''Road Song'' is an album by the jazz guitarist

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a ...

, released in 1968. It reached number one on the ''

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 ...

'' Jazz album chart and number 39 on the R&B chart. It also reached number 94 on the ''Billboard'' 200. It was his final recording before his death of a heart attack on June 15, 1968.

Reception

In his

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

review,

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Life and career Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...

wrote: "The great guitarist sticks to simple melody statements (with a lot of octaves thrown in) while backed by

Don Sebesky Donald John Sebesky (December 10, 1937 – April 29, 2023) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz trombonist. He was a multi-instrumentalist and could play a number of other instruments: keyboards, electric piano, organ, accord ...

's unimaginative arrangements for an orchestra; commercially the combination was a big success… this strictly for-the-money effort can be safely passed by."

Track listing

# "Road Song" (

) – 3:53 # "

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationers' Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English F ...

" (Public Domain, Traditional) – 2:04 # "

Fly Me to the Moon "Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apo ...

" (

Bart Howard Bart Howard (born Howard Joseph Gustafson, June 1, 1915 – February 21, 2004) was an American composer and songwriter, most notably of the jazz standard "Fly Me to the Moon", which has been performed by Kaye Ballard, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, ...

) – 2:53 # " Yesterday" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

) – 3:26 # "

I'll Be Back "I'll be back" is a catchphrase associated with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It was made famous in the 1984 science fiction film ''The Terminator''. On June 21, 2005, it was placed at No. 37 on the American Film Institute list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Mo ...

" (Lennon, McCartney) – 2:33 # " Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

, Traditional) – 4:55 # " Green Leaves of Summer" (

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian and American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after t ...

Paul Francis Webster Paul Francis Webster (December 20, 1907 – March 18, 1984) was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, and was nominated sixteen times for the award. Life and career Webster was born in New York City, United S ...

, Montgomery) – 3:58 # "Serene" (Montgomery) – 3:10 # "

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is a folk song written by American singer-songwriter Pete Seeger in 1955. Inspired lyrically by the traditional Cossack folk song "Koloda-Duda", Seeger borrowed an Irish melody for the music, and published the ...

" (

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and social activist. He was a fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s and had a string of hit records in the early 1950s as a member of The Weav ...

) – 3:06

Personnel

Musicians * Wes Montgomery –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

– piano * Richard Davis – bass *

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated ''Schoolhou ...

– drums *

Ed Shaughnessy Edwin Thomas Shaughnessy (January 29, 1929 – May 24, 2013) was a swing music and jazz drummer long associated with Doc Severinsen and a member of The Tonight Show Band on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Biography Shaughnessy ...

– drums *

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

– percussion * Jack Jennings – percussion * Bernie Glow – trumpet *

Marvin Stamm Marvin Louis Stamm (born May 23, 1939) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Stamm was born in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Stamm began on trumpet at age twelve. He attended North Texas State University, where he was a member of the One ...

– trumpet *

Wayne Andre Wayne Andre (November 17, 1931 – August 26, 2003) was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician. Early life Wayne Andre was born November 17, 1931 in Manchester, ConnecticuAndre's father was a saxophonist, a ...

– trombone * Paul Faulise – trombone * Donald Ashworth – flute, clarinet, oboe, recorder, English horn * James Buffington – French horn * Harvey Estrin – flute, recorder * Stan Webb – flute, clarinet, oboe, recorder * George Marge – flute, clarinet, oboe * Don Hammond – flute, recorder *

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

– harpsichord, piano * Walter Kane – bassoon * Bernard Krainis – recorder * Eric Leber – harpsichord, recorder * Bernard Eichen – violin * Charles Libove – violin * Tosha Samaroff – violin * Charles McCracken – cello * George Ricci – cello * Alan Shulman – cello * Emanuel Vardi – viola Production *

Creed Taylor Creed Bane Taylor V (May 13, 1929 – August 22, 2022) was an American record producer, best known for his work with CTI Records, which he founded in 1967. His career also included periods at Bethlehem Records, ABC-Paramount Records (includin ...

– producer *

– arranger, conductor *

Rudy Van Gelder Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including Booker Ervin, John Coltrane, Mil ...

– engineer * Pete Turner – cover photo, photography * Sam Antupit – design

Chart positions

References

{{Authority control 1968 albums Wes Montgomery albums Albums produced by Creed Taylor A&M Records albums Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Albums conducted by Don Sebesky Albums arranged by Don Sebesky Albums published posthumously