Forty Miles of Bad Road explained

Forty Miles of Bad Road
Type:single
Artist:Duane Eddy, His 'Twangy' Guitar and the Rebels
Album:$1,000,000 Worth of Twang[1]
B-Side:The Quiet Three
Genre:Instrumental rock
Label:Jamie

"Forty Miles of Bad Road" is a rock and roll instrumental recorded by Duane Eddy. Released as a single in 1959, it also appeared on Eddy's 1960 album $1,000,000 Worth of Twang.

Background

Duane told Oldies Radio DJ "Wild" Wayne that the title came about when he and his producer Lee Hazlewood were waiting in line to buy tickets at a movie theatre. They overheard two guys in front of them discussing a blind date that one of them just had. One asked the other as to how the blind date went. His friend replied that it was ok but the girl had a face that looked like "forty miles of bad road". Duane and Lee looked at each other and said we have the title of our next record.

Chart performance

The song charted at #9 on the Pop chart.[2] "Forty Miles of Bad Road" also went to #17 on the Hot R&B Sides chart.[3]

Chart (1959)Peak
position
Canada (CHUM Chart)[4] (2wks@4)4
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[5] 11
US Billboard Hot 1009
US Billboard Hot R&B Sides17

Song influence

Notes and References

  1. Web site: www.allmusic.com. allmusic.com. March 4, 2023.
  2. Koda, Cub (1994).Rock Instrumental Classics Volume 1: The Fifties (p. 14) [CD booklet]. Los Angeles: Rhino Records.
  3. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Joel Whitburn . 2004 . Record Research . 182.
  4. Web site: CHUM Hit Parade - July 13, 1959.
  5. Web site: officialcharts.com. officialcharts.com. March 4, 2023.
  6. https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/things-have-changed/