Song · Montrose
“Bad Motor Scooter” by Montrose
“Bad Motor Scooter” by Montrose appears on 17 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1990 and 2026. Its best result is #137 on the Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,433 classic rock song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Montrose - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Bad Motor Scooter" came off Montrose's 1973 debut album on Warner Bros., and it announces itself before anybody sings a note: Ronnie Montrose's slide guitar, distorted until it sounds like a motorcycle revving. Sammy Hagar, the band's singer and frontman, wrote the song, but for a while it lacked a hook to make it stand out, and the band and producer Ted Templeman knew it. Montrose found one by accident, fooling around in the studio with a slide and a fuzz box in open D tuning; the tape wasn't rolling at first, so Templeman and engineer Donn Landee had him keep at it.
That revving intro became the song's signature, and when the original lineup played it live, Hagar handled it himself on a lap steel. Along with "Rock Candy", it's about as close as Montrose came to a calling card.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 137 | Z-Rock | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) | 1000 |
| 1994 | 445 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) | 1000 |
| 1995 | 493 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) | 1000 |
| 1996 | 427 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) | 1000 |
| 1997 | 467 | 104.5 KZEP | KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) | 500 |
| 1998 | 458 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) | 1000 |
| 1999 | 378 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) | 998 |
| 2002 | 471 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
| 2002 | 669 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) | 923 |
| 2004 | 672 | 92.3 KGON | KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) | 923 |
| 2010 | 338 | 97.9 The Loop | The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) | 500 |
| 2021 | 489 | WCSX | WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) | 499 |
| 2023 | 484 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2023 | 297 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2024 | 301 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) | 498 |
| 2025 | 294 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) | 498 |
| 2026 | 223 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) | 499 |
Also listed as: Bad Motorscooter.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Bad Motor Scooter" by Montrose.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.