Song · Montrose
“Rock Candy” by Montrose
“Rock Candy” by Montrose appears on 15 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1990 and 2026. Its best result is #36 on the Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,332 classic rock song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Montrose - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Montrose wrote "Rock Candy" last of all for their 1973 debut album, all four members sharing the credit, and it kicks off on Denny Carmassi's drums: a heavy, lurching intro that, as Ronnie Montrose told it in radio interviews, grew out of Carmassi toying with alternatives to John Bonham's opening to "When the Levee Breaks". What follows is hard rock with a thick, greasy swagger.
Sammy Hagar never let it go. He still plays it on his solo tours, cut it again with the original band as the B-side of his single "Little White Lie", and put it on his 2003 live album Live: Hallelujah. By Hagar's account it turned into a standard for bands like Def Leppard and the Cult, and players from Slash to Joe Satriani want to jam on it. It also turns up in the 1994 film The Stöned Age.
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 | 36 | Z-Rock | Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) | 1000 |
| 1994 | 149 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) | 1000 |
| 1995 | 115 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) | 1000 |
| 1996 | 84 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) | 1000 |
| 1998 | 83 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) | 1000 |
| 1999 | 90 | KISW | KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) | 998 |
| 2002 | 691 | KISW | KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) | 999 |
| 2010 | 322 | 97.9 The Loop | The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) | 500 |
| 2021 | 243 | WCSX | WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) | 499 |
| 2023 | 282 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2023 | 332 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2024 | 377 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) | 500 |
| 2024 | 287 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) | 498 |
| 2025 | 288 | Qfm96 | Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) | 498 |
| 2026 | 215 | KSHE 95 | KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) | 499 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Rock Candy" by Montrose.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.