"Redneck Friend" (or, alternately, "Red Neck Friend") is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter
Jackson Browne, released as the first single from his 1973 album ''
For Everyman'', and notable for its
double entendre
A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...
lyrics and guest appearances by
Glenn Frey
Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. Frey was the co-lead singer and frontman for the Eagles, roles he came to share with fellow member Don H ...
and
Elton John, as well as the first appearance of
David Lindley on a Jackson Browne single. The song reached number 85 on
''Billboard'''s October 20, 1973,
Hot 100 chart, spending 10 weeks on that chart after debuting at number 99 on September 29, 1973. It was also released as a single in France and Japan, and as a
promotional single in the United Kingdom and Germany.
[Paris, Russ]
JACKSON BROWNE COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY.
Origin
William Ruhlmann at
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 ...
.com wrote that Browne "unsuccessfully looked for another hit single with the up-tempo" song. The musicians who are credited with playing on the recording are Lindley on
slide guitar, Frey on vocal harmony,
Jim Keltner
James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...
on drums, and Doug Haywood on bass. Elton John plays piano on the song, but is credited as "Rockaday Johnnie," supposedly because John was in the United States without a work permit at the time.
At the time of the song's release in 1973, the LP back cover listed the title as "Red Neck Friend," however, the single releases read "Redneck Friend."
Reaction
For Janet Maslin, reviewing the ''
For Everyman'' album in 1973 in ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'', the "glibness gets out of hand" with the song, which, she writes, "sounds like too deliberate an attempt to create a single by someone whose art, even at its most casual, remains too complex for strictly AM audiences." Anthony DeCurtis referred to the song as a "loose-limbed, honky-tonk rave-up." ''
Billboard'' called it "clever socio-comment
lyrics set to a basic rock beat."
''
Cash Box'' said that Browne "follows his first hit with another rocker that will score tons of chart points on its way to a destined top 20 position."
Chart positions
Cover versions
*
Dave Alvin
David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...
– ''West of the West,'' 2006.
*
Jesse Dayton – ‘’Mixtape Vol. 1,’’ 2019.
Notes
{{Jackson Browne
1973 songs
1973 singles
Asylum Records singles
Jackson Browne songs
Songs written by Jackson Browne