1975 Classic Rock Anthem, Ranked Among ‘Most Underrated Guitar Solos of All Time,' Became Band's Defining Song
In 1975, the Tampa-based band the Outlaws released their debut album, which featured the song "Green Grass and High Tides." Written by Hughie Thomasson, the nearly 10-minute track was never released as a single, but it closed out the album in an epic way with two extended guitar solos by Thomasson, Billy Jones, and Henry Paul, who were dubbed the "Florida Guitar Army."
While the debut single "There Goes Another Love Song" became the Outlaws' only Top 40 Billboard hit, "Green Grass and High Tides" will forever be known as the band's signature song and a Southern rock anthem.
Vintage Guitar described "Green Grass and High Tides" as "arguably the band's definitive song" and a "bona fide rock classic."
In addition, Ultimate Guitar once ranked "Green Grass and High Tides" as one of the 25 most underrated guitar solos of all time on a list topped by Smashing Pumpkins' "Cherub Rock" and Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) the Reaper."
The guitar solos were originally longer
Even with its 9:46 run time, "Green Grass and High Tides" received airplay on album-oriented radio stations. But the original recording was even longer.
Outlaws bandmate Paul told Vintage Guitar that part of the guitar jam was cut out by music producer Paul A. Rothchild. "Everything was done with a razor blade, and there was miles of 2″ tape on the floor – someone's solo – so it went from a 13- or 14-minute song down to a 9:46 version," he said. "But he consolidated the essence of the song with brilliant edits; it sounded like it was perfectly conceived."
In an interview with Classic Bands, Thomasson admitted he was worried when Rothchild started cutting up the song. "'Green Grass And High Tides' was probably 15 or 16 minutes long, our first studio version. It was just too long," the Outlaws songwriter revealed. "Everybody said, ‘It's too long. You can't do it. It's not gonna get airplay.' Paul Rothchild said, ‘Well, let me see what I can do.'"
"I walked back into the control room, and I see him with a razor blade and there's two-inch tape lying over the chairs, around his neck, over the console," Thomasson recalled. "He said, ‘I'm editing "Green Grass.' My heart came up in my throat. Oh my God! We worked so hard to get that track. We cut that track, and we thought it was really the best one, and now it's in pieces. He goes, ‘Just trust me.'"
While Thomasson was "sweating bullets," it all worked out, and Rothchild's edited version is what was put on the album.
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Henry Paul thought the song deserved more attention
Paul also looked back on the legacy of "Green Grass and High Tides" in a 2017 interview with Glide magazine, where he compared it to another Southern rock anthem.
"You know, there were only a handful of songs that got attention, ‘Green Grass & High Tides' being one of them," he said. "That certainly deserved all of the attention and accolades and exposure and appreciation. As a matter of fact, I thought ‘Green Grass and High Tides' is a song that deserved more attention than it got. I always thought ‘Green Grass & High Tides" was a record that was much more interesting than ‘Freebird.'"
The guitar legend explained that he felt the Outlaws song was "more intricate, more difficult and more musical" than the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic.
"'Green Grass and High Tides' is one of the most difficult songs that anybody would ever play. If you go to the Rock Band toy series, it's the last song in the catalog and the most difficult," the Outlaws guitar player added.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 6:04 AM.