Snortin' Whiskey (also sometimes referred to as "Snortin' Whiskey, Drinkin' Cocaine") is a

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...

song written by

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

and

Pat Thrall Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...

. It was originally recorded by the Pat Travers Band and released on the album '' Crash and Burn'' in 1980 on the

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

label and also as US single the same year.

Background

The song was an instant hit, and reached the number one position on request lists at numerous

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...

stations in the United States in 1980. It gained popularity in the United Kingdom and Germany as well. It became one of Pat Travers' signature songs. The success of "Snortin' Whiskey" helped to propel the ''Crash and Burn'' album to the number 20 position on the

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

's Pop Album Chart, making it Travers' highest-charting release.

Personnel

Musicians who performed on the original studio recording of "Snortin' Whiskey" were: *

- lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars (second guitar solo during lead break) *

- lead and rhythm guitars (first guitar solo during lead break) *

Peter "Mars" Cowling Peter "Mars" Cowling (May 26, 1946 – March 20, 2018) was an English bass guitarist, best known for his work with Canadian blues rock guitarist Pat Travers. Cowling for many years lived in Grimsby where, in 1962, he formed The Syndicate with ...

- bass *

Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesna ...

- drums and percussion (including cowbell)

Popular culture

*The song was featured in the 2004 film ''

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...

''.

References

{{Pat Travers 1980 singles Drinking songs Songs about drugs 1980 songs Polydor Records singles