Vehicle (song): Difference between revisions

"Vehicle"
"Vehicle"
Single by the Ides of March
from the album Vehicle
B-side	"Lead Me Home, Gently"
Released	March 1970
Recorded	CBS Studios (Chicago)
Genre	Funk rock;
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

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"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]

Background

Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a tongue-in-cheek joke, having been initially inspired by anti-drug pamphlets passed out to high-schoolers.^[3] He expanded on the song's genesis in a piece for The Wall Street Journal:

At the time, I was madly in love with this girl named Karen. I had a souped-up 1964 Plymouth Valiant, and she was always asking for rides. I drove her to modeling school every week. I was hoping flames would ignite—but they didn't. I came home one day, dejected, and thought: all I am is her vehicle. And I thought: Wow! Vehicle! I came up with this song, taught it to the band, and the next thing I knew, we were recording in a CBS studio.^[4]

Peterik had an on-again/off-again relationship with the woman after the song came out, and they eventually wed.^[5]

Fourteen seconds of the completed "Vehicle" master tape (primarily the guitar solo) was accidentally erased in the recording studio. The missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take.

I remember that kind of feeling of experimentation. I also remember 14 seconds of the master of "Vehicle" being erased! We were doing background vocals and suddenly 14 seconds were gone from the master. No way to retrieve it. The second engineer had hit the wrong button. We spent two hours thinking our career is over, because at this time we knew we had something. Luckily, there was a Take One. They inserted 14 seconds of Take One and I redid the vocals. And now I hear it every time. From the second "Great God in heaven" all the way up to the guitar solo—-when you hear how abrupt that first note of the solo sounds, that's an edit.

Chart performance

It rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of May 23, 1970,^[6]^[7] behind "American Woman" by the Guess Who.^[8] It was considered to be the fastest-selling single in Warner Bros. Records history at that time.^[9]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[10]	73
Canada RPM Top Singles	3
UK (OCC)^[11]	31
US Billboard Hot 100^[12]	2
US Cash Box Top 100^[13]	6
US Record World Top 100	3

Year-end charts

Chart (1970)	Rank
Canada^[14]	55
US Billboard Hot 100 (1970)^[7]	85
US Cash Box^[15]	47

References

^ 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
^ "History". idesofmarchfancentral.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2003. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
^ "The Eyes of the Tiger: Vintage Cars and Their Legacy". The Wall Street Journal. March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
^ "Showbiz Analysis with Survivor Founding Member Jim Peterik". Parade.com. 6 February 2015.
^ "May 23, 1970". Billboard Hot 100. 2 January 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ "The Hot 100". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
^ "Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik Bio". Utopia Artists. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "IDES OF MARCH | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ "Cash Box Top 100 5/16/70". 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-08. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1970". Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2018.

External links

Songfacts

[Breihan_2020-1] 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".

[2] Cougar Ford Pressevideo, retrieved 2023-11-02

[3] "History". idesofmarchfancentral.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2003. Retrieved 13 January 2022.

[4] "The Eyes of the Tiger: Vintage Cars and Their Legacy". The Wall Street Journal. March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.

[5] "Showbiz Analysis with Survivor Founding Member Jim Peterik". Parade.com. 6 February 2015.

[6] "May 23, 1970". Billboard Hot 100. 2 January 2013.

[auto-7] "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

[8] "The Hot 100". Billboard. 2 January 2013.

[9] "Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik Bio". Utopia Artists. Retrieved 2016-10-03.

[aus-10] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 147. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[11] "IDES OF MARCH | Official Charts". Official Charts. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

[12] Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X

[13] "Cash Box Top 100 5/16/70". 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-06-08. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

[14] Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Image : RPM Weekly". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

[15] "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 26, 1970". Archived from the original on July 22, 2019. Retrieved March 16, 2018.

