| "Vehicle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by the Ides of March | ||||
| from the album Vehicle | ||||
| B-side | "Lead Me Home, Gently" | |||
| Released | March 1970 | |||
| Recorded | CBS Studios (Chicago) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:56 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. (US) | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jim Peterik | |||
| Producer(s) | Bob Destocki, Frank Rand | |||
| The Ides of March singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Vehicle" on YouTube | ||||
"Vehicle" is a song recorded by American rock band the Ides of March for their debut album Vehicle (1970). The song was released as the lead single from the album in March 1970 through Warner Bros. Records. Written by vocalist and frontman Jim Peterik, it is about a girl that often used him for her mode of transportation, leading Peterik to surmise that he was little more than her "vehicle". The arrangement includes a distinctive horn section riff, which caused some listeners to mistake the band for Blood, Sweat & Tears, who were also popular in that era.
"Vehicle" was a commercial success, and was purported to be the fastest-selling single in the history of Warner Bros. at that time. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, while reaching the top 5 in Canada and just outside the top 30 in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the Ides of March never had another hit single, leaving them one-hit wonders. Peterik, however, was to go on to found the rock group Survivor, and become a successful songwriter.
The song was used in the 1998 commercial for the Ford Cougar.[2]
- ^ Breihan, Tom (Jun 8, 2020). "The Number Ones: Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger". Stereogum. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
...in 1970, they'd had an out-of-nowhere funky rock hit called "Vehicle".
- ^ Cougar Ford Pressevideo, retrieved 2023-11-02