Drive (The Cars song)

"Drive"
Side A of the US 7-inch single
Single by the Cars
from the album Heartbeat City
B-side
ReleasedJuly 23, 1984 (1984-07-23)
Recorded1983
StudioBattery, London
GenreSynth-rock[1]
Length3:55
LabelElektra
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"

"Drive" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). It was released on July 23, 1984, as the album's third single. Written by Ric Ocasek, the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr[2] and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange with the band.[3] Upon its release, "Drive" became the Cars' highest-charting single in most territories. In the United States, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart.[4] It reached number five (number four on re-entry in 1985) in the United Kingdom, number four in West Germany, number six in Canada and number three (number five on re-entry in 1985) in Ireland.

The song is most associated with the July 1985 Live Aid event, where it was performed by The Cars during the Philadelphia event; the song was also used as the background music to a montage of clips depicting the contemporaneous Ethiopian famine during the London event, which was introduced by British musician David Bowie.[5][6] Following the concert, it re-entered the UK Singles Chart 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.[7]

  1. ^ "The 100 Greatest Car Songs of All Time: Staff List". Billboard. June 24, 2021. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "Drive by The Cars". Songfacts. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  3. ^ "Ric Ocasek Rocks CBGB". Rolling Stone. September 30, 2005. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 49.
  5. ^ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 13 | 1985: Was Live Aid the best rock concert ever?". BBC News. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved October 7, 2013.
  6. ^ "Geldolf Live Aid". Mojo. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011.
  7. ^ NME. London. November 15, 1986. p. 4. {{cite magazine}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)