Drive (The Cars song)

"Drive"
Single by The Cars
from the album Heartbeat City
B-side	"Stranger Eyes"
Released	July 23, 1984 (1984-07-23)
Format	7"
Recorded	1983–1984
Genre	Synthpop, New Wave
Length	3:55
Label	Elektra
Writer(s)	Ric Ocasek
Producer	Robert John "Mutt" Lange The Cars
The Cars singles chronology
"Magic" (1984) "Drive" (1984) "Hello Again" (1984)
Music sample "Drive"

"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.^[1] Lead vocals were by Cars bassist Benjamin Orr.^[2]

"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.^[3] 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.^[4][5]

Music video

The music video was directed by actor Timothy Hutton and features model/actress Paulina Porizkova.

Track listing

7" single

1. "Drive"
2. "Stranger Eyes"^[6]

12" single

1. "Drive"
2. "My Best Friend's Girl"
3. "Stranger Eyes"^[7]

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart	8
Canadian RPM 100	2
Dutch Singles Chart	12
Irish Singles Chart	3
Norwegian Singles Chart	9
New Zealand Singles Chart	5
Swedish Singles Chart	15
Swiss Singles Chart	3
UK Singles Chart	4
US Billboard Hot 100	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 Strawpeople featuring the vocalist Bic Runga.
• A cover by Australian band The Paradise Motel appeared in the 2001 film He Died with a Felafel in His Hand .
• In 2001, the German rock band Scorpions covered the song on their live unplugged album Acoustica.^[8]
• Electronic producer Blu Mar Ten produced a cover version of this for his 2003 album The Six Million Names of God.^[9]
• A cover by Ziggy Marley was featured in the 2004 film 50 First Dates.^[10] The song also appears in the film Transformers.
• The band Deftones covered this song on their 2006 album Saturday Night Wrist. Deftones' cover version appeared on the trailer of the 2009 remake of The Stepfather.
• Portuguese band Blind Zero covered this song in 2006.
• Ruth-Ann Boyle, part of the trip hop group Olive, covered the song in her solo album, 'What About Us' that was released in 2007, exclusively in iTunes.
• The song was covered in 2008 by Hard Rock band Lo-Pro.
• In 2010, Australian actor/singer Jason Donovan recorded a cover version of "Drive" for his '80s covers album "Soundtrack of the 80s".^[11] The album went Top 20 in the UK in October 2010.^[12]
• In 2011, American rock singer/songwriter David Cook performed a live cover of "Drive" at Mix 94.1's Pet-a-Palooza in Las Vegas, NV.^[13]

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1984 (U.S.)

References

1. ^ The New York Times
2. ^ Songfacts.com
3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 49. 
4. ^ BBC
5. ^ Mojo4music.com
6. ^ Discogs.com
7. ^ Discogs.com
8. ^ Laut.de
9. ^ Discogs.com
10. ^ Discogs.com
11. ^ Whosampled.com
12. ^ Dailyrecord.co.uk
13. ^ http://www.davidcookofficial.com/us/content/apr-9-2011-sat-mix-941%E2%80%99s-12th-annual-pet-palooza-las-vegas-nv