Seven Bridges Road is a song written by American musician Steve Young, recorded in 1969 for his Rock Salt & Nails album.
"[3] Living on-and-off in Montgomery in the early 1960s, Young stated that he made "a few close friends there who were very different than the mainstream [locals.
[5][6] Jimmy Evans, then Young's roommate and later Attorney General of Alabama, recalled frequenting Woodley Road, including the specific visit which triggered Young's writing the song, stating, "I'd go down [Woodley Road] to Orion a lot to listen to... C. P.
When Young did approach a Hollywood-based music publisher in 1969 with Seven Bridges Road he was advised the song "wasn't commercial enough.
"[8] However, in Young's words: "One day we ran out of songs to record [for Rock Salt & Nails] in the studio...[9] I started playing Seven Bridges Road.
[11] Matthews' album was recorded with producer Michael Nesmith at the latter's Countryside Ranch studio in North Hills, Los Angeles: Nesmith would recall of Matthews' recording of Seven Bridges Road: "Ian and I put it together and [we] sang about six or seven part harmony on the thing, and I played acoustic.
"[12] Matthews would recall that, in 1973, he and the members of the Eagles were acquainted through frequenting the Troubadour: "we were forever going back to somebody's house and playing music.
According to band member Don Felder, when Eagles first began playing stadiums the group would warm up pre-concert by singing Seven Bridges Road in a locker room shower area.
"[14] Following the release of the Hotel California album, that set's title cut replaced Seven Bridges Road as the Eagles' concert opener, and according to Felder, the band "rarely even bothered to rehearse with it in the shower of the dressing room anymore.
"[14] The song was restored to the set list for the Eagles' tour prior to the band's 31 July 1980 breakup with the band's performance of the song at their 28 July 1980 concert at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, which was recorded for the Eagles Live album released in November 1980.
"[4] Ricochet, who had been performing Seven Bridges Road in concert, recorded the song in 1998 in the sessions for the intended album release What a Ride.
After two advance singles from What a Ride: Honky Tonk Baby and Can't Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That, had fallen short of the Top 40 of the C&W chart, the track Seven Bridges Road was sent to C&W radio 19 April 1999.