"Cherokee Highway" is a song by American country music band Western Flyer. It was released in 1995 as the third single off the band's self-titled debut album. Lead singer Danny Myrick co-wrote the song with Tony Wood, and the band co-produced the song with Ray Pennington.

Content

"Cherokee Highway" is a song about racial unrest in a fictional town in Mississippi in 1961. The song begins describing the friendship between two boys: a black one named Willie and a white one named Kevin. After Willie's father dies at the hands of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, Kevin asks his father to help, only to discover that his father is one of the Klansmen. Kevin's father's house is then burned down in an act of revenge and Willie enters in an attempt to rescue him, only for both of them to die in the fire. During the chorus, lead vocalist Danny Myrick sings "''The blood still runs down Cherokee Highway''" in reference to the acts of violence.

History

Danny Myrick wrote the song with Tony Wood. Myrick told the Wilkes-Barre ''Times Leader'' that he "wanted to make sure it was bold, but without sounding like a sermon". He also told the publication that the song's inspiration came from acts of racial disputes that he saw in his hometown of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'' writer Shirley Jinkins also cited the song as an example of social activism in country music at the time, contrasting it with the themes of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

in Martina McBride's "

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

", recovering from alcoholism in Collin Raye's " Little Rock", and HIV/AIDS in

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

's " She Thinks His Name Was John". At the time of the song's release, Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow Coretta Scott King invited the band to perform it at the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Bash in Atlanta, Georgia. Western Flyer also performed the song at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee in February 1995. A music video for the song was shot on February 6 and 7, 1995, preceding the song's release to radio on February 20.

Critical reception

Tom Roland of '' The Tennessean'' called the song his favorite country release of the year, praising the message as well as Western Flyer's musicianship. A review in ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' was also favorable, stating that "the guys rip into it with conviction."

Chart performance

The song was released in 1995 through

Step One Records Step One Records was an independent American record label established in February 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded by singer-songwriter and producer Ray Pennington with Curtis Potter, the former of whom had produced for Waylon ...

. Although it did not enter the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' country music charts, it was a top 40 hit on the charts published by '' Cashbox'', where it peaked at number 34 on the chart dated May 6, 1995. For distribution in Canada, Step One partnered with the Canadian label

Royalty Records Royalty Records is a Canadian country music record label and distributor established in 1974."Surprise music industry award leaves Smith speechless". '' Edmonton Journal'', October 5, 2004. Royalty artists * Roy Acuff * After Tuesday * Colin ...

for distribution. It entered the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Country Tracks charts in Canada, debuting at number 91 on the chart dated for May 8, 1995 and peaking at number 38 on the chart dated July 17, 1995.

References

{{reflist 1995 songs 1995 singles Western Flyer songs Step One Records singles Songs written by Danny Myrick Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs about Mississippi Songs about children Ku Klux Klan in popular culture