"Down to the Line" is a 1975 song written by

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman ( ; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. He was the writer and singer of several hit rock songs, ...

, with

Kim Fowley Kim Vincent Fowley (July 21, 1939 – January 15, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter and musician who was behind a string of novelty and cult pop rock singles in the 1960s, and managed the Runaways in the 1970s. He has been ...

, Mark Anthony and Vincent Furnier (better known as

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

). It was first recorded by Canadian rock group

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, is a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by three brothers: Randy Bachman, Randy, Robbie Bachman, Robbie, and Tim Bachman; along with Fred Turner (musician), Fred Turner, in 19 ...

(BTO) as a non-album single and released in November 1975, just ahead of their December 1975 album '' Head On''. The lead vocal is provided by Randy Bachman. It was the only non-album single released by BTO, though it was included on some later releases of the ''Head On'' album in CD format. "Down to the Line" just missed the U.S. Top 40, peaking at #43 on 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 advertis ...

'' Hot 100 on January 3, 1976. The single fared much better in Canada, peaking at #13 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' charts. As the ''Head On'' album had yet to be released, the B-side of “Down to the Line” is the song “She’s a Devil” from the band’s earlier 1975 album ''

Four Wheel Drive The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive (FWD), was a pioneering American company that developed and produced all-wheel drive vehicles. It was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Dr ...

''. The original single credits only Randy Bachman as the song's composer. Mark Anthony and Kim Fowley later sued Bachman over the chorus riff of "Down to the Line", which is identical to the main riff in the Alice Cooper song "Escape", composed by Fowley, Anthony and Cooper for the ''

Welcome to My Nightmare ''Welcome to My Nightmare'' is the debut solo and overall eighth studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on March 11, 1975 by Atlantic Records. A concept album, its songs played in sequence form a journey through the nightm ...

'' album. As a result of the lawsuit, settled out of court, the three additional writing credits were added to Bachman's on subsequent releases of "Down to the Line" (compilation albums and re-issues of ''Head On''). ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "simple hooksong that courses through the veins of the listener and overtakes the ability to say no." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "Marked by a handclapping rhythm and a thrust of power chording, this new effort shows that

he group is He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...

still one of the country's premier rock bands."

Track listing

Charts

References

1975 songs 1975 singles Bachman–Turner Overdrive songs Songs written by Randy Bachman Mercury Records singles Songs written by Kim Fowley Songs written by Alice Cooper Song recordings produced by Randy Bachman {{1970s-rock-song-stub