"Allison Road" is a song by the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Gin Blossoms Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona, Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, ''New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released ...

Background

In 1989, Robin Wilson passed by a sign on his way to El Paso that read "Next Exit Allison Road." The friend with whom he was riding had a sister named Allison, and so they stopped to take a picture. Five months later, Wilson had the picture and was bored. In a ''Billboard'' interview from 1994, he recalled:

I walked to the other room, sat down in front of the television and turned on CNN. And the moment the TV turned on I heard that little melody in my head; 'On Allison Road.' And I was like, 'Shit!' So I turned off the TV, climbed over the couch and went back in my bedroom and the song was pretty much done 20 minutes later.Boehlert, Eric (15 October 1994), "The modern age". ''Billboard''. 106 (42):95

The exit sign for Allison Road is located on

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

in Roosevelt, Texas. At this point in the band's history, Wilson had struggled in convincing his bandmates to record the songs he had written: in particular, guitarist

Doug Hopkins Douglas Owen Hopkins (April 11, 1961 – December 5, 1993) was an American musician and songwriter. He co-founded Gin Blossoms, a popular modern rock band of the early 1990s, with Richard Taylor. He was the band's lead guitarist and a princ ...

would often refuse to rehearse Wilson's tracks or help him finish songs. However, "Allison Road" had impressed his bandmates sufficiently to earn a place on the band's album. Wilson recalled, "When I came in with 'Allison Road,' it was hard for everybody, even Doug, to deny that I had a significant contribution to make to the songs."

Release

"Allison Road" was a moderate hit when released as the fourth single from ''New Miserable Experience'', charting on the Airplay charts in the US as well as reaching number 21 in Canada.

Critical reception

"Allison Road" saw praise from music critics. Ed Masley of ''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'' listed the song as the Gin Blossom's ninth best song on his list of the band's top 30 tracks, dubbing the song a "jangle-rocking gem."

Charts

Footnotes

External links

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyfNk3FTHGU *https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972779/soundtrack {{authority control Gin Blossoms songs 1994 singles Songs written by Robin Wilson (musician) 1992 songs A&M Records singles Fontana Records singles