Foghat – Slow Ride

This is a fun song to hear once in a while. This song was written by the group’s lead singer, David “Lonesome Dave” Peverett. Many air guitars have been played with this song. Peverett was different than most hard rock bands’ lead singers. He had a heavy blues influence that would show, and he was an excellent guitar player. This is arena rock at its finest. Listening to it as a kid, I had no idea what it meant, but it was so powerful with that guitar pumping out that rhythm.

This was released in 1975 on their album Fool for the City; it became Foghat’s signature song, the song that turned them from touring road warriors into FM radio staples. What has always fascinated me about Slow Ride is how something that simple, that groove-heavy, can hit so hard and stay so fresh nearly fifty years later.

Foghat was born out of the blues band Savoy Brown. Dave Peverett, the drummer, Roger Earl, and the bassist Tony Stevens quit that band and decided to form their own band in 1970. The band wanted to take the sound of Savoy Brown a step further and add a rock edge to its basic boogie blues.

I always liked their name, Foghat. It’s a name that sticks with you for better or worse. Foghat got their name when Peverett came up with the word while playing a Scrabble-like game with his brother. He convinced the band to go with it instead of Brandywine, and I have to agree with him. Some myths claim it is a slang term or that it meant something dirty, but the truth is simple: it was just a made-up word from Dave Peverett’s childhood.

Their bass player, Tony Stevens, quit and was replaced by their producer, Nick Jameson. Nick had played bass in his first band, so they asked him to join. They all jammed with each other for around 6 hours, and this song came out of it. Although it is credited to Peverett, it is said to be written by the entire band, with big contributions from Jameson.

This song peaked at #20 on the Billboard 100 and #14 in Canada in 1976. They were a British band that never had much success in the UK…but they did have a lot of success in America. The album peaked at #23 on the Billboard Album Charts and #85 in Canada in 1976.

Slow Ride

Woo!

Slow ride, take it easy
Slow ride, take it easy
Slow ride, take it easy
Slow ride, take it easy

I’m in the mood
The rhythm is right
Move to the music
We can roll all night

Oh slow ride
Oh slow ride, take it easy
Slow ride, take it easy

Slow down, go down, got to get your lovin’ one more time
Hold me, roll me, slow ridin’ woman you’re so fine

Woo

I’m in the mood
The rhythm is right
Move to the music
We can roll all night, yeah

Oh
Slow ride, take it easy
Slow ride, take it easy

Slow down, go down, got to get your lovin’ one more time
Hold me, roll me, slow ridin’ woman you’re so fine

Slow ride, easy, slow ride, sleazy
Slow ride, easy, slow ride, sleazy
Slow ride, sleazy

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

42 thoughts on “Foghat – Slow Ride”

  4. Pingback: Foghat – Slow Ride – MobsterTiger

  5. I remember it, didn’t take long for it to get a sort of Classic Rock classic status. To flog a dead horse, what a great time to listen to radio…this and Aerosmith in same set as John Denver and Roberta Flack and Spinners

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    1. OH yea…the seventies everyone played in the same playground…it was great! As a kid…this was about as catchy as can be…as much as a pop song to me. When I was 9 or 10 I would walk around humming this everywhere…had no clue what it meant and I really didn’t care.

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  6. I wondered into the world of Foghat back when I found a used copy of Energized in a used record store….liked it, but it seemed over the years the band’s sound changed. Slow Ride was cool, but really liked the sng What a Shame, and just in time for Christmas, All I Want for Christmas is You……

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      1. I had a bit of a laugh this morning…..Paul Rogers as a member of I gess both Free and Bad Company was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he’s a Canadian?…yep, I guess he became Canadian when he got his citizenship in 2011……we’ll take him!…….next to Sir Bob Geldof once calling Vancouver home when he was editor of our Georgia Straight, this is pretty cool news

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  7. Saw them in concert years ago at the old Philly Spectrum. Packed house. Awesome. Opened for Boston when they were riding the wave from their monster debut. Foghat has a good catalogue of songs. One of my guilty pleasures from them is Chateau Lafitte ’59 Boogie. If you haven’t heard that one Max, check it out when you get a chance!

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    1. Thank you Bruce! I love recommendations and especially rare recommendations.
      I’m listening to it now…I love that 70s rock boogie feel of it….and that title is great!
      You got to see them in their prime for sure…I saw them in the 80s with Steppenwolf and The Outlaws.

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  9. Fun and epic kind of song! Apart from “Fool for the City”, “Slow Ride” is the only track by Foghat I can name, though I’ve heard some more of their music. And, yeah, you can easily see why this could prompt some folks to play air guitar – I’m doing it right now!😆

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  10. I don’t know their extensive catalog, but I have a greatest hits CD, and the hits are great. Love them all, but especially “Third Time Lucky”. No-nonsense boogie time. Good one.

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