"Baby, Walk On" is a song originally recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Matraca Berg Matraca Maria Berg Hanna (; born February 3, 1964, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She has released five albums: three for RCA Records, one for Rising Tide Records and one for Dualtone Records, and h ...

. It was her first single release, and it appears on her 1990 debut album ''

Lying to the Moon ''Lying to the Moon'' is the debut studio album of American country music singer Matraca Berg. It was released in September 1990 via RCA Records Nashville. The album accounted for the singles "Baby, Walk On", "The Things You Left Undone", "I Got I ...

''. A second version, titled just "Walk On", was released by

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

in 1995.

History

As with most of the tracks on ''

'', Berg wrote the song with Ronnie Samoset, with

Josh Leo Josh Leo (born 1953 in Des Moines, Iowa) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and record producer active in Nashville, Tennessee. Leo was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but was raised in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1976, he moved to Chicago, Illinois ...

and

Wendy Waldman Wendy Waldman (born Wendy Steiner on November 29, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Biography Early life Waldman grew up in the Los Angeles area and was raised in a musical environment. Her father Fred Steiner was a ...

as producers. Instead of a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, the commercial single release featured three snippets from the album. Berg's version was also the B-side of her 1991 single "It's Easy to Tell".

Critical reception

Kimmy Wix of ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' reviewed Berg's version with favor, stating that "an energy-boosting time that says 'If you're gonna walk, take big steps!'" and that it "not only flaunts Berg's driving vocals, but gives us a tune full of deep-boppin' music, as well as a message with which we can easily relate."

Linda Ronstadt version

also covered the song as just "Walk On" on her 1995 album '' Feels Like Home'' for

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

, with

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer, fiddler and music producer. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of eight and recording for the first time at ...

on backing vocals. Ronstadt's version also charted in 1995, with " The Waiting" on the B-side. A review in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' of Ronstadt's version was favorable, stating that it "gives this progenitor a chance to fully strut her vocal stuff."

Chart performance

Matraca Berg

Linda Ronstadt

References

{{authority control 1990 songs 1990 debut singles 1995 singles Linda Ronstadt songs Matraca Berg songs Songs written by Matraca Berg Songs written by Ronnie Samoset Song recordings produced by Josh Leo Elektra Records singles RCA Records Nashville singles