Let It Ride - BTO (1974) 7/30/22

Road rage...or a "Great Song of the '70s?" It could have gone either way for Canada's Bachman Turner Overdrive.

While on tour with the Doobie Brothers 1973, BTO was on the road to their next gig when their bus got boxed in by some truckers. It not only slowed them down, it made them angry.

After a while, the trucks pulled into a rest area, and the bus followed them. When confronted by the group, one of the truck drivers aid, "Settle down and let it ride."

Instead of letting the trucker have it, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner looked at each other, and decided it was a great song title!

Before long, they had written, recorded and released what turned out to be their first American hit (from the album "Bachman Turner Overdrive II"): 1974's "Let It Ride!"

Cashbox Magazine described it like this: "A hard rocking outing with vocals, both up front and background harmonies, that blend perfectly with the music."

Exactly!

In BTO's native Canada, it reached #3 on the Top 40. Moving south across the border, it peaked at #23 on Billboard's Hot 100...a solid debut and the first of several "Great Songs" for the group! (For the record, Cashbox had it peaking at #14.)

"Let It Ride" by Bachman Turner Overdrive (1974):