"St. Louis" is a song by

Australian rock Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock, and Aussie rock, has a rich history, rooted in an appreciation of various rock genres originating in the United States and Britain, and to a lesser extent, in continental Europe an ...

group

the Easybeats The Easybeats were an Australian Rock music, rock band which formed in Sydney in late 1964. They are best known for their 1966 hit single "Friday on My Mind", which is regarded as the first Australian rock song to achieve international success ...

, which was released in June 1969. It was co-written by its members

Harry Vanda Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as Harry Vanda, is a Dutch-Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Easybeats who wi ...

and

George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * G ...

and recorded as their first single after signing to

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

Reception

The ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' gave the song a positive review, saying: "It drives along at breathtaking pace and will knock you into submission so that you’ll be forced to buy it. I hope." The single peaked at #21 in Australia and #57 in Canada. In the United States, it peaked at #72 on the ''Cash Box'' Top 100 and #100 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It failed to chart in the UK. During the 1969 Australian tour, band members told ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' they were disappointed in Ray Singer's production work. Lead singer

Stevie Wright Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Called Australia's first international pop star, he is best known for being the lead singer of the Easybeats, who are widely rega ...

stated they "wanted it (more) funky with a lot of ad-lib(s)." He also cited a rumour that

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 ...

had heard the song on his car radio and stopped to ask the station to "play it again" (this story is often attributed to another Easybeats' song, "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans (actor), Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was televis ...

").

Track listing

#"St. Louis" #"Can't Find Love"

Charts

Little River Band version

Australian rock music group

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 ...

recorded a cover version which was released in November 1982 as the second single from their album '' Greatest Hits Vol. 2''. The song peaked at number 43 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.

Track listing

; Australian 7" (Capitol CP-867) :A. "St. Louis" - 3:35 :B. "Easy Money" - 4:00

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1969 singles 1982 singles The Easybeats songs Little River Band songs Songs written by Harry Vanda Songs written by George Young (rock musician) Polydor Records singles Albert Productions singles 1969 songs Songs about St. Louis