Released October 17, 1973 Length 5:03 | Genre Hard rock, blues rock Label Warner Bros. | |
Writer(s) Sammy Hagar, Ronnie Montrose, Bill Church, Denny Carmassi | ||
"Rock Candy" is a song by Montrose, the last song written and recorded for their 1973 debut. It was composed by all four members of the band. The song still gets performed on Sammy Hagar's solo tours and even had been re-recorded as the b-side to the Hagar single Little White Lie by the original band. It was also included on Hagar's live release, "Live: Hallelujah".
The song is well known for its distinctive drum intro played by Denny Carmassi. According to Ronnie Montrose in radio interviews, the song originated from Carmassi's experimentation with alternatives to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's intro to "When the Levee Breaks".
The song was featured in the 1994 movie The Stöned Age, and has appeared in the U.S. television series My Name is Earl. In May 2015, Hagar sang the song with Daryl Hall and Hall's band at Hagar's Cabo Wabo nightclub for an episode of Live from Daryl's House.
Cover versions
The song was covered by the Glam metal band BulletBoys for the Wayne's World soundtrack in 1991. It was also covered by Dixie Witch for the 70s cover compilation album, Sucking the 70's - Back in the Saddle Again. Canadian rocker Lee Aaron also covered the song in her album Bodyrock. L.A. Guns covered the song during their early years. Felix Hanemann of the band Zebra also covered Rock candy on his debut solo Album "Rock Candy" in 1999