Road Song Explained

Road Song
Type:	studio
Artist:	Wes Montgomery
Cover:	Road Song.jpg
Released:	October 1968^[1]
Recorded:	May 7 – 9, 1968
Studio:	Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Genre:	Jazz
Label:	A&M
Producer:	Creed Taylor
Prev Title:	Down Here on the Ground
Prev Year:	1968
Next Title:	Willow Weep for Me
Next Year:	1969

Road Song is an album by the jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery, released in 1968. It reached number one on the Billboard Jazz album chart and number 39 on the R&B chart. It also reached number 94 on the Billboard 200. It was his final recording before his death of a heart attack on June 15, 1968.

Reception

In his AllMusic review, Scott Yanow wrote: "The great guitarist sticks to simple melody statements (with a lot of octaves thrown in) while backed by Don Sebesky's unimaginative arrangements for an orchestra; commercially the combination was a big success… this strictly for-the-money effort can be safely passed by."

Track listing

1. "Road Song" (Wes Montgomery) – 3:53
2. "Greensleeves" (Public Domain, Traditional) – 2:04
3. "Fly Me to the Moon" (Bart Howard) – 2:53
4. "Yesterday" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 3:26
5. "I'll Be Back" (Lennon, McCartney) – 2:33
6. "Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Traditional) – 4:55
7. "Green Leaves of Summer" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Paul Francis Webster, Montgomery) – 3:58
8. "Serene" (Montgomery) – 3:10
9. "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (Pete Seeger) – 3:06

Personnel

Musicians

• Wes Montgomery – guitar
• Herbie Hancock – piano
• Richard Davis – bass
• Grady Tate – drums
• Ed Shaughnessy – drums
• Ray Barretto – percussion
• Jack Jennings – percussion
• Bernie Glow – trumpet
• Marvin Stamm – trumpet
• Wayne Andre – trombone
• Paul Faulise – trombone
• Donald Ashworth – flute, clarinet, oboe, recorder, English horn
• James Buffington – French horn
• Harvey Estrin – flute, recorder
• Stan Webb – flute, clarinet, oboe, recorder
• George Marge – flute, clarinet, oboe
• Don Hammond – flute, recorder
• Hank Jones – harpsichord, piano
• Walter Kane – bassoon
• Bernard Krainis – recorder
• Eric Leber – harpsichord, recorder
• Bernard Eichen – violin
• Charles Libove – violin
• Tosha Samaroff – violin
• Charles McCracken – cello
• George Ricci – cello
• Alan Shulman – cello
• Emanuel Vardi – viola

Production

• Creed Taylor – producer
• Don Sebesky – arranger, conductor
• Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
• Pete Turner – cover photo, photography
• Sam Antupit – design

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1968	Billboard Jazz Albums	1
	Billboard R&B Albums	39
	The Billboard 200	94

Notes and References

1. Web site: Billboard. November 9, 1968.