Middle of the Road ( song ) - wikipedia Middle of the Road ( song ) `` Middle of the Road '' UK cover Single by The Pretenders from the album Learning to Crawl B - side `` 2000 Miles '' Released November 1983 Format 7 ``, 12 '' Genre Rock, new wave Length 4 : 14 Label Sire Songwriter ( s ) Chrissie Hynde Producer ( s ) Chris Thomas The Pretenders singles chronology `` 2000 Miles '' ( 1983 ) `` Middle of the Road '' ( 1983 ) `` Time the Avenger '' ( 1984 ) `` 2000 Miles '' ( 1983 ) `` Middle of the Road '' ( 1983 ) `` Time the Avenger '' ( 1984 ) US cover `` Middle of the Road '' is a single that appears on The Pretenders ' album Learning to Crawl. The song peaked at # 19 on the US pop singles chart and # 2 on the US mainstream rock chart in January 1984, where it stayed for four weeks. Hynde has stated that `` Middle of the Road '' refers to Tao Te Ching, which she interprets as `` the middle way. '' According to Charles M. Young of Musician, the song is about `` getting out there and mixing it up with the world. '' The song lyrics include observations about the difference between wealth and poverty that singer - songwriter Chrissie Hynde had observed. The lyrics also refer to autobiographical details ( i.e., the lyric `` I got a kid, I 'm thirty - three '' although Hynde turned 32 shortly before the single was released ). Hynde plays the harmonica solo near the end of the song. `` Middle of the Road '' uses a 4 / 4 time signature. Hynde has acknowledged that `` Middle of the Road '' uses the same chords as the Rolling Stones ' song `` Empty Heart '' and that it does n't have much melody. She says that it uses basic chords and that it is like `` a regular R&B song, '' going on to say that `` it 's like taking a basic format, like the blues, and just giving it new lyrics. '' She describes Robbie McIntosh 's guitar solo as `` nifty. '' Audio Magazine compared the song 's structure to that of Dobie Gray 's `` The ' In ' Crowd. '' Allmusic critic Liana Jonas calls `` Middle of the Road '' a `` classic example of pure, unadulterated rock music. '' She ascribes this to the fact that the lyrics focus on people 's innate desire to `` get up and go '' and the `` driven '' music backs up the sentiment. Fellow Allmusic critic Mark Deming calls it a `` furious rocker. '' In 1989, the song was donated to a double album for Greenpeace along with other songs that had environmental or other earth - sensitive subjects titled Greenpeace : Rainbow Warriors. References Jump up ^ `` Pretenders awards ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 05. Jump up ^ Whitburn, J. ( 2008 ). Joel Whitburn Presents Rock Tracks 1981 - 2008. Hal Leonard. p. 199. ISBN 9780898201741. Jump up ^ Guitar World ( May 1, 2012 ). `` Guitar World Presents Dear Guitar Hero : The World 's Most Celebrated Guitarists Answer Their Fans ' Most Burning Questions ''. Backbeat Books. ISBN 9781476813592. Missing or empty url = ( help ) ^ Jump up to : Young, C.M. ( 1994 ). `` The Pretenders Change Diapers and Wrestle Death to a Draw ''. In Scherman, T. The Rock Musician : 15 Years of the interviews - The best of Musician Magazine. St. Martin 's Griffin. pp. 144 -- 145. ISBN 9780312304614. ^ Jump up to : Jonas, L. `` Middle of the Road ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 05. Jump up ^ `` Audio ''. CBS Publications. 1984. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 06. Jump up ^ Deming, M. `` Learning to Crawl ''. Allmusic. Retrieved 2014 - 05 - 06. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics The Pretenders Chrissie Hynde Martin Chambers Nick Wilkinson James Walbourne Eric Heywood James Honeyman - Scott Pete Farndon Robbie McIntosh Malcolm Foster Blair Cunningham T.M. Stevens Johnny Marr Adam Seymour Andy Rourke Studio albums Pretenders Pretenders II Learning to Crawl Get Close Packed ! Last of the Independents Viva el Amor Loose Screw Break Up the Concrete Alone Live albums The Isle of View Extended plays Extended Play Compilation albums The Singles Greatest Hits The Best of Pretenders Songs `` Stop Your Sobbing '' `` Kid '' `` Brass in Pocket '' `` Precious '' `` Private Life '' `` Talk of the Town '' `` Message of Love '' `` I Go to Sleep '' `` Back on the Chain Gang '' `` My City Was Gone '' `` 2000 Miles '' `` Middle of the Road '' `` Thin Line Between Love and Hate '' `` Do n't Get Me Wrong '' `` Hymn to Her '' `` My Baby '' `` Where Has Everybody Gone ? '' `` Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas '' `` I 'm Not in Love '' `` I 'll Stand by You '' `` Human '' Related articles Discography Members John McKenzie Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Middle_of_the_Road_(song)&oldid=832535452 '' Categories : 1983 songs 1984 singles The Pretenders songs Songs written by Chrissie Hynde Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas ( record producer ) Sire Records singles Hidden categories : Pages using web citations with no URL Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 26 March 2018, at 16 : 08. About Wikipedia

Question: who sings in the middle of the road
Answer: Chrissie Hynde