John David and drummer Rob 'Congo' Jones .-Career:Love...
, the British blues
British blues
British blues is a form of music derived from American blues that originated in the late 1950s and which reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s, when it developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric guitar and made international stars of several proponents of...
band led by Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, recorded "On the Road Again" for their first album Blues Helping which was released at the end of 1968. Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
covered the song in 1978. An electro-rock version of the song by the French band Rockets
Rockets (band)
Rockets were a French space rock band that formed in Paris in 1974. Some of the former members had played together since 1970 in a local band called Crystal...
appeared on their 1978 album On the Road Again
On the Road Again (Rockets album)
-Personnel:Rockets*Christian Le Bartz – vocals*"Little" Gerard L'Her – bass, vocals, keyboards on "Cosmic Race"*Alain Maratrat – guitar, keyboards, vocals on "Space Rock", synthesizers on "Astrolights" and "Electro-Voice"...
. A similar version was released in a 2006 single by the Belgian band Telex
Telex (band)
The Belgian synth-pop group Telex was formed in 1978 by Marc Moulin, Dan Lacksman, and Michel Moers, with the intention of "Making something really European, different from rock, without guitar — and the idea was electronic music." Mixing the aesthetics of disco, punk and experimental electronic...
. The Jeff Healey Band covered the song in the film Roadhouse. Andy Prieboy
Andy Prieboy
Andy Prieboy is a musician, author, and former morgue attendant. He was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in East Chicago, Indiana....
covered the song on his 1990 album ...Upon My Wicked Son
...Upon My Wicked Son
...Upon My Wicked Son is the first solo album by Andy Prieboy, released in 1990 . The album cover is "Fallen Angel" by David Sandlin."On the Road Again" is a cover of the Canned Heat song, whose lyrics inspired the album's title...
.
Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
performed "On the Road Again" (as well as another Canned Heat song, "Going Up the Country
Going Up the Country
"Going Up the Country" is a song performed by the American blues-rock group Canned Heat. It appeared on their album Living the Blues and was also released as a single, reaching #11 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, #19 on UK Singles Chart and number one in 25 other countries...
") in his 1998 concert series, most notably at Woodstock (August 15) and at the House of Blues, Chicago (August 16). The latter concert was partially recorded as the CD A Benefit For Maryville Academy
A Benefit for Maryville Academy
- Performers :Disc 1*Pete Townshend: vocals, electric and acoustic guitars*Jon Carin: keyboards, drum tracks, sequencer, vocals*Peter Hope-Evans: mouth organ, Jew's harp*Jody Linscott: Conservatoire de Paris...
and included "On the Road Again".
Status Quo recorded the song which was included on their 2003 covers album Riffs
Riffs (album)
"Riffs" is the twenty-sixth studio album by the English rock group "Status Quo", released in 2003. Ten tracks were cover versions of pop and rock standards, the other five were re-recordings of songs they had previously issued during the 1970s...
. Katie Melua
Katie Melua
Ketevan "Katie" Melua is a British-Georgian singer, songwriter and musician. She moved to Northern Ireland at the age of eight and then to England at fourteen. Melua is signed to the small Dramatico record label, under the management of composer Mike Batt, and made her musical debut in 2003...
recorded it for her 2005 album Piece by Piece. The Smashing Pumpkins included a snippet of this song during a medley version of "Heavy Metal Machine" on their 2007 tour. Dubstep DJ and Producer Stenchman sampled the original track in his 2009 track of the same name.