Pushin' Too Hard

{{Infobox song

| name = Pushin' Too Hard

| cover = The Seeds - Pushin' Too Hard.jpg

| alt =

| caption = The cover of the 1966 re-issue

| type = single

| artist = The Seeds

| album = The Seeds

| B-side = {{ubl|"Out of the Question"|"Try to Understand" (re-issue)}}

| released = November 1965
July 1966 (re-issue)

| recorded = September 14, 1965

| studio = United Western Recorders, Hollywood

| venue =

| genre = {{hlist|Garage rock{{cite magazine|first= Bonnie |last= Stiernberg |title= The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time |magazine= Paste |accessdate= 15 May 2016 |url= https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?a=1}}{{cite book|first=Dave|last=Marsh|title=The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Heart_Of_Rock_Soul.html?id=5t5DYDniSHEC|date=1989|publisher=Plume|isbn=0-452-26305-0|pages=410-411}}|psychedelic rock{{cite book|author=Jim DeRogatis|title=Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U7cQmRsLgN8C&pg=PA63|date=December 1, 2003|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|isbn=9780634055485|page=63}}|proto-punk{{cite book|author1=David Luhrssen|author2=Michael Larson|title=Encyclopedia of Classic Rock|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=phsIDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA325|date=February 28, 2017|publisher=Greenwood|isbn=9781440835131|page=325}}}}

| length = 2:38

| label = GNP Crescendo

| writer = Sky Saxon{{cite web|title=secondhandsongs.com|url=https://www.https://secondhandsongs.com/work/62514|website=secondhandsongs.com|accessdate=December 29, 2020}}

| producer = Sky Saxon

| chronology = The Seeds

| prev_title = Can't Seem to Make You Mine

| prev_year = 1965

| next_title = Mr. Farmer

| next_year = 1967

}}

"Pushin' Too Hard", originally titled "You're Pushing Too Hard", is a song by American rock group The Seeds, written by vocalist Sky Saxon and produced by Saxon with Marcus Tybalt. It was released as a single in 1965, re-issued the following year, and peaked at number 36 on the Hot 100 in February 1967 and number 44 in Canada in March.

The song became the signature tune for the group and a template for their musical style – so much so that Creem magazine later wrote, not disapprovingly, that "the Seeds, of course, managed to work 'Pushin' Too Hard' into every song they ever did."{{Cite magazine |last=Hull |first=Robot A. |date=October 1977 |title=Steve Miller/Seeds Records: The Steve Miller Band: Book Of Dreams (Capitol) and The Seeds: Fallin' Off The Edge (GNP Crescendo) |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/steve-millerseeds-records- |magazine=Creem |access-date=August 31, 2019 |via=Rock's Backpages |url-access=subscription }} It was included on the influential Nuggets compilation in the 1970s, and earned a reputation as a protopunk garage rock classic. The song is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's exhibit showcasing "The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". The Seeds performed "Pushin' Too Hard" during a 1968 episode of the television sitcom The Mothers-in-Law. Saxon revisited the song on his 2008 solo album The King of Garage Rock.

Composition

Sky Saxon wrote "Pushin' Too Hard" while sitting in the front seat of a car waiting for his girlfriend to finish grocery shopping at a supermarket.

{{cite news

| date=2003-11-06

| last=Ziegler

| first=Chris

| url=http://www.ocweekly.com/2003-11-06/music/pushing-kinda-sorta-hard/

| title=Pushing Kinda Sorta Hard

| newspaper=OC Weekly

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

{{cite journal

| date=November 2001

| last=Erickson

| first=Steve

| title=L.A.'s Top 100

| journal=Los Angeles

| publisher=Emmis Communications

| volume=46

| issue=11

| page=85

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0l0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85

| issn=1522-9149

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

The lyrics can be interpreted as the protagonist warning his girlfriend against controlling him,

{{cite news

| date=2009-06-29

| last=Weber

| first=Bruce

| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/arts/music/27saxon.html

| title=Sky Saxon, Lead Singer and Bassist for the Seeds, Dies

| newspaper=The New York Times

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

or as a rant against society as a whole.{{cite news

| title=Ex-Rock Star No Longer 'Pushin' Too Hard'

| last=Clark

| first=Doug

| newspaper=The Spokesman-Review

| publisher=Cowles Publishing Company

| date=1985-07-14

| page=I-1

}}

The song contains two chords which alternate throughout, as well as instrumental breaks featuring an electric piano solo—played by Daryl Hooper—and a guitar solo played by Jan Savage.

{{cite web

| last=Unterberger

| first=Richie

| url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t3643626|pure_url=yes}}

| title="Pushin' Too Hard" - Review

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

The Seeds recorded the song on September 14, 1965 at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, Los Angeles.[https://acerecords.co.uk/singles-as-bs-1965-1970 Singles As & Bs 1965-1970] (liner notes pg. 2). Palao, Alec. The Seeds. Big Beat Records. 2014. Catalogue number CDWIKD 322 Saxon produced the song while Harvey Sharpe provided bass. The song only required two takes to be completed, with the master being compiled from an edit of the second.

