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"Swingtown"
Single by Steve Miller Band
from the album Book of Dreams
B-side	"Winter Time"
Released	7 October 1977 (US) 6 January 1978 (UK)
Recorded	1975–1976
Genre	Blues rock, rock and roll, progressive rock
Length	3:27 (single version) 3:54 (album version)
Label	Capitol Records
Songwriter(s)	Steve Miller, C. McCarty
Producer(s)	Steve Miller
Steve Miller Band singles chronology
"Jungle Love" (1977) "Swingtown" (1977) "Heart Like a Wheel" (1981)
Official audio
"Swingtown" on YouTube

"Swingtown" is a 1977 hit song by the Steve Miller Band. It was their third and final single release from their Book of Dreams album, and became the second biggest hit from the album.

"Swingtown" reached No. 17 on the U.S. Hot 100 and spent two weeks at No. 13 on the Cashbox Hot 100. It also peaked at No. 13 on the Canadian Singles Chart.

Reception

Cashbox said that it "centers around an infectious drum/bass riff." Record World said that it is "as compelling a bit of melody as written."

Chart performance

Use in media

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Swingtown" song – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

In late 1978 and 1979, Ford used an edit from the instrumental sections of the song in its television ads for the '79 Ford Mustang.

"Swingtown" appears in the soundtrack of the 1994 film My Girl 2.

"Swingtown" is used in the 2000 episode entitled "D-Girl" from the second season of the HBO series, The Sopranos.

"Swingtown" is a popular song sung by students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, especially at Wisconsin football games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Marching Band plays it and the students sing the "O-OOOOO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O" part of the song ending it with the word "sucks" to refer to section "O" of the student section, the "sucks" is chanted by other student sections especially section P, this is usually followed by a chant of "fuck you, eat shit" by student sections O and P. Despite the song being popular among the students, several attempts to have the song banned by the UW staff and the Chancellor have been attempted due to the controversial "fuck you, eat shit" chant, but the banning of the song has so far proven to be unsuccessful. Steve Miller, himself a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and vocalist of the Steve Miller Band guest conducted the song with The Wisconsin Marching Band.

It appears in promotions for the 2022 The Players golf tournament.

Inspiration for Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train"

Guitarist Greg Leon, who initially took Randy Rhoads' place in Quiet Riot, claims that the iconic verse riff to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" came about when he and Rhoads were messing around with "Swingtown". “We were hanging out, and I showed him the riff to Steve Miller’s "Swingtown". I said: "Look what happens when you speed this riff up". We messed around, and the next thing I know he took it to a whole other level and end up writing the "Crazy Train" riff.”

References

1. "Steve Miller singles".
2. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 15, 1977. p. 22. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
3. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 15, 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-02-16.
4. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 5494a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
5. "The Steve Miller Band Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
6. "Cash Box Top 100 12/17/77".
7. "Top 200 Singles of '77 – Volume 28, No. 11, December 31 1977". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 17 July 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
8. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
9. "My Girl 2 (1994) Soundtracks". IMDb. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
10. "Wisconsin vs Michigan 2007 5th Quarter Swingtown". YouTube. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
11. "Steve Miller conducting the Wisconsin Band "Swingtown"!". YouTube. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
12. Mick Wall (1 February 2012). "Randy Rhoads: The Guitarist Who Changed The World". Classic Rock.

External links

• Lyrics of this song
• Listen to "Swingtown" on YouTube

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