Drive (The Cars song)

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"Drive"
Song
B-side"Stranger Eyes"

"Drive" is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album released in March 1984 and their biggest international hit. Written by Ric Ocasek, the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr[1] and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band.[2] Upon its release, "Drive" became 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.[3] It reached number four in West Germany, number six in Canada and number five (number four on re-entry in 1985) in the UK.

The song is associated with the July 1985 Live Aid event, where it was used as the background music to a montage of clips depicting the contemporaneous Ethiopian famine.[4][5] Following the concert it was re-released in the UK and peaked at number four in August 1985. Proceeds from the sales of the re-released song raised nearly £160,000 for the Band Aid Trust: Ocasek presented the charity's trustee Midge Ure with a cheque for the amount while he was in London in November 1986 promoting his solo album This Side of Paradise.[6]

In a retrospective review of the single, AllMusic journalist Donald A. Guarisco praised the song for being "a gorgeous ballad that matches heartfelt songwriting to an alluring electronic soundscape. The music reflects the lyrical tone with a lovely melody that rises and falls in a soothing yet sad fashion."[7]

Music video

The music video was directed by actor Timothy Hutton and features model and actress Paulina Porizkova, who would later become Ric Ocasek's wife.[8]

The video alternates between shots of Orr sitting in a disused nightclub, facing mannequins posed at the bar as customers and bartender, and scenes that depict the breakdown of a relationship between the characters played by Ocasek and Porizkova. Ultimately left alone, the woman cries and laughs hysterically for a time before visiting the nightclub. She looks sadly in through a dirty window at the stage, where tuxedo-clad mannequins of the band members are posed with their instruments as if playing a show, and turns to walk away as the video ends.

Tim Hutton later recalled that his directing the video came about because he was living next to Elliot Roberts, the manager of The Cars. They were listening to tracks from the then-unreleased album Heartbeat City and Hutton told Roberts he was particularly impressed by the track 'Drive'.

At that time, everybody was making videos. It was the height of MTV, and when you made a record, you were also thinking about the video. I talked to Elliott about how much I liked that song “Drive,” and I started describing all the different ways I thought they could go with it, as far as the video. And he said, “You know, everything you’re saying sounds really interesting. Do you mind if… Would you be up for me passing that concept along to Ric Ocasek?” I said, “Sure!” So he got back to me the next day and said, “Ric and I think you should direct the video. We love your idea, your take on it.” So that’s how that happened. And about a month later, I was in New York at the Astoria Studios over two days, filming the video. [9]

Hutton and Ric Ocasek became friends which led to the latter being cast in Made in Heaven.

Track listing

7" single
  1. "Drive"
  2. "Stranger Eyes"[10]
12" single
  1. "Drive"
  2. "My Best Friend's Girl"
  3. "Stranger Eyes"[11]

Charts and certifications

In popular culture

The song was used in a 1984 episode of the American soap opera Santa Barbara and 2013 American TV series The Carrie Diaries.

Cover versions

See also

References

  1. ^ "Drive by The Cars Songfacts". Songfacts.com. May 12, 1984. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  2. ^ "Ric Ocasek Rocks CBGB | Music News". Rolling Stone. September 30, 2005. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 49.
  4. ^ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 13 | 1985: Was Live Aid the best rock concert ever?". BBC News. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  5. ^ "Geldolf Live Aid". Mojo4music.com.
  6. ^ NME. London, England: IPC Media: 4. November 15, 1986. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Drive - The Cars | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  8. ^ "Video Classics: "Drive" – The Cars". CBS. February 4, 2012.
  9. ^ "Timothy Hutton, from Ordinary People and Taps to a Cars video" By Will Harris Random Roles - AV Club Mar 10, 2015 accessed 13 March 2015
  10. ^ "Cars, The - Drive (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  11. ^ "Cars, The - Drive (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  12. ^ "Cars – Drive". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  13. ^ "Cars – Drive" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  14. ^ "Top Singles - Volume 41, No. 5". RPM. October 6, 1984. Retrieved September 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ "Cars – Drive" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  16. ^ "Chart Track: Week 43, 1984". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Cars" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  18. ^ "Cars – Drive". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  19. ^ "Cars – Drive". VG-lista. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  20. ^ "Cars – Drive". Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  21. ^ "Cars – Drive". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  22. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  23. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  24. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  25. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  26. ^ "British single certifications – The Cars – Drive". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Drive in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  27. ^ Kritik von Martin Mengele. "Drive von Scorpions – laut.de – Song". Laut.de. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  28. ^ "Various - 50 First Dates - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  29. ^ "Jason Donovan's Drive cover of The Cars's Drive". WhoSampled. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  30. ^ Fulton, Rick (October 23, 2010). "Jason Donovan reveals how becoming a dad helped him kick cocaine habit". Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland: Trinity Mirror. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  31. ^ Cornell, Jeff (August 27, 2014). "Sixx: A.M. Reveal Their Cover of The Cars' Classic 'Drive'". Loudwire Network. Retrieved September 14, 2014.

External links

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