Release

The Seeds released "You're Pushing Too Hard" as a single in November 1965.

{{cite book

| last=Strong

| first=Martin Charles

| title=The Great Indie Discography

| edition=2nd

| publisher=Canongate Books

| location=Edinburgh

| year=2003

| isbn=978-1-84195-335-9}}[https://acerecords.co.uk/singles-as-bs-1965-1970 Singles As & Bs 1965-1970] (liner notes pg. 21). Palao, Alec. The Seeds. Big Beat Records. 2014. Catalogue number CDWIKD 322

Though the song did not chart initially, a Los Angeles disc jockey began playing it extensively following the release of the band's self-titled debut album in April 1966.

{{cite book

| last=Joynson

| first=Vernon

| title=Fuzz, Acid and Flowers: A Comprehensive Guide to American Garage, Psychedelic and Hippie Rock (1964-75)

| edition= 4th

| publisher=Borderline Productions

| page=286

| location=Glasgow

| year=1997

| isbn=978-1-899855-06-3}}

With the title having been changed to "Pushin' Too Hard", a new single was issued in July 1966 and the song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December.

{{cite magazine

| date=1966-12-24

| title=Billboard Hot 100

| magazine=Billboard

| publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume=78

| issue=52

| page=20

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hSIEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20

| issn=0006-2510

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

It peaked at number 36 in February and spent 11 weeks on the chart.

{{cite book

| last=Whitburn

| first=Joel

| title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits

| edition=8th

| publisher=Billboard Books

| page=560

| location=New York

| year=2004

| isbn=978-0-8230-7499-0}}

{{cite magazine

| date=1967-03-24

| title=Billboard Hot 100

| magazine=Billboard

| publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.

| volume=79

| issue=9'cas

| page=24

| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24

| issn=0006-2510

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

Some radio stations banned the song, believing that the title dealt with being a pusher of illegal drugs. WLS apparently disagreed, because the record reached number one in its tenth week on the playlist of the Silver Dollar Survey on 17 February 1967,{{cite web|url=http://www.oldiesloon.com/il/wls021767.htm|title=Silver Dollar Survey|publisher=WLS|date=1967-02-17|accessdate=2018-06-25}} and so did rival station WCFL, where the record reached number two on the Sound Ten Survey on 9 February 1967.{{cite web|url=http://www.oldiesloon.com/ilc/wcfl670209.htm|title=Sound Ten Survey|publisher=WCFL|date=1967-02-09|accessdate=2019-03-09}}

Legacy

=Critical reception=

{{Quote box |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=center|quote=You're always hoping 'maybe this is a good one.' When Sky actually wrote the lyric to that song it was about a girlfriend he was having trouble with. He initially called us 'flower rock music' 'cause the words are kind of flowery, and...the girls used to toss flowers at us on stage. So it became 'flower power'.|source=–Daryl Hooper, the Seeds keyboardist, on fans' reaction to "Pushin' Too Hard"

{{cite book

| last=Kubernik

| first=Harvey

| title=Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and the Music of Laurel Canyon

| publisher=Sterling Publishing

| page=83

| location=New York

| year=2009

| isbn=978-1-4027-6589-6}}|align=right|width=33%}}

Allmusic's Richie Unterberger wrote that "'Pushin' Too Hard' is one of the songs most commonly cited when people are trying to celebrate or denigrate 1960s garage rock, and sometimes championed for precisely the same reasons as others put it down, though in time the critical balance tended toward praising the tune rather than dumping on it."

The song was included on 1972's Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968, a compilation double album of American garage rock singles that helped influence the development of 1970s punk rock.

{{cite book

| last=Savage

| first=Jon

| title=England's Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond

| edition=Revised

| publisher=St. Martin's Griffin

| pages=64, 81, 561

| location=New York

| year=2002

| isbn=978-0-312-28822-8}}

{{cite book

| last=Gray

| first=Marcus

| title=The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town

| edition=2nd

| publisher=Hal Leonard

| page=28

| location=Milwaukee, Wis.

| year=2004

| isbn=978-0-634-08240-5}}

In 1994, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's curatorial staff, along with rock critics and historians, selected "Pushin' Too Hard" as part of a Hall of Fame exhibit featuring "The 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".{{cite news

|title = Experience the Music: One Hit Wonders and the Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll

|url=http://rockhall.com/exhibits/one-hit-wonders-songs-that-shaped-rock-and-roll/

|newspaper=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc.

|accessdate=2012-06-28}}

Dave Marsh selected the song to his 1989 book, The Heart Of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

{{cite book

| last=Marsh

| first=Dave

| title=The Heart Of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made

| publisher=Da Capo Press

| page=410

| location=New York

| year=1989

| isbn=978-0-306-80901-9}}

In 2003, a special edition issue of Q magazine, titled "1001 Best Songs Ever", ranked "Pushin' Too Hard" at number 486.{{cite journal

| title=1001 Best Songs Ever

| journal=Q

| publisher=Bauer Media Group

| author=Trynka, Paul (editor-in-chief)

| year=2003

| issue=Special edition}}

The song placed 16th on Paste Magazine's 2014 list of the "50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time".

