On the Road Again (Willie Nelson song)

"On the Road Again" is a song written and made famous by American country music singer Willie Nelson.

"On the Road Again"
Single by Willie Nelson
from the album Honeysuckle Rose
ReleasedAugust 1980
RecordedFall 1979
GenreCountry rock
Length2:38
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Willie Nelson
Producer(s)Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson singles chronology
"Midnight Rider"
(1980)		 "On the Road Again"
(1980)		 "Family Bible"
(1980)
Music video
"On the Road Again" (audio) on YouTube

The song, about life on tour, came about when the executive producer of the film Honeysuckle Rose approached Nelson about writing the song for the film's soundtrack.[1] "On the Road Again" became Nelson's 9th Country & Western No. 1 hit overall (6th as a solo recording act) in November 1980, and became one of Nelson's most recognizable tunes. In addition, the song reached No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 7 on the Adult Contemporary chart.[2] It was his biggest pop hit to that time and won him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song a year later.

Background and writing

In 1980 Nelson starred in his first leading role in the film Honeysuckle Rose, about an aging musician who fails to achieve national fame and his relationship with his family, who also are part of his band that travels throughout the United States while playing in different venues.[3] Shortly after signing the contract, Nelson was approached during a flight by the executive producer of the movie, who requested him to write a song about life on the road to use as the theme song.[4][5] Nelson quickly wrote the song on a barf bag.[6] The tune featured a "train beat".[7][8]

Release and reception

The song was released with Nelson's 1980 album Honeysuckle Rose, reaching the first position on Billboard's top country albums, while it ranked twenty on the Billboard Hot 100.[9] Nelson received a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, while he was nominated for Best Original Song during the 53rd Academy Awards.[10] In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 471 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[11] In 2011, "On the Road Again" was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Legacy

The song has also featured in several other films and TV series including South Park, Shrek, Shameless, Family Guy, Forrest Gump, The Big Green, The Littlest Hobo, Monk, Open Season 3, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run and Dumb and Dumber To which features Nelson rehearsing the song with his band.

A live version of the song is featured in 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour, while the studio version was released for Rock Band via the Rock Band Country Track Pack.

Parodies and covers

Alvin and the Chipmunks recorded a cover of this song in their 1981 album Urban Chipmunk.

The song was parodied by the comedy musical group Da Yoopers as "Road to Gwinn" (a reference to Gwinn, Michigan) on their 1986 album Yoopanese. On the 1983 CBS game show Press Your Luck, Whammy sings a parody of the song on a horse, singing "Got your bucks again. I can't wait to get your bucks again...". This Whammy animation was used during the final months of the show's run in 1986.

A Swedish version, with lyrics by Keith Almgren, called "Jag ser mig om" (Eng. "I look around") has been recorded by Anne Kihlström on the album Förgät mig ej in 1984, and also by Paula Jarl on a single and by Bennys on an album in 1987.

Graeme Allwright adapted the song in French as "Comme un vrai gamin" in his 1992 album "Lumière".

The Kidsongs kids sang this song in their 1994 video "Country Sing-Along".

Buckcherry recorded the song for the NASCAR On Fox compilation Crank It Up.[12]

In 2006, the American punk band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes released a cover of this song on their album Love Their Country.

In 2007, Deana Carter released a new version of the song featuring a duet with Willie Nelson on her album The Chain. It was released as single, but failed to land on the chart.

Conan O'Brien performed the song as "My Own Show Again" during his 2010 Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, changing the lyrics to reflect how he couldn't wait to return to hosting a television series after leaving The Tonight Show earlier in the year.[13]

Irish singer Lisa McHugh recorded the song as the closing track for her 2014 album A Life That's Good.

Canadian musician Neil Young released a cover of this song on his 2014 album A Letter Home.[14]

"Forever Country", a promotional single released in 2016, features the song as a medley with "I Will Always Love You" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads".[15]

Jerry Reed sang part of "On the Road Again" in his hit "The Bird": "The life I love is makin' money with my friend...".

Phish performed the song during the encore of their show on August 6, 2017, closing out their record-setting 13-night "Baker's Dozen" residency and 52nd show played at Madison Square Garden.[16]

First Aid Kit released a cover of "On the Road Again" as a single in 2020. Proceeds from the song sales were donated to Crew Nation in order to support the members of crew who were forced off the road and out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

Charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[18] 64
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 3
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 20
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[20] 1
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[21] 7
US Cashbox Top 100 22

See also
  • Whitburn, Joel, Top Country Songs: 1944–2005, 2006.
  • Whitburn, Joel, Top Pop Singles: 1955–2006, 2007.

Footnotes
  1. "On the Road Again", from "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", Rolling Stone, November 2004.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 178.
  3. Deming 2012.
  4. Corcoran 2005, p. 80.
  5. Rolling Stone staff 2004.
  6. Cartwright 2000, p. 276.
  7. Berry & Gianni 2004, p. 63.
  8. Thomas 1995, p. 9.
  9. Jurek 2012.
  10. Hilburn 1986, p. 14.
  11. Rolling Stone staff (2) 2004.
  12. "Various – (NASCAR On Fox) Crank It Up". Discogs. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  13. Scott Sepich (April 13, 2010). "Conan O'Brien Revives Edgy 'Late Night' Vibe at First Live Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
  14. Greene, Andy (18 April 2014). "Neil Young's New Covers Album Available Right Now: Surprise!". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  15. Finan, Eileen (September 16, 2016). "The Story Behind Country Music's Epic Mash-Up! Plus: Hear Blake, Carrie, Miranda and 36 Other Stars Sing 'Forever Country'". People. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  16. "Aug 06, 2017 Setlist - Phish.net". phish.net. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  17. "First Aid Kit Share Cover of Willie Nelson's 'On the Road Again'". spin.com. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. "Willie Nelson Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  20. "Willie Nelson Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  21. "Willie Nelson Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.

References
  • Berry, Mick; Gianni, Jason (2004). The Drummer's Bible. Tucson, Arizona: See Sharp Press. ISBN 1-884365-32-9.
  • Cartwright, Gary (2000). Turn Out the Lights: Chronicles of Texas in the 80's and 90's. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292711990.
  • Corcoran, Michael Joseph (2005). All Over The Map: True Heroes Of Texas Music. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9780292782495.
  • Deming, Mark (2012). "Honeysuckle Rose (1980)". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation, Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  • Hilburn, Robert (1986). "The Landmark Career of the Red-Headed Stranger". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 98 (41). ISSN 0006-2510.
  • Jurek, Thom (2012). "Honeysuckle Rose". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  • Rolling Stone staff (2004). "On the Road Again". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Archived from the original on April 1, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  • Rolling Stone staff (2) (2004). "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media LLC. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  • Thomas, Willie (1995). Jazz Anyone.....? MAKING Music A Simple Language systems for Jazz. 3. Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 9780769230160.
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