Guitar Town (song)
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| "Guitar Town" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Steve Earle | ||||
| from the album Guitar Town | ||||
| B-side | ""Little Rock 'N' Roller" | |||
| Released | June 2, 1986 | |||
| Genre | country rock, rockabilly[1] | |||
| Length | 2:33 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Songwriter | Steve Earle | |||
| Producers | Emory Gordy Jr., Tony Brown | |||
| Steve Earle singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Guitar Town" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Steve Earle. It was released in June 1986 as the second single and title track from the album Guitar Town. The song reached number 7 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.[2] It was Earle's highest-peaking song to date on the country charts in both the U.S. and Canada. The album version mentions a "Jap guitar", which the radio edit changes to "cheap guitar".
The song is sung from the perspective of a touring musician traveling away from Nashville—"Guitar Town"—into Texas as he describes his experiences.[3]
In the preproduction stages for the Guitar Town album, Earle and session guitarist Richard Bennett resolved that the song should omit a guitar solo, feeling it was—in light of the song's title—too predictable. Early takes of the song featured a small keyboard solo. Upon hearing them, producer Emory Gordy Jr. insisted on including a guitar solo. An argument ensued between Bennett and Gordy before Bennett retrieved a Danelectro Longhorn six string bass and played "the first thing that fell out of my brain". Bennett's solo was subsequently incorporated into the song.[4]
Critical reception
Kip Kirby, of Billboard magazine reviewed the song favorably, saying that Earle "revives the tremolo-laden guitar sound of the early '60s for this song about music and love on the road."[5]
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #146 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[6]
