Roll On Down The Highway – Bachman-Turner Overdrive | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#14); 1975
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
When Bachman-Turner Overdrive wanted to make a direct statement about their music, they decided to named their third LP Not Fragile, a direct reference to Yes’ 1972 multi-platinum album, Fragile.
Not that the members of B.T.O. were Yes-haters. It’s just that their approach was of the in-your face guitar-drums-and-bass kind vs. the English band’s progressive neo-classical variety.
With their previous album a solid success and a #12 single (Takin’ Care Of Business) under their belts, B.T.O. was on a roll and goin’ for the gold. Not Fragile charged out of the gate with a #1 single in You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.
The week after Nothing slid off the pop chart, Roll On Down The Highway – penned by Robbie Bachman, drummer brother of lead singer Randy, and bassist C.F. Turner – moved on to it.
Highway rolled into the Top 15 in just six weeks: the final trip for B.T.O.’s bold brand of rock into the pop Top 20.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Randy Bachman
Lyrics Written by:
- Fred Turner
- Robbie Bachman
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).