"It's a Long Way There" is a song by Australian band

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top ...

, released in August 1976 as the band's debut international single and in October 1976 as the third single from the group's self-titled studio album. The song peaked at number 35 on the Australian

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music historian David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July 19 ...

singles chart, and peaked at #28 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's first top 40 hit in the United States. Written by

Graeham Goble Graeham George Goble, (born 15 May 1947)Goble, Graeham (2006Graeham Goble: Biography. Retrieved on 14 July 2008. is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Little Riv ...

in 1972, the song was inspired by his regular trips from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to visit his family in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. The song was initially performed by Goble's earlier band

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, which included three subsequent members of Little River band: Goble,

Beeb Birtles Gerard Bertelkamp AM (born 28 November 1948), known professionally as Beeb Birtles, is an Australian musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has been a member of various Australian groups including Zoot (1967–71), Mississippi (1972� ...

and

Derek Pellicci Derek Allan Pellicci (born 18 February 1953) is an English-born Australian drummer. He is best known as a founding member of Little River Band. Pellicci lives in Melbourne with his wife, Anne and a son. Early life In 1960, Pellicci's family, his ...

. Ric Formosa played lead guitar,

Glenn Shorrock Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo perfo ...

sang lead vocals, with Goble and Birtles providing harmonies.

Reception

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'' said "A haunting string introduction gives way to some funky rock and roll in this fully realised single from the Little River Band. A trifle long for AM play, this should definitely break through on the progressive FM side. The harmonies are deep and rich." ''

Billboard (magazine) ''Billboard'' (stylized in letter case, lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles re ...

'' said "There's a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young feel as it shifts from a symphonic, airy opening to guitar-dominated mid-rock base. Carefully honed folk rock vocals throughout." Writing in Something Else, S.Victor Aaron said that more often than not, they ended up sounding like

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk rock supergroup comprising the American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and the English-American singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by the Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Youn ...

. "It wasn’t the match of Crosby, Stills & Nash at their best, but darn close enough. In fact, "It’s a Long Way There" might be the best CSN song that CSN never did."

Track listings

;Australian 7" (EMI 11292) :Side A. "It's a Long Way There" - 4:16 :Side B. "Time to Fly" - 3:00 ; US 7" (Harvest 4318) :Side A. "It's a Long Way There" - 4:16 :Side B. "Meanwhile" - 3:53

Charts

References

1976 singles Little River Band songs 1975 songs EMI Records singles Songs written by Graeham Goble {{1970s-single-stub