Album · Joe Walsh
The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get by Joe Walsh
The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get is an album by Joe Walsh, released in 1973. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 90 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Rocky Mountain Way”, on 90 lists with a best position of #20.
The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get, Joe Walsh's second solo album, came out on ABC in 1973, and it's the ex-James Gang guitar slinger finally hitting the big time. Bill Szymczyk produced, and "Rocky Mountain Way" did the heavy lifting: a Top 40 single that hauled the album into the Top 10, all fat, grinding guitar and a groove you could drive a truck through.
But this is more of a band record than the cover lets on. Walsh splits the singing and songwriting with his Barnstorm mates, drummer and all-rounder Joe Vitale, bassist Kenny Passarelli and new keyboard man Rocke Grace, and the album wanders happily through blues, jazz, folk, pop and even a Caribbean lilt. Crediting it to Walsh alone finished Barnstorm off, and he carried on solo until Szymczyk nudged him into the Eagles in 1975.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky Mountain Way#320 of all time | 90 | #20 | – | 1976–2026 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.