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"Highway Tune" is a song by American rock band Greta Van Fleet. It was their first single from their debut EP Black Smoke Rising. It topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock and Active Rock charts in September 2017. The song, and the rest of its respective EP, is also part of the band's double EP From the Fires, released on November 10, 2017.
"Highway Tune" was the first song the band Greta Van Fleet had ever written and recorded together. The song's initial guitar riff was cited by guitarist Jake Kiszka as being written as early back as 2010—seven years before the song's release as a single, and two years before the band even formed. The riff was then brought to early writing and recording sessions upon the band forming in 2012 and was later reformatted and demoed twice before being recorded in its final form. The song was initially used in an episode of the television show Shameless in January 2016. The song was officially released as one of four songs for the band's debut EP, Black Smoke Rising. The song was released on March 31, 2017, as a single, and on the EP on April 21, 2017. The song's music video was released 2 days before the EP's release, and is mostly a performance-based video, with the band playing in an abandoned warehouse.
During an interview with Rolling Stone, it was revealed that “Highway Tune” was the first song written by the band. The song features a blues-inspired guitar riff with vocals similar to that of Led Zeppelin's singer, Robert Plant.
Though the band is usually compared to the legendary rock band, they have denied that they’re trying to copy Led Zeppelin:
"I didn’t know who fucking Led Zeppelin was until I was in high school…"
During the song’s first week, it managed to hit #1 on mainstream rock radio.
"I had no foresight as to what kind of momentum would shroud the whole thing. it garnered attention faster than any of us thought it would. I don’t know why people are connecting to it, but when we write it’s very genuine and when they listen it’s something they haven’t heard in a long time. Or ever. The resounding appreciation is surreal and humbling."
—Josh Kiszka, Billboard
“Highway Tune” was certified platinum by the RIAA on April 6, 2023.
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