Peak
2
Weeks
23
Score
3,812
Chart Year
1971
Denver wrote this song with his friends Bill and Taffy Danoff, who were married at the time (Taffy later became Taffy Nivert). Denver was in Washington, DC to perform with the Danoffs, and after the show they went back to the couple's home where they played him what they had of this song (John almost didn't make it - he got in a car accident on the way over and was taken to a hospital for a thumb injury). Denver helped them complete the song, and the next night they sang it together on stage. Denver knew he had a hit song on his hands, and brought the Danoffs to New York where they recorded the song together - you can hear Bill and Taffy on background vocals. The country roads in this song are in West Virginia, but Denver had never even been to West Virginia. Bill and Taffy Danoff started writing the song while driving to Maryland - they'd never been to West Virginia either! Danoff got his inspiration from postcards sent to him by a friend who DID live there, and from listening to the powerful AM station WWVA out of Wheeling, West Virginia, which he picked up in Massachusetts when he was growing up. Bill Danoff told NPR in 2011: "I just thought the idea that I was hearing something so exotic to me from someplace as far away. West Virginia might as well have been in Europe, for all I knew." The song represents a state of mind rather than a specific location, even though it is set in West Virginia. "It was the idea of country roads anywhere that inspired the song," Bill Danoff told the Library of Congress. "The thought that originally drove me to write the song, that this experience of enjoying driving down the country road, was a universal one and it proved to be correct... People all over seem to like those 'country roads' that promise to go to the place you belong." The Danoffs were hoping to get Johnny Cash to record this song when they wrote it. They almost didn't play it for Denver because they didn't think it fit his style. The Danoffs were in a band called Fat City at the time they wrote this. They later formed the Starland Vocal Band, who had a big hit with "Afternoon Delight" in 1977. There was some speculation that Denver somehow screwed the Danoffs when he became famous and they remained in obscurity, but the couple always defended Denver in interviews, pointing out that he brought Fat City on tour and helped them get a record deal with his RCA/Windsong Records. Denver also recorded several other songs Bill Danoff wrote. The Shenandoah River is in West Virginia, running right through Harper's Ferry into the Potomac. The Blue Ridge Mountain Ranges run in a strip from northeast West Virginia to its southwest across the eastern part of the state. Clopper Road originates in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It was a single lane road, but is now a busy four-lane road that heads to Germantown, Maryland. No country road anymore... not even close! It is attainable by exiting off of I-270 at Exit 10. "Country Roads" was released as a single in the spring of 1971. It broke nationally in mid-April, but moved up the charts very slowly, as Denver was a little-known singer. To this point, Denver's biggest success was writing "Leaving On A Jet Plane," which he performed as a member of The Chad Mitchell Trio but was a hit for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1969. Denver pushed RCA records to keep promoting "Take Me Home Country Roads," and their persistence paid off when it became a huge hit that summer. It was Denver's first hit, and the first of 13 US Top 40 hits he scored in the '70s. Denver charted earlier in 1971 with "Friends With You" at #47, but "Country Roads" established him as a crossover artist with appeal to Pop, Country and Easy Listening audiences. >> Clopper Road is still there. It is a four lane road from Qince Orchard Boulevard to just past Rt. 118 where it returns to a two lane road. The end of Clopper Road is in a town called Boyds. From Rt. 118 to the end, the road is much like it was in 1969 through the mid-1980s. In 1969, it really did seem idyllic in a way. Other than the farms and a few houses, there was nothing between Gaithersburg and Boyds other than the few stores and a few businesses in Germantown, and a gas station/country store at the corner of Clopper Road and Rt. 118. Today, the road is built up from Quince Orchard Road to Seneca Creek, but the last mile or two is like it was back then. The concrete batch plant has been gone for a number of years, the old B&O railroad flag stop is now a MARC commuter rail stop for Boyds, but the rest of Clopper Road has been sold to housing developments. The trip from Rt. 118 to Boyds and to Dickerson beyond is still one of the nicest and peaceful drives in the Metropolitan area. >> In The Office episode "Michael Scott Paper Company" (2009), Andy and Dwight try to one-up each other while performing this to impress the new receptionist. It was also used in these TV shows: My Name Is Earl ("Camdenites" - 2008) The Sopranos ("Remember When" - 2007) American Dad! ("American Dream Factory" - 2007) Prison Break ("First Down" - 2006) And in these movies: Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) Logan Lucky (2017) Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) Butterflies Are Free (1972) The secret to this song's appeal? It's so darn singable. "One thing I've noticed of the many times when large groups have been singing the song, they sing the entire song the way it was on the record," Bill Danoff said when the song was entered into the National Recording Registry in 2023. "I don't even know many songs that I could sing from beginning to end with all the words, but people seem to know this one." Want to hear a punk rock version of "Take Me Home Country Roads?" Check out the cover by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes, the band formed by Fat Mike of the California punk band NOFX. Their first single, it proved quite popular and showed there was a market for punk covers of popular songs. They've also taken on "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor, "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, and many other popular songs. After hearing the first verse, most people feel compelled to sing the chorus, especially in a group environment or if alcohol is involved. The St. Louis Blues hockey team learned this on February 9, 2019 when they played the song during a break in the third period of a game against the Nashville Predators. When play resumed, they faded the song just as it was getting to the chorus, but the crowd sang it anyway and a tradition was born. It helped that the team was winning: they ended up going all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 49 years. Laura Branigan's "Gloria" also soundtracked the team that season. This song got some attention on July 4, 2021 when Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg used it to soundtrack a video he posted of himself riding an electric surfboard while holding an American flag. Predictably, it became a meme.
Almost heaven, West Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains Shenandoah River, Life is old there Older than the trees Younger than the mountains Blowin' like the breeze Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads All my memories gathered 'round her Miner's lady, stranger to blue water Dark and dusty, painted on the sky Misty taste of moonshine Teardrops in my eye Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads I hear her voice In the mornin' hour she calls me The radio reminds me of my home far away And drivin' down the road I get a feelin' That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads Country roads, take me home To the place I belong West Virginia, mountain momma Take me home, country roads Take me home, now country roads Take me home, now country roads
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 10, 1971 | 99 | 27 |
| 4 | May 1, 1971 | 91 | 35 |
| 5 | May 8, 1971 | 86 | 40 |
| 6 | May 15, 1971 | 80 | 46 |
| 7 | May 22, 1971 | 73 | 53 |
| 8 | May 29, 1971 | 70 | 56 |
| 9 | Jun 5, 1971 | 62 | 64 |
| 10 | Jun 12, 1971 | 52 | 74 |
| 11 | Jun 19, 1971 | 48 | 78 |
| 12 | Jun 26, 1971 | 36 | 90 |
| 13 | Jul 3, 1971 | 30 | 96 |
| 14 | Jul 10, 1971 | 20 | 106 |
| 15 | Jul 17, 1971 | 12 | 114 |
| 16 | Jul 24, 1971 | 9 | 117 |
| 17 | Jul 31, 1971 | 8 | 118 |
| 18 | Aug 7, 1971 | 6 | 120 |
| 19 | Aug 14, 1971 | 3 | 123 |
| 20 | Aug 21, 1971 | 3 | 123 |
| 21 | Aug 28, 1971 | 2 | 124 |
| 22 | Sep 4, 1971 | 7 | 119 |