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Cover of Fear by Toad The Wet Sprocket
Cover: Fear

Song · Toad The Wet Sprocket

“Walk On The Ocean” by Toad The Wet Sprocket

From the album Fear (1991)

“Walk On The Ocean” by Toad The Wet Sprocket appears on 40 radio countdowns from 16 stations between 1992 and 2025. It was first released in 1991 on the album Fear. Its best result is #15 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #72 alternative song of 1992 and #632 alternative song of all time.

40countdowns
16stations
#15best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1992–2025years charted

Watch

Toad The Wet Sprocket - Walk On The Ocean

Video from YouTube (ToadWetSprocketVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Walk on the Ocean" floated out of Toad the Wet Sprocket's third album, Fear, in 1991 on Columbia, and it's about as gentle as a hit from that year gets: a chiming, easy-rolling melody and a chorus that sounds like it was built for singing along with the windows down.

The writing credit is split four ways, between Glen Phillips, Todd Nichols, Dean Dinning and Randy Guss, and Gavin MacKillop produced, recorded and mixed it. He brought in guests to deepen the colors: Peter Lenz on cello and Van Vinikow on violin, strings that give the song a warm, wistful undertow without ever getting syrupy.

There are two versions out there. The album cut stops dead just shy of three minutes, while the single keeps repeating the chorus until it fades away, about half a minute longer. As a single, the song climbed to number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it reached the top 40 in Canada, New Zealand and Norway too.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 66 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 107
1992 15 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1992 91
1992 66 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992 101
1993 53 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105 Songs of 1993 105

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 355 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 333 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 237 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 287 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 761 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 358 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 208 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 436 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 210 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 210 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 210 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 1220 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 210 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 210 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 797 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 210 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 596 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2007 637 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 649 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 668 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 683 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 684 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 705 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 738 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 769 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2019 39 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 702 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 702 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2021 581 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2022 731 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 308 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 1213 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2023 607 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 428 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 978 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 227 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500

Also listed as: Walk on the Ocean; Walk On the Ocean.

Charting alongside it in 1992

Best songs of 1992 →
  1. 1Friday I'm in LoveThe Cure
  2. 2Under the BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3DriveR.E.M.
  4. 4OneU2
  5. 5JeremyPearl Jam
  6. 6TomorrowMorrissey

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