What is "tarkio"

Tarkio is the third album by Brewer & Shipley. Released in 1970, the album (also known as Tarkio Road, as that title was printed on the labels of original pressings of the LP and pre-recorded tapes) yielded the hit singles "One Toke Over the Line" and "Tarkio Road."

The title came about when they left California in 1969 returning to the Midwest, this time to Kansas City, Missouri, where they played college towns in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas. The title referred to songs that came to mind when they were driving to and from Kansas City to their gigs in Nebraska and Iowa on the 2-lane U.S. Route 275 which went through Tarkio, Missouri. The route has subsequently been supplanted by Interstate 29. In 2011 they held an outdoor concert in downtown Tarkio to celebrate the anniversary of the album. Some reports have erroneously indicated the album was inspired by a 1969 concert at the Mule Barn at Tarkio College but the group has maintained the song was based on the road.

"Tarkio Road" reached #41 in Canada.

Jerry Garcia contributed a distinctive steel guitar intro to the track "Oh Mommy," which was purportedly a plea to throw Richard Nixon out of office. The album also features John Kahn and Bill Vitt on bass guitar and drums, respectively; they were regulars of The Jerry Garcia Band.

Tarkio may refer to:

• Tarkio River, a river that runs through Iowa and Missouri
• Tarkio, Missouri, a town on the Tarkio River in the northwest corner of Missouri
  • Tarkio (album), an album by the folk-rock duo Brewer & Shipley, named for the city in Missouri
  • Tarkio College, a college no longer in existence in the city of Tarkio, Missouri
• Tarkio, Montana, a small town near Missoula, Montana
  • Tarkio (band), an indie rock group which took its name from the town in Montana

Tarkio was an indie rock band from Missoula, Montana which included Colin Meloy prior to his forming The Decemberists. Tarkio broke up in 1999, but found new popularity in a retrospective released by Kill Rock Stars in 2006.