Steamroller Blues

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"Steamroller Blues"
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)James Taylor
Producer(s)Peter Asher
James Taylor in a 1970s publicity photo
"Steamroller Blues"
RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)James Taylor
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Separate Ways" / "Always on My Mind"
(1972) 		"Steamroller Blues"
(1973) 		"Raised on Rock"
(1973)

"Steamroller Blues" (a.k.a. "Steamroller"), is a blues parody written by James Taylor, that appeared on his 1970 album Sweet Baby James. It was intended to mock the inauthentic blues bands of the day. The song later appeared on two of Taylor's compilation albums and has been recorded by a variety of other artists.

Origin and recording

Rock journalist

Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Mark Coleman, said Taylor's song "effectively mocks the straining pomposity of then-current white bluesmen."[2]

Taylor and Danny Kortchmar, both playing electric guitars, laid down the track in one night at Sunset Studios, the rhythm section being added later. A tight budget and production schedule forced Taylor to record the song despite suffering from a head cold.[3]

The song was included on Taylor's

(LIVE). The profanity in the earlier release was missing from the latter.[4][5]

Cover versions

  • During the 1970s,
    Aloha from Hawaii: Via Satellite. Presley also released it as a single in March 1973 with "Fool" as its flipside track, and the song reached number 17 on the Billboard U.S. pop singles chart,[6] number 10 on the Cash Box top pop singles chart and number 16 on the Record World singles chart. It was later included on Presley's 2007 compilation The Essential Elvis Presley. A newly orchestrated version was included on the 2015 album If I Can Dream with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This song resulted in Elvis' last 3 entries at number 1 on a major charting format. The "Aloha From Hawaii" double LP peaked at number 1 on the Billboard and Cash Box Albums Charts. The single, "Steamroller Blues", taken from the "Aloha From Hawaii" LP, peaked at number 1 on Record World Single Chart. In addition, the "Aloha" LP produced Elvis' final number 1 across the 4 major US charting categories (Billboard, Billboard Country, Cash Box, Cash Box Country). Record World called it "a lively interpretation of the James Taylor tune [that] should roll up sales quickly and say 'aloha' to the charts."[7]
  • Merry Clayton included a version of the song on her 1971 eponymous album, titling it simply "Steamroller".[8]
  • Taylor's song was recorded by country music singer Billy Dean and appeared on his 1993 album Fire in the Dark.[9]

Popular culture

References

  1. OCLC 782901010
    .
  2. ISBN 0679737294
    .
  3. OCLC 782901010
    .
  4. ^ "Is new Best of James Taylor censored?".
  5. ^ "Rothar's BLOG: James Taylor Has Censorship in His Mind".
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012. Record Research. p. 673.
  7. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. April 7, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  8. ^ "SecondHandSongs.com". SecondHandSongs.
  9. ^ "www.allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
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