Recording The song was recorded in the Auckland suburb of
Henderson. The session took place in a garage studio that belonged to a country singer. The backing ensemble included musicians from the Blind Institute. The backing group, The Rising Suns, was formerly called
The Radars. The trumpet player was Kevin Furey, formerly of
Quincy Conserve. Waretini paid the musicians in
Kentucky Fried Chicken. "We recorded it just as we played it in the hotels, with heart and soul and feel," he said. He had a pile of the singles produced, which cost him $96. Some were sent to
Radio 1ZB. He then bombarded them with play requests. He also managed to get it played at intermission time at Auckland's
Civic Theatre. Another tactic was recruiting a newspaper boy to sell copies to passing people for 50 cents apiece. (His backing band, The Rising Stars, two years later in 1983 would use the same approach in promoting a single.) "The Bridge" was produced by Allan Witana, and originally released on the Innovations label. Waretini received $27,000 from CBS and gave up his rights to the song. ==Other versions==