“Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel

"Solsbury Hill" was the first single Peter Gabriel ever released under his own name, the song that opened the door to his solo career on his 1977 self-titled album. It's his story of a spiritual experience at the top of Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England, set down after he had walked away from Genesis, the progressive rock band he had fronted since its very beginning. Gabriel has explained it as a song about letting go: risking what you have for the chance at something new.

Bob Ezrin produced it, and the sound matches the mood of a man stepping into the open air. An acoustic guitar ripples along in a skipping, lopsided rhythm, and Gabriel adds flute and recorder over a band stacked with serious players: Robert Fripp and Steve Hunter on guitars, Tony Levin on bass, Allan Schwartzberg on drums, Larry Fast on synthesizer and Jimmy Maelen on percussion. It feels light on its feet, but there's a pounding heart underneath it.

It peaked at number 13 in the UK and reached number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, modest numbers for a song that has long since outgrown them.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.