On the Road Again ( Canned Heat song ) - wikipedia On the Road Again ( Canned Heat song ) `` On the Road Again '' Single by Canned Heat from the album Boogie with Canned Heat B - side `` Boogie Music '' Released April 24, 1968 ( 1968 - 04 - 24 ) Format 7 - inch 45 rpm record Recorded September 6, 1967 Studio Liberty, Los Angeles Genre Blues rock, psychedelic rock Length 3 : 28 Label Liberty ( no. 56038 ) Songwriter ( s ) Floyd Jones, Alan Wilson Producer ( s ) Cal Carter Canned Heat singles chronology `` Evil Woman '' ( 1967 ) `` On the Road Again '' ( 1968 ) `` Going Up the Country '' ( 1968 ) `` On the Road Again '' is a song recorded by the American blues - rock group Canned Heat in 1967. A driving blues - rock boogie, it was adapted from earlier blues songs and includes mid-1960s psychedelic rock elements. Unlike most of Canned Heat 's songs from the period, second guitarist and harmonica player Alan Wilson provides the distinctive falsetto vocal. `` On the Road Again '' first appeared on their second album, Boogie with Canned Heat, in January 1968 ; when an edited version was released as a single in April 1968, `` On the Road Again '' became Canned Heat 's first record chart hit and one of their best - known songs. Contents 1 Earlier songs 2 Recording and composition 3 Personnel 4 Releases and charts 5 Influence 6 Notes 7 External links Earlier songs With his record company 's encouragement, Chicago blues musician Floyd Jones recorded a song titled `` On the Road Again '' in 1953. It was a remake of his successful 1951 song `` Dark Road ''. Both songs are based on Mississippi Delta bluesman Tommy Johnson 's 1928 song `` Big Road Blues '' ( Canned Heat took their name from Johnson 's 1928 song `` Canned Heat Blues '' ). Johnson 's lyrics include : `` Well I ai n't goin ' down that big road by myself... If I do n't carry you gon na carry somebody else ''. Jones `` reshaped Tommy Johnson 's verses into an eerie evocation of the Delta ''. In `` Dark Road '' he added : Whoaa well my mother died and left me Ohh when I was quite young, when I was quite young... Said Lord have mercy ooo, on my wicked son And in `` On the Road Again '' he added Whoaa I had to travel, whoaa in the rain and snow in the rain and snow My baby had quit me ooo ( 2 × ) Have no place to go Both songs share a `` hypnotic one - chord drone piece '' - arrangement that one - time Floyd Jones musical partner Howlin ' Wolf used for his songs `` Crying at Daybreak '' and the related `` Smokestack Lightning ''. Recording and composition `` On the Road Again '' was among the first songs Canned Heat recorded as demos in April 1967 at the RCA Studios in Chicago with original drummer Frank Cook. At over seven minutes in length, it has the basic elements of the later album version, but is two minutes longer with more harmonica and guitar soloing. During the recording for their second album, Canned Heat recorded `` On the Road Again '' with new drummer Adolfo `` Fito '' de la Parra. The session took place September 6, 1967, at the Liberty Records studio in Los Angeles. Alan Wilson used verses from Floyd Jones ' `` On the Road Again '' and `` Dark Road '' and added some lines of his own : Well I 'm so tired of cryin ' but I 'm out on the road again, I 'm on the road again ( 2 × ) I ai n't got no woman just to call my special friend For the instrumental accompaniment, Canned Heat uses a `` basic E / G / A blues chord pattern '' or `` one - chord boogie riff '' adapted from John Lee Hooker 's 1949 hit `` Boogie Chillen ' ''. Expanding on Jones ' hypnotic drone, Wilson used an Eastern string instrument called a tambura to give the song a psychedelic ambience. Although Bob Hite was the group 's primary vocalist, `` On the Road '' features Wilson as the singer, `` utilizing his best Skip James - inspired falsetto vocal ''. Wilson also provides the harmonica parts. The basic riff is used again by Canned Heat on `` Fried Hockey Boogie '', an eleven - minute boogie by Larry Taylor which showcases the band 's musicality with a series of virtuoso solo performances by members. Personnel