Artist · chart history
David Lindley
Solo artist San Marino United States
David Lindley is an artist from San Marino. David Lindley has 3 chart appearances on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations on RockLists, spanning 1981–2010. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Mercury Blues”, which appears on 2 lists with a best position of #68. The station that charted David Lindley most often is 91X (San Diego, CA / Tijuana), with 1 appearance. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1988.
David Lindley could play just about anything with strings on it, and in 1981 he finally put his own name on the marquee with El Rayo-X, the album named for the band he'd founded. "Mercury Blues" is the calling card, a rollicking, gleefully greasy stomp. His true home was the lap steel, the instrument on which rock circles hailed him as the unequaled master.
Before that he'd been the secret weapon on other people's records, working with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, Warren Zevon, Curtis Mayfield and Dolly Parton. His arsenal ran from fiddle, banjo, mandolin and dobro to bouzouki, oud, charango and zither, and he knew Hawaiian-style slide blues inside out. Earlier still, he'd been a founding member of the psychedelic outfit Kaleidoscope.
Very Greasy arrived in 1988 with a romp through "Werewolves of London" that rock radio's listeners held on to. Along the way he served as musical director for several touring acts and now and then scored films. Born in 1944, he died in 2023.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs by David Lindley on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury Blues | 2 | #68 | – | 1981 | |
| 2 | Werewolves of London | 1 | #32 | – | 1988 |
Albums with charting songs
Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.
Year-end chart timeline
Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.
Every countdown appearance
| Year | # | Song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 568 | Mercury Blues | WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) |
| 1988 | 32 | Werewolves of London | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 |
| 1981 | 68 | Mercury Blues | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1981 |
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