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@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 | alt        =
 | type       = single
-| artist     = [[The Ides of March (band)|The Ides of March]]
+| artist     = [[The Ides of March (band)|the Ides of March]]
 | album      = [[Vehicle (The Ides of March album)|Vehicle]]
 | B-side     = Lead Me Home, Gently
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | venue      =
 | genre      = {{flatlist|
+*[[Funk rock]]<ref name= "Breihan 2020">{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Survivor's "Eye Of The Tiger|website= [[Stereogum]] |date= Jun 8, 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2086871/the-number-ones-survivors-eye-of-the-tiger/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= ...in 1970, they’d had an out-of-nowhere funky rock hit called “Vehicle".|access-date= July 22, 2023}}</ref>
-*[[Funk rock]]
 }}
 | length     = 2:56
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 | next_title = Superman
 | next_year  = 1970
+| misc       = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|bq95nZBbNHI|"Vehicle"}}}}
 }}
-"'''Vehicle'''" is a song recorded by American rock band [[The Ides of March (band)|The Ides of March]] for their debut studio album [[Vehicle (The Ides of March album)|of the same name]] (1970). It was released as the [[lead single]] from the album in March 1970 through [[Warner Bros. Records]]. Written by vocalist and frontman [[Jim Peterik]], the song is about a girl that often used him for his 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|Blood, Sweat and Tears]], who were also popular in that era.
+"'''Vehicle'''" is a song recorded by American rock band [[The Ides of March (band)|the Ides of March]] for their debut album [[Vehicle (The Ides of March 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|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in the US, while reaching the top 5 in Canada and top 30 in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the Ides of March never had another hit single, leaving them [[one-hit wonder]]s.
+"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|''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 wonder]]s. Peterik, however, was to go on to found the rock group [[Survivor (band)|Survivor]], and become a successful songwriter.
+The song was used in the 1998 commercial for the [[Ford Cougar]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Cougar Ford Pressevideo |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5yXGOChIh4 |access-date=2023-11-02 |language=en}}</ref>
 ==Background==
+Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a [[tongue-in-cheek]] joke, having been initially inspired by anti-drug pamphlets passed out to high-schoolers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://idesofmarchfancentral.com/history/history1.htm |title=History |website=idesofmarchfancentral.com |access-date=13 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031207111825/http://idesofmarchfancentral.com/history/history1.htm |archive-date=7 December 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He expanded on the song's genesis in a piece for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'':
-[[File:1963 Plymouth Valiant V-200 Signet convertible (5164123038).jpg|thumb|right|A Plymouth Valiant convertible from the early 1960s.]]
+{{Blockquote|At the time, I was madly in love with this girl named Karen. I had a souped-up 1964 [[Plymouth Valiant]], and she was always asking for rides. I drove her to modeling school every week. I was hoping flames would ignite—but they didn't. I came home one day, dejected, and thought: all I am is her vehicle. And I thought: Wow! Vehicle! I came up with this song, taught it to the band, and the next thing I knew, we were recording in a [[Sony Music|CBS]] studio.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Eyes of the Tiger: Vintage Cars and Their Legacy|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-eyes-of-the-tiger-vintage-cars-and-their-legacy-1458656528|access-date=March 23, 2016|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=March 23, 2016}}</ref>}}
-Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a [[tongue-in-cheek]] joke, having been initially inspired by anti-drug pamphlets passed out to high-schoolers.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20031207111825/http://idesofmarchfancentral.com/history/history1.htm]</ref> He expanded on the song's genesis in a piece for ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'':
-{{Quote|At the time, I was madly in love with this girl named Karen. I had a souped-up 1964 [[Plymouth Valiant]], and she was always asking for rides. I drove her to modeling school every week. I was hoping flames would ignite—but they didn't. I came home one day, dejected, and thought: all I am is her vehicle. And I thought: Wow! Vehicle! I came up with this song, taught it to the band, and the next thing I knew, we were recording in a [[Sony Music|CBS]] studio.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Eyes of the Tiger: Vintage Cars and Their Legacy|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-eyes-of-the-tiger-vintage-cars-and-their-legacy-1458656528|access-date=March 23, 2016|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=March 23, 2016}}</ref>}}
-Peterik had an on-again/off-again relationship with the woman after the song came out, and they eventually wed.<ref>https://parade.com/373466/nancyberk/showbiz-analysis-with-survivor-founding-member-jim-peterik/</ref>
+Peterik had an on-again/off-again relationship with the woman after the song came out, and they eventually wed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://parade.com/373466/nancyberk/showbiz-analysis-with-survivor-founding-member-jim-peterik/|title = Showbiz Analysis with Survivor Founding Member Jim Peterik|website=Parade.com|date = 6 February 2015}}</ref>
 Fourteen seconds of the completed "Vehicle" master tape (primarily the guitar solo) was accidentally erased in the recording studio. The missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take.
-{{Quote|I remember that kind of feeling of experimentation.  I also remember 14 seconds of the master of "Vehicle" being erased!  We were doing background vocals and suddenly 14 seconds were gone from the master.  No way to retrieve it.  The second engineer had hit the wrong button.  We spent two hours thinking our career is over, because at this time we knew we had something. Luckily, there was a Take One.  They inserted 14 seconds of Take One and I redid the vocals.  And now I hear it every time.  From the second "Great God in heaven" all the way up to the guitar solo—-when you hear how abrupt that first note of the solo sounds, that's an edit.}}
+{{Blockquote|I remember that kind of feeling of experimentation.  I also remember 14 seconds of the master of "Vehicle" being erased!  We were doing background vocals and suddenly 14 seconds were gone from the master.  No way to retrieve it.  The second engineer had hit the wrong button.  We spent two hours thinking our career is over, because at this time we knew we had something. Luckily, there was a Take One.  They inserted 14 seconds of Take One and I redid the vocals.  And now I hear it every time.  From the second "Great God in heaven" all the way up to the guitar solo—-when you hear how abrupt that first note of the solo sounds, that's an edit.}}
 ==Chart performance==
-It rose to number 2 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart the week of May 23, 1970,<ref>[http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1970.htm Musicoutfitters.com]</ref> behind "[[American Woman]]" by [[the Guess Who]].<ref>https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1970-05-23</ref>  It was considered to be the fastest-selling single in [[Warner Bros. Records]] history at that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utopiaartists.com/bio_ides_of_march.htm |title=Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik Bio |publisher=Utopia Artists |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref>
+It rose to number 2 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart the week of May 23, 1970,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1970-05-23|work=[[Billboard Hot 100]] |title=May 23, 1970|date=2 January 2013 }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1970.htm|title=Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970|website=Musicoutfitters.com|access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref> behind "[[American Woman]]" by [[the Guess Who]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1970-05-23|title=The Hot 100|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=2 January 2013}}</ref>  It was considered to be the fastest-selling single in [[Warner Bros. Records]] history at that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utopiaartists.com/bio_ides_of_march.htm |title=Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik Bio |publisher=Utopia Artists |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref>
 ==Chart history==
@@ Line 58: / Line 61: @@
 | style="text-align:center;"|3
 |-
-|[[UK Singles Chart|UK]] ([[The Official Charts Company|OCC]])<ref>[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14064/ides-of-march/ UK Official Charts, 6 June 1970]</ref>
+|[[UK Singles Chart|UK]] ([[The Official Charts Company|OCC]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14064/ides-of-march/|title=IDES OF MARCH &#124; Official Charts|website=[[Official Charts Company|Official Charts]] |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center;"|31
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@@ Line 64: / Line 67: @@
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 |-
-|US [[Cash Box (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100