Alan Wilson -- vocal, harmonica, electric guitar, tambura Henry Vestine -- electric guitar Larry Taylor -- bass guitar Adolfo de la Parra -- drums Releases and Charts `` On the Road Again '' is included on Canned Heat 's second album, Boogie with Canned Heat, released January 21, 1968, by Liberty Records. After receiving strong response from airplay on American `` underground '' FM radio, Liberty issued the song as a single on April 24, 1968. To make the song more Top - 40 AM radio - friendly, Liberty edited it from the original length of 4 : 55 to a 3 : 33 single version. It became Canned Heat 's first single to appear in the record charts. Chart ( 1968 -- 1969 ) Peak position Australia Go - Set Top 40 9 Belgium ( Ultratop 50 Flanders ) 5 Canada RPM Top Singles 8 France ( SNEP ) 7 Germany ( Official German Charts ) 13 Ireland ( Irish Singles Chart ) 14 Italy ( FIMI ) 23 Netherlands ( Dutch Top 40 ) 5 Netherlands ( Single Top 100 ) Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) U.K. ( Official Singles Chart ) 8 U.S. ( Billboard Hot 100 ) 16 On the singles, Floyd Jones and Alan Wilson are listed as the composers, while the album credits Jim Oden / James Burke Oden ( also known as St. Louis Jimmy Oden ). `` On the Road Again '' appears on several Canned Heat compilation albums, including Let 's Work Together : The Best of Canned Heat ( 1989 ) and Uncanned ! The Best of Canned Heat ( 1994 ). Also, it is featured on the soundtrack to Wim Wenders 1974 film Alice in the Cities. Influence Although songs inspired by John Lee Hooker 's `` Detroit - era boogie '' had been recorded over the years by a variety of blues musicians, Canned Heat 's `` On the Road Again '' popularized the guitar - boogie or E / G / A riff in the rock world. As a result, `` it 's been a standard rock and roll pattern ever since ''. Canned Heat used it frequently as the starting point for several of their extended jam songs, including the 40 minute live opus `` Refried Boogie ( Part I & II ) '' from their late 1968 Living the Blues album. When Hooker recorded an updated version of `` Boogie Chillen ' '', titled `` Boogie Chillen No. 2 '', with the group in 1970 for Hooker ' n Heat, it had come full circle. Several other musicians have recorded `` On the Road Again '', including Katie Melua on her album Piece by Piece ( 2005 ) and Canadian band Sloan in a medley with the Stereolab song `` Transona Five '' on Recorded Live at a Sloan Party ! ( 1997 ). Notes Footnotes ^ Jump up to : `` On the Road Again, Canned Heat : This song... is psychedelic blues - rock that benefits from studio overdubbing technology. '' Jump up ^ Bob Hite prefaces the recording with `` OK... light and greasy, do n't let it go down ''. Jump up ^ One author described Wilson 's vocal style as `` reminiscent of Skip James at his most ectoplasmic ''. Jump up ^ Wilson 's harmonica solo has a note that is not playable without an overblow ; he re-tuned his harmonica 's six hole up a half step. Jump up ^ Canned Heat 's first single, `` Rollin ' and Tumblin ' '', appeared in Billboard 's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 115 in July 1967. Jump up ^ St. Louis Jimmy Oden was a part - owner of J.O.B. Records, the label that issued Floyd Jones ' singles. Citations Jump up ^ Evans 2005, p. 180. Jump up ^ Gioia ) 2008, pp. 262 -- 263. Jump up ^ J.O.B. Records 1013 Jump up ^ J.O.B. 1001 Jump up ^ Victor Records 21409 Jump up ^ Koda 1996, p. 142. ^ Jump up to : Rowe 1991, p. 2. ^ Jump up to : Palmer 1981, p. 231. ^ Jump up to : Russo 1994, p. 5. ^ Jump up to : Greenwald, Matthew. `` Canned Heat : On the Road Again -- Song review ''. AllMusic. Retrieved November 20, 2013. Jump up ^ Palmer 1981, p. 244. Jump up ^ Murray 2002, p. 382. Jump up ^ Russo 1994, p. 9. Jump up ^ Russo 1994, p. 21. Jump up ^ `` On the Road Again in Australian Chart ''. Poparchives.com.au. Retrieved July 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Ultratop.be -- Canned Heat -- On the Road Again '' ( in Dutch ). Ultratop 50. Jump up ^ `` On the road again in Canadian Top Singles Chart ''. