| Let It Ride | |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Bachman-Turner Overdrive |
| Album: | Bachman-Turner Overdrive II |
| B-Side: | Tramp |
| Released: | January 1974 |
| Recorded: | 1973 |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Length: | 4:27 (LP) 3:33 (single) |
| Label: | Mercury |
| Producer: | Randy Bachman |
| Prev Title: | Blue Collar |
| Prev Year: | 1973 |
| Next Title: | Takin' Care of Business |
| Next Year: | 1974 |
"Let It Ride" is a 1974 single by Bachman-Turner Overdrive, written by Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, with the latter providing lead vocals. It was first recorded for the 1973 album Bachman–Turner Overdrive II. The single peaked at No. 23 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on April 27, 1974[1] (making it BTO's first Top 40 song in the US), and spent two weeks at No. 14 on the Cash Box Top 100.[2] In Canada, the song reached No. 3.
The tune was inspired by a traffic incident. While on tour in 1973 supporting The Doobie Brothers,[3] the band was on a highway in their tour bus and got boxed in by a couple of trucks. When the bus and the trucks reached a rest area, the musicians confronted the truck drivers, who responded by saying the band members should settle down and just let it ride.[4]
Cash Box called it a "hard rocking outing" saying that "the vocals, both up front and background harmonies, hit the mark and blend perfectly with the music."[5] Record World said that "forceful, driving instrumental work comes to the forefront" and "gritty vocalizing clinches it."[6]
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada RPM | 3 |
| 23 | |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100 | 14 |
| Chart (1974) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada [7] | 57 |
| U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)[8] | 170 |
"Let It Ride" has appeared in a number of films and television series. It has been in films such as:
As well as TV shows like:
