"Smoke on the Water"
Single by Red Foley
B-side"There's a Blue Star Shining Bright (In a Window Tonight)"
PublishedMay 10, 1943 (1943-05-10) by Adams, Vee and Abbott, Inc., Chicago.[1]
ReleasedJune 13, 1944 (1944-06-13)
RecordedMay 4, 1944[2]
StudioDecca Recording, New York City
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Earl Nunn and Zeke Clements
Smoke on the Water
Song recorded by Red Foley 1944
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Smoke on the Water" is a song written by Zeke Clements and Earl Nunn and recorded by Red Foley in 1944. The patriotic song, which forecasts destruction for the Axis powers, particularly Japan, was Foley's first song to reach No. 1 on the Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records chart, spending 13 weeks at the top and a total of 24 weeks on the chart.[3] "Smoke on the Water" also peaked at No. 7 on the Most-Played Juke Box Records chart. The B-side, "There's a Blue Star Shining Bright (In a Window Tonight)", peaked at No. 5 on the Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records chart.

In 1945, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys recorded the song, which also became a No. 1 song on the Most-Played Juke Box Folk Records chart. The B-side, a song entitled, "Hang Your Head in Shame" peaked at No. 3.[3]

References

  1. ^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1943). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1943 1 Music New Series Vol 38 Pt 3. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
  2. ^ "Decca matrix 72135. Smoke on the water / Red Foley". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved July 20, 2021 – via adp.library.ucsb.edu.
  3. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006 (Second ed.). Record Research. pp. 122, 392.
Categories