{{cite magazine

| date=2014-08-27

| last=Stiernberg

| first=Bonnie

| url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2014/08/the-50-best-garage-rock-songs-of-all-time.html?p=3

| title=The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time

| magazine=Paste Magazine

| accessdate=2014-08-27}}

=Film and television appearances=

The Seeds, appearing as fictional band The Warts, performed "Pushin' Too Hard" on a 1968 episode of the television sitcom The Mothers-in-Law.

{{cite book

| last=Childs

| first=T. Mike

| title=The Rocklopedia Fakebandica

| publisher=St. Martin's Press

| location=New York

| page=[https://archive.org/details/rocklopediafakeb00chil/page/230 230]

| year=2004

| isbn=978-0-312-32944-0

| url-access=registration

| url=https://archive.org/details/rocklopediafakeb00chil/page/230

}}

The song is featured on the soundtracks to the films Air America (1990),

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r84901|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Air America Soundtrack - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

976-Evil II (1992),

Wild America (1997),

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r277711|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Wild America Soundtrack - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

and Easy Rider (2004; expanded edition).

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r687963|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Easy Rider Soundtrack (Expanded) - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

In the second-season episode of Lost titled "The Whole Truth", Jack and Locke listen to the song while Ana Lucia interrogates Henry.

{{cite book

| last=Stafford

| first=Nikki

| title=Finding Lost: The Unofficial Guide

| publisher=ECW Press

| location=Toronto

| page=[https://archive.org/details/findinglostunoff0000staf/page/270 270]

| year=2006

| isbn=978-1-55022-743-7

| url=https://archive.org/details/findinglostunoff0000staf/page/270

}}

The song featured in a 2012 Nike commercial titled "Game On, World" which pays homage to classic video games.

{{cite magazine

| date=2012-07-18

| last=Nudd

| first=Tim

| url=http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-nike-141968

| title=Ad of the Day: Nike+W+K and Adam Berg turn your world into a video game in sublime new spots

| magazine=Adweek

| accessdate=2012-08-07}}

It was used in Episode 6 of the 2023 TV series Funny Woman.

=Other versions=

Frank Zappa parodied the chorus of "Pushin' Too Hard" on the song "Sy Borg" from his 1979 rock opera album Joe's Garage.{{cite web

| last=McDonald

| first=Lisa

| url=http://www.timessquare.com/fashion/3078?task=view

| title=Project/Object an interview with Andre Cholmondeley

| publisher=TimesSquare.com

| date=2010-10-27

| accessdate=2012-10-09

}}{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Brazilian Jovem Guarda singer Wanderléa recorded, in 1967, a version of the song, called Vou lhe Contar, with Portuguese lyrics written by Rossini Pinto.

{{cite web

| url=https://www.vagalume.com.br/wanderlea/vou-lhe-contar-pushing-too-hard.html

| title=Wanderléa, "Vou lhe Contar"

| publisher=Vagalume

| date=2017-10-28

| accessdate=2017-10-28}}

Disco singer Paul Parker released a cover version of "Pushin' Too Hard" as the B-side to his 1982 single "Right On Target".

{{cite book

| last=Shapiro

| first=Peter

| title=Turn the Beat Around: The Secret History of Disco

| publisher=Faber and Faber

| location=New York

| page=[https://archive.org/details/turnbeataround00pete/page/79 79]

| year=2006

| isbn=978-0-86547-952-4

| url=https://archive.org/details/turnbeataround00pete/page/79

}}

Experimental rock group Pere Ubu included a live version of the song on their 1996 box set Datapanik in Year Zero.

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r239235|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Datapanik in Year Zero - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

A version by American rock band The Makers appears on the band's 1997 compilation album Shout On!/Hip-Notic.

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r276433|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Shout On!/Hip-Notic - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

Garage rockers The Embarrassment released their rendition of the song on their 2001 album Blister Pop.

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r523693|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Blister Pop - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

The Bangles performed "Pushin' Too Hard" for their 2007 live DVD Return to Bangleonia - Live in Concert.

{{cite web

| date=2007-08-14

| last=McIntosh

| first=Dan

| url=http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/the-bangles-return-to-bangleonia-live-in-concert-dvd

| title=The Bangles: Return to Bangleonia: Live in Concert [DVD]

| publisher=PopMatters)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

A 1978 live version of the song by power pop group The Rubinoos appears on their 2007 compilation album Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Rubinoos.

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1027520|pure_url=yes}}

| title=Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the Rubinoos - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

Sky Saxon re-recorded the song on his 2008 album The King of Garage Rock.

{{cite web

| url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r1385863|pure_url=yes}}

| title=The King of Garage Rock - Overview

| publisher=Allmusic (Rovi Corporation)

| accessdate=2010-08-02}}

The Residents parodied the song on their Third Reich & Roll album.