One Toke Over the Line

"One Toke Over the Line"
Single by Brewer & Shipley
from the album Tarkio
B-side"Oh Mommy"
ReleasedMarch 1971
GenreRock[1]
Length3:16
LabelKama Sutra Records
Songwriter(s)Mike Brewer, Tom Shipley
Producer(s)Nick Gravenites
Brewer & Shipley singles chronology
"One Toke Over the Line"
(1971) 		"Tarkio Road"
(1971)

"One Toke Over the Line" is a song written and performed by American folk rock duo Brewer & Shipley. It is a track from their 1970 LP Tarkio, and was released as their debut single in early 1971.

Background

Mike Brewer gives this account of the origin of the song, "One day we were pretty much stoned and all and Tom says, 'Man, I'm one toke over the line tonight.' I liked the way that sounded and so I wrote a song around it."[2]

The song gained popular acclaim while the band was touring as an opening act for Melanie, after they received an encore but had run out of other songs to play.[3]

In a 2012 interview, Brewer said "The president of the record company we were with at the time came backstage and said, 'Oh man, you gotta record that and add it to the LP.' We were kind of like, 'Really? Oh well, OK.' We didn't even take the song seriously. Needless to say it came as a big surprise to us that they released it and not only that it was a big hit but it received so much controversy. The government came down on us."[4]

In 1971, the Federal Communications Commission issued guidance to radio station operators: "Whether a particular record depicts the dangers of drug abuse, or, to the contrary, promotes such illegal drug usage is a question for the judgment of the licensee. Such a pattern of operation is clearly a violation of the basic principle of the licensee's responsibility for, and duty to exercise adequate control over, the broadcast material presented over his station. It raises serious questions as to whether continued operation of the station is in the public interest."[5]

Chart history

The song peaked at No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on Cash Box[6] during the spring of 1971, and was the duo's only Top 40 hit. It also reached No. 5 in Canada[7] and No. 7 in New Zealand.[8]

Cover versions

The song was performed in early 1971 by Gail Farrell and Dick Dale on The Lawrence Welk Show, which Brewer credited with giving the duo "more publicity than we could pay for." Welk described the song as a "modern spiritual".[14][15]

Later uses

The song is notably mentioned in the opening of Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and was "sung" by Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) in the 1998 film adaptation.[16][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (January 1, 1997). "Various Artists - Have a Nice Day, Super Hits of the '70s". In Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Michael; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Unterberger, Richie; Woodstra, Chris (eds.). AllMusic Guide to Rock. San Francisco: Miller Freeman, Inc. p. 1074.
  2. ^ Fong-Torres, Ben (April 15, 1971). "Radio: One Toke Behind the Line". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2018 – via BrewerAndShipley.com.
  3. ^ Mastropolo, Frank (December 3, 2012). ""One Toke Over the Line" – More Than a "One Hit" Wonder". Rock Cellar. Archived from the original on July 16, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  4. ^ Mastropolo, Frank. "Dec 3, 2012". rockcellarmagazine.com. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  5. ^ Burch, Dean (March 5, 1971). "FCC-71-205A1". Docs.fcc.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Cash Box Top 100 4/24/71". Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. May 1, 1971. Archived from the original on February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  8. ^ a b "flavour of new zealand - search listener". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 46. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  11. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1971/Top 100 Songs of 1971". Musicoutfitters.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 25, 1971". Archived from the original on October 6, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  14. ^ "One Toke On Lawrence Welk". BrewerAndShipley.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  15. ^ Video of appearance
  16. ^ J. Hoberman (April 26, 2011). "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Pint of Raw Ether and Three Reels of Film". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  17. ^ Thompson, Hunter S. (November 11, 1971). "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 15, 2025.