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` On the road again in French Chart '' ( in French ). Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. July 17, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2013. You have to use the index at the top of the page and search `` Canned Heat '' Jump up ^ `` Offiziellecharts.de -- Canned Heat -- On The Road Again ''. GfK Entertainment Charts. Jump up ^ `` On the road again in Irish Chart ''. IRMA. Retrieved July 17, 2013. 2nd result when searching `` On the Road Again '' Jump up ^ `` Indice per Interprete : C ''. HitParadeItalia ( it ). Retrieved July 17, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Nederlandse Top 40 -- Canned Heat '' ( in Dutch ). Dutch Top 40. Jump up ^ `` Dutchcharts.nl -- Canned Heat -- On the Road Again '' ( in Dutch ). Single Top 100. Jump up ^ `` Swisscharts.com -- Canned Heat -- On the Road Again ''. Swiss Singles Chart. Jump up ^ `` Canned Heat -- Singles ''. Official Charts. Retrieved July 17, 2013. Jump up ^ Russo 1994, p. 22. Jump up ^ Gioia 2008, pp. 262 -- 263. Jump up ^ Murray 2002, p. 395. References Evans, David ( 2005 ). The NPR Curious Listener 's Guide to Blues. Penguin. ISBN 978 - 0 - 399 - 53072 - 2. Gioia, Ted ( 2008 ). Delta Blues. W.W. Norton. ISBN 978 - 0 - 393 - 33750 - 1. Koda, Cub ( 1996 ). Erlewine, Michael, ed. All Music Guide to the Blues. Miller Freeman Books. ISBN 0 - 87930 - 424 - 3. Murray, Charles Shaar ( 2002 ). Boogie Man : The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century. Macmillan. ISBN 978 - 0 - 312 - 27006 - 3. Palmer, Robert ( 1981 ). Deep Blues. Penguin Books. ISBN 0 - 14 - 006223 - 8. Rowe, Mike ( 1991 ). Blues Is Killing Me ( Album notes ). Various artists. Paula Records. PCD - 19. Russo, Greg ( 1994 ). Uncanned ! The Best of Canned Heat ( CD compilation booklet ). Canned Heat. EMI / Liberty. 7243 8 29165 2 9. External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Canned Heat Bob Hite Alan Wilson Henry Vestine Larry Taylor Adolfo de la Parra Harvey Mandel Studio albums Canned Heat Boogie with Canned Heat Living the Blues Hallelujah Future Blues Vintage Hooker ' n Heat Historical Figures and Ancient Heads The New Age One More River to Cross Reheated Live albums Canned Heat ' 70 Concert Live in Europe Live at Topanga Corral Compilations Let 's Work Together : The Best of Canned Heat Uncanned ! The Best of Canned Heat Singles `` Rollin ' and Tumblin ' '' `` On the Road Again '' `` Going Up the Country '' `` Let 's Work Together ( Let 's Stick Together ) '' Other songs `` Spoonful '' `` Got My Mojo Working '' `` Pretty Thing '' `` Dimples '' `` Talk to Me Baby ( I Ca n't Hold Out ) '' `` Evil Is Going On '' `` Goin ' Down Slow '' `` Catfish Blues '' `` Dust My Broom '' `` Help Me '' `` The Hunter '' `` Mean Old World '' `` Pony Blues '' `` Terraplane Blues '' `` Big Fat ( The Fat Man ) '' `` I Wish You Would '' `` It Hurts Me Too '' `` That 's All Right ( Mama ) '' `` Bring It On Home '' `` Killing Floor '' `` Meet Me in the Bottom '' `` Driftin ' Blues '' `` Boogie Chillen No. 2 '' `` That 's All Right '' `` Shake, Rattle and Roll '' `` Night Time Is the Right Time '' `` Chicken Shack Boogie '' `` Take Me to the River '' Related articles Discography Tommy Johnson Floyd Jones Jug band Boogie rock Johnny Otis John Lee Hooker List of band members Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=On_the_Road_Again_(Canned_Heat_song)&oldid=824595719 '' Categories : 1968 singles Blues songs Canned Heat songs 1967 songs Liberty Records singles Hidden categories : CS1 French - language sources ( fr ) Articles with hAudio microformats Singlechart usages for Flanders Singlechart usages for Germany2 Singlechart usages for Dutch40 Singlechart usages for Dutch100 Singlechart usages for Swiss Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Euskara Français Italiano Português Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 8 February 2018, at 09 : 06. 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Question: who sings i'm back on the road again
Answer: American blues-rock group Canned Heat