"I Got a Line on You" is a rock song by American rock band

Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

, originally recorded during the sessions for their second album, '' The Family That Plays Together'', between March 11 and September 18, 1968. Widely considered to be a rock classic, the song was composed by guitarist/singer

Randy California Randy Craig Wolfe (February 20, 1951 – January 2, 1997), known as Randy California, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967. Life and career California was b ...

and produced by

Lou Adler Lester Louis Adler (born December 13, 1933) is an American record and film producer and the co-owner of the Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Adler has produced and developed a number of iconic musical artists, including The Grass R ...

. The single credits engineering by Eric Wienbang. Released as a single ahead of the album by

Ode Records Ode Records (also known as Ode Sounds and Visuals) was an American record label, started by Lou Adler in 1967 after he sold Dunhill Records to ABC Records. It was distributed by CBS's Epic Records except between 1970 and 1976, when the label was ...

in the US in October 1968, it began a slow rise up the charts. It was picked up by college radio in late November. It was the second single released by the band. The B-side was "She Smiles" (Ode catalog number ZS7-115). 2:37 in length, the song finally peaked at No. 25 on the U.S. Top 100 on March 15, 1969, and No. 28 in Canada, March 24. Some international versions were released later in 1968 and early 1969, distributed by

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

or Columbia Records. Some were produced in psychedelic colored vinyl patterns, while the Ode release was on plain black vinyl with a plain yellow label. The album version was slightly longer at 2:39, while the

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

version is timed at 2:41. A 7:34 version appears on the band's final reunion album, 1984's '' The Thirteenth Dream''.

Reviews

A '' Billboard'' review brief called it "the near definitive rock single". Matthew Greenwald of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

said it is "Driven by a fabulously funky guitar riff and some very accessible lyrics, the song is a rock classic from beginning to end."

Cover versions

The song has been covered by Blackfoot, Chagall Guevara, Patrick Cowley,

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " A ...

, Juicy Lucy, Who Watchiz Ze Watchmain, Ile Kallio,

Kim Mitchell Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billbo ...

Mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

with Gary Floyd, The Woggles, and the supergroup Hollywood Vampires. Cover versions by Joe Moss and the Danish band Lost and Found were released as "I've Got A Line On You". Country band 1880 released a version titled "I Gotta Line on You". Because of the lyrics, occasionally "Babe" has been added to the end of the song title.

References

{{authority control 1968 songs Song recordings produced by Lou Adler Songs written by Randy California Ode Records singles