Drive (The Cars song)

"Drive" is a 1984 song by the Cars, released in March 1984 as the third single from the band's Heartbeat City album, 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 most territories. In the United States, it peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; on the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went to No. 1.[3] It reached No. 5 (No. 4 on re-entry in 1985) in the United Kingdom, No. 4 in West Germany, No. 6 in Canada and No. 3 (No. 5 on re-entry in 1985) in Ireland.

"Drive"
Side A of the US single
Single by the Cars
from the album Heartbeat City
B-side"Stranger Eyes"
ReleasedJuly 23, 1984 (1984-07-23)
Format
  • 7-inch single
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • mini CD
Recorded1983
Genre
Length3:54
LabelElektra 69706
Songwriter(s)Ric Ocasek
Producer(s)
The Cars singles chronology
"Magic"
(1984)		 "Drive"
(1984)		 "Hello Again"
(1984)
Music video
"Drive" on YouTube
Audio sample
"Drive"
  • file
  • help

The song is most associated with the July 1985 Live Aid event, where it was performed by Benjamin Orr during the Philadelphia event; previously, the song was used as the background music to a montage of clips depicting the contemporaneous Ethiopian famine during the London event, which was introduced by English musician David Bowie.[4][5] Following the concert, it re-entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at No. 4 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 18-year-old model/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.

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 "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 Ocasek being cast in the film 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

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

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

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. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011.
  6. NME. London. November 15, 1986. p. 4. 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. "ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – National Top 100 Singles 1984". australian-charts.com. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
  13. "Austriancharts.at – The Cars – Drive" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  14. "Ultratop.be – The Cars – Drive" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  15. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8724." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  16. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8938." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  17. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 96 no. 44. November 3, 1984. p. 80. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved February 25, 2020 – via Google Books.
  18. "European Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Eurotipsheet. Vol. 1 no. 31. October 29, 1984. p. 4. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved February 25, 2020 – via American Radio History.
  19. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Cars". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 43, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Cars – Drive" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  23. "Charts.nz – The Cars – Drive". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
  24. "Norwegiancharts.com – The Cars – Drive". VG-lista. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  25. "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion) – Acts C". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  26. "Swedishcharts.com – The Cars – Drive". Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  27. "Swisscharts.com – The Cars – Drive". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  28. "Cars: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  29. "The Cars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  30. "The Cars Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  31. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 6, 1984". Cash Box. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  32. "The Cars Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  33. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Cars – Drive". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  34. "Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. Vol. 41 no. 17. January 5, 1985. p. 7. ISSN 0315-5994. Retrieved February 25, 2020 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  35. "Top Selling Singles of 1984". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  36. "Top 100 1984". UK Music Charts. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  37. "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  38. "Adult Contemporary Songs – Year-End 1984". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  39. "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1984 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 29, 1984. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  40. "Top 100 1985". UK Music Charts. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  41. "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.
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