"'Bad Motor Scooter" is a song by American hard rock band Montrose, released on the band's 1973 debut album. Along with "

Rock Candy Rock candy or sugar candy, also called rock sugar, or crystal sugar, is a type of confection composed of relatively large sugar crystals. This candy is formed by allowing a supersaturated solution of sugar and water to crystallize onto a su ...

", it is arguably the band's best-known song.

Background and recording

The song was written by lead singer and frontman

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

. Its introduction, a distorted electric slide guitar sound which emulates that of a revving motorcycle, became the defining component of the song. When the song was conceived before this guitar sound, the band and producer

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...

were not happy because they felt it was missing a

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

to make it stand out.

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...

stumbled upon it while messing with a slide and fuzz box one day in the studio. Playing his guitar in Open D tuning, Montrose improvized what became the motorcycle sound — although Templeman and engineer

Donn Landee Donn Landee is an American record producer and recording engineer. Much of his work as an engineer has been done with producer Ted Templeman at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, Cal. The pair worked with a wide variety of artists for Warner ...

kept him going when they failed to get the recording tape rolling. When performed live by the original Montrose lineup, Sammy Hagar would play the "motorcycle" introduction on a lap steel slide guitar.

Playing by Chickenfoot

Hagar provided the same intro when Chickenfoot, the supergroup composed of Hagar,

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

, Michael Anthony and

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...

, performed a version during their live performances. Joe Satriani did the "motorcycle" introduction at the Montrose tribute concert using the whammy bar on his guitar instead of the slide guitar. On Chickenfoot's ''Best + Live'' album, Hagar claimed that "Bad Motor Scooter" was "actually the first song I ever wrote in my life." The song has also been included on the Sammy Hagar compilation '' The Essential Red Collection''.

References

{{authority control Montrose (band) songs 1973 songs Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman Songs about transport Songs written by Sammy Hagar