Which riff came first?

[Spacemanbob]

"the Stake" by The Steve Miller Band, and "Rocky Mountain Way" by Joe Walsh, seem to begin with the same guitar riff. Who wrote each song, and when?

[andy hughes]

It looks as though Joe Wlash got to the riff first - 'Rocky Mountain Way' was written by Joe, and band members Joe Vitale and Kenny Passarelli and was featured on the 'The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get' album which was released in 1973.
Bass player David Denny joined the Steve Miller Band around 1976, and his song 'The Stake' was released a year later, so assuming musicians don't leave their songs to marinate in drawers or back rockets or wherever, anbd they are recorded at around the time they are written, Joe Walsh and his band get moral ownership of that riff. Legal ownership? That's something else enitrely!

[Mellsworth]

The basic riff for the song was taken from Sly and the Family Stone’s Sex Machine, the title of which was ripped off by James Brown.