Tobbaco Road Lyrics
STORY BEHIND THE SONG: "Tobacco Road" was written by US singer songwriter, John D Loudermilk. It is hardly autobiographical - Loudermilk's family were far from being called "poor" - but he grew up in the place where Tobacco Road was situated - Durham, North Carolina. It was famous for its "Bull Durham" tobacco industry. Loudermilk recalled delivering telegrams as a youth in the 1940s along Morven's Place - a shoddy area, where bootleg liquor was often sold, gambling was common, and there was even a "house of ill-repute"! The small lane leading off Morven's Place up to Morven's Cotton Mill was often referred to by the nickname, "Tobacco Road". Loudermilk built a fictional story around that real place. His own version of the song was the original recording, but it wasn't a hit. Others took notice however, and soon it was the subject of many interpretations by various artists. The irony is that the biggest hit came from a group who had never been to Durham, North Carolina. In fact, although bearing the name The Nashville Teens, they had never seen the skies over Tennessee. They were British, and were put together as a band in Weybridge, Surrey. They followed this one up with "Google Eye" (another John D Loudermilk song) but thereafter struggled to maintain chart success. Today, original member Art Sharp keeps a version of the band going - and still (occasionally) recording.
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