Highway Tune

Album: Black Smoke Rising (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Greta Van Fleet is four-piece rock band formed in 2012, who hail from Frankenmuth, Michigan. They are named after a woman from Frankenmuth named Gretna Van Fleet and the name is used with her blessing. The group consists of three brothers - singer Josh, guitarist Jake and bassist Sam Kiszka plus their drummer friend from school, Danny Wagner, who joined them a year later.
  • This song was released on March 31, 2017 as the band's first single of their debut EP Black Smoke Rising. Its guitar riff was first created by Jake Kiszka back in 2010. He recalled to Limewire in 2017:

    "I had just started writing songs and music and started building how I would structure songs. That was one of the first riffs that I'd ever written. I took one of my dad's harmonica amps and plugged in a Gibson SG to it and I sat down and work that out. After five minutes, it came and I was like 'Okay, well that's a riff then.' (laughs).

    That's going to be the base of the song. So I'd written that riff about seven years ago approximately and then I've brought it to the table five years ago with that first line-up and then with Danny in the band we formatted it, we recorded it and we've demoed it and we demoed it again at Rust Belt Studios and recorded it there and then that would be the final product. So it's gone through a journey, that song."
  • The song climbed all the way to #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart dated September 16, 2017.
  • This was nominated for the Best Rock Performance Grammy, but lost to Chris Cornell's "When Bad Does Good." Greta Van Fleet did take Best Rock Album for From The Fires.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

dUg Pinnick of King's X

dUg Pinnick of King's XSongwriter Interviews

dUg dIgs into his King's X metal classics and his many side projects, including the one with Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam.

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And Scandals

Top American Idol Moments: Songs And ScandalsSong Writing

Surprise exits, a catfight and some very memorable performances make our list of the most memorable Idol moments.

Jon Anderson

Jon AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Jon Anderson breaks down the Yes classic "Seen All Good People" and talks about his 1000 Hands album, which features Chick Corea, Rick Derringer, Ian Anderson, and many other luminaries.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.