{"id":608426,"date":"2026-04-27T01:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/608426\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T01:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T01:34:11","slug":"thin-lizzy-credits-kentucky-radio-stations-for-turning-this-1976-track-into-a-top-40-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/608426\/","title":{"rendered":"Thin Lizzy Credits Kentucky Radio Stations for Turning This 1976 Track Into a Top 40 Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an age before the internet, breaking into the United States\u2019 rock \u2018n\u2019 roll market as a band based outside of North America felt next to impossible. Without major financial support, most bands wouldn\u2019t graduate beyond their regional music scene. And in the late 1970s, the Irish band Thin Lizzy<\/a> was wondering whether they would join this ill-fated group of musicians who never quite made it across the pond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a 2016 interview with Classic Rock magazine<\/a>, Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham recalled the bleak future the band was looking toward post-1974. \u201cEveryone around us was telling us it was make-or-break time,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, no pressure there, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was right around the time that Thin Lizzy was writing and recording Jailbreak, their sixth studio album. The band demoed around fifteen tracks with plans to include ten on the final release. Of the five that they rejected, one became the band\u2019s most iconic hit, thanks in no small part to two radio DJs from Kentucky.<\/p>\n

How Louisville Radio Helped Thin Lizzy Break Onto the Scene<\/p>\n

Of all the musical hotspots a non-U.S. citizen might think of when they consider markets to break into, the most common tend to be places like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, or New Orleans. Far fewer people outside of the United States would think\u2014or even remember\u2014a less ubiquitous hub like Louisville, Kentucky. Still, musicians would be wise not to overlook these inland metro areas. At least, that\u2019s the lesson Thin Lizzy was learning in the late 70s.<\/p>\n

According to Scott Gorham, the band\u2019s manager had to convince the musicians not to scrap \u201cThe Boys Are Back In Town\u201d. (Remember, they were planning on getting rid of five demo tracks before their final release.) \u201cWe were pretty bad at picking the singles,\u201d Gorham admitted to Classic Rock. So, on the advice of their manager, the band revisited their demo track, adding lyrics and the signature guitar harmonies.<\/p>\n

After that, all they could do was hope that Jailbreak<\/a> would be their break. They needed to prove their friends wrong and finally make it big. And as it turns out, Louisville was just the place to make Thin Lizzy\u2019s dreams a reality. \u201cIt was these two deejays in Louisville, Kentucky, that made the song a hit by playing it incessantly until other radio stations caught on,\u201d Gorman said. The guitarist said the album and their hit song by way of the Kentucky airwaves were the band\u2019s \u201csavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks in no small part to those Louisville deejays, Thin Lizzy climbed to the top of the charts, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the U.K. Singles chart. Even today, \u201cThe Boys Are Back In Town\u201d remains a staple in classic rock radio rotations\u2014in Louisville, too.<\/p>\n

Photo by Michael Putland\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an age before the internet, breaking into the United States\u2019 rock \u2018n\u2019 roll market as a band…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216,2156,46894],"class_list":{"0":"post-608426","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-rock-music","11":"tag-thin-lizzy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}