Drive (The Cars song)
Encyclopedia
"Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars
, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City
album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek
and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr
.
"Drive" was The Cars highest charting single in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went to number one. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart
on its initial release; following the Cars' performance at Live Aid
, the song was re-released and peaked at number four. It also reached number four in West Germany and number six in Canada. It was used as part of the Live Aid concert in 1985 as the background music to a montage of clips showing poverty-stricken Africa.
and features model/actress Paulina Porizkova
.
12" single
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City
Heartbeat City
Heartbeat City is the fifth studio album by American rock band The Cars, released in 1984.Heartbeat City contains a total of five American Top 40 singles, two of which were Top 10 as well, reaching #3 and #7, respectively...
album and their biggest international hit. It was written by Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band. Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr
Benjamin Orr
Benjamin Orr was an American rock musician best known as the bassist and vocalist for the Boston based rock band, The Cars....
.
"Drive" was The Cars highest charting single in the United States, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went to number one. It reached number five in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
on its initial release; following the Cars' performance at Live Aid
Live Aid
Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on 13 July 1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Billed as the "global jukebox", the event was held simultaneously in Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom ...
, the song was re-released and peaked at number four. It also reached number four in West Germany and number six in Canada. It was used as part of the Live Aid concert in 1985 as the background music to a montage of clips showing poverty-stricken Africa.
Music video
The music video was directed by actor Timothy HuttonTimothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
and features model/actress Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
Pavlína Pořízková-Ocasek is a Czech model and actress. At the age of eighteen years, she became the first woman from Central Europe to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swim-suit issue. She was the second woman to be featured on the swim-suit issue's front cover consecutive times...
.
Track listing
7" single- "Drive"
- "Stranger Eyes"
12" single
- "Drive"
- "My Best Friend's GirlMy Best Friend's Girl (song)"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, and reached...
" - "Stranger Eyes"
Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
8 |
| Canadian RPM 100 RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
2 |
| Dutch Singles Chart Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
12 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
3 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
9 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
5 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
15 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
4 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
3 |
| US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| US Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 9 |
Cover versions
- The song was covered in 2000 by the New Zealand group StrawpeopleStrawpeopleStrawpeople are a New Zealand band. They were created by Paul Casserly and Mark Tierney after they had met while working at the Auckland university radio station now known as 95 bFM....
featuring the vocalist Bic RungaBic RungaBriolette Kah Bic Runga MNZM is a New Zealand pop recording artist whose first solo album, Drive, debuted at number one on the New Zealand RIANZ charts. She has since become one of the highest-selling New Zealand artists in recent history...
. - A cover by Australian band The Paradise MotelThe Paradise MotelThe Paradise Motel are a critically and commercially successful independent Australian band from Hobart, Tasmania, first active from 1995–2000, who reformed in 2008.-Formation and early releases 1994–1998:...
appeared in the 2001 film He Died with a Felafel in His HandHe Died with a Felafel in His Hand (film)He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is a 2001 Australian comedy, starring Noah Taylor. The film draws on the novel of the same name and consists of a series of vignettes describing a young man's experience of sharing accommodation with a variety of interesting strangers...
. - In 2001, the German rock band ScorpionsScorpions (band)Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
covered the song on their live unplugged album AcousticaAcoustica (Scorpions album)Acoustica is a 2001 unplugged album by German heavy metal band Scorpions.Acoustica was recorded during three concerts, at Convento do Beato, Lisbon, Portugal, in February 2001. It was a most unusual set for the band, as Klaus Meine comments on the DVD...
. - Electronic producer Blu Mar TenBlu Mar TenBlu Mar Ten is a music production outfit based in London, and is made up of Leo Wyndham and Chris Marigold and Michael Tognarelli.-History:Blu Mar Ten's first track to be released was "The Fountain" / "Lunar" in 1996 on the now defunct Way Out Records. The track appeared on numerous compilations...
produced a cover version of this for his 2003 album The Six Million Names of God. - A cover by Ziggy MarleyZiggy MarleyDavid "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...
was featured in the 2004 film 50 First Dates50 First Dates50 First Dates is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and written by George Wing. The film stars Adam Sandler as a woman-chasing veterinarian and Drew Barrymore as an amnesiac, along with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Lusia Strus, Blake Clark, and Dan Aykroyd.Most of the film...
. The song also appears in the film Transformers. - The band DeftonesDeftonesDeftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
covered this song on their 2006 album Saturday Night WristSaturday Night WristSaturday Night Wrist is the fifth studio album by American metal band Deftones. It was released on Maverick Records on October 31, 2006. Despite early contributions that were later scrapped, Saturday Night Wrist marks the departure of mainstay Deftones producer Terry Date.The band's fifth album...
. Deftones' cover version appeared on the trailer of the 2009 remake of The Stepfather. - Portuguese band Blind ZeroBlind ZeroBlind Zero are a Portuguese rock band from the city of Porto. They have won the 2003 MTV Europe Music Award for the Best Portuguese Act.-History:...
covered this song in 2006. - Ruth-Ann BoyleRuth-Ann BoyleRuth-Ann Boyle is an English pop music singer who became famous during the 1990s. Together with producers Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth, she formed the British band Olive...
, part of the trip hop group OliveOlive (band)Olive was a breakbeat/trip hop group from the North of England. The founding membership consisted of producer, instrumentalist and songwriter Tim Kellett, producer and keyboard programmer Robin Taylor-Firth, and singer Ruth-Ann Boyle...
, covered the song in her solo album, 'What About Us' that was released in 2007, exclusively in iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. - The song was covered in 2008 by Hard Rock band Lo-ProLo-ProLo-Pro is an American five-piece hard rock band. They released a self-titled album in 2003. However, after touring in support of the album, they were dropped from the Geffen record label. The band then spent years working on new material, and streaming many new songs on their Myspace...
. - In 2010, Australian actor/singer Jason DonovanJason DonovanJason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
recorded a cover version of "Drive" for his '80s covers album "Soundtrack of the 80s". The album went Top 20 in the UK in October 2010. - In 2011, American rock singer/songwriter David CookDavid Cook (singer)David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...
performed a live cover of "Drive" at Mix 94.1's Pet-a-Palooza in Las Vegas, NV.