"Tight Rope" is the debut 1972 hit single by singer-songwriter

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

. It was the lead track on his LP, '' Carney''. The song reached number 11 on the U.S. ''

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

''''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990'' - and number 10 on the ''

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 ...

'' Top 100. In Canada, it reached number five. This song is a circus metaphor about clinging to life while being on a high wire. In the instrumental section, this song quotes a couple of times, a slow version of the " Entrance of the Gladiators" March, played in a mysterious descending scale, before Russell finishes the last half of the bridge section. The B-side of 45 RPM for "Tight Rope" was " This Masquerade", also penned by Russell, which became a Top 10 hit for

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the ...

in 1976.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* 1972 songs 1972 singles Leon Russell songs Songs written by Leon Russell Song recordings produced by Denny Cordell Shelter Records singles {{1970s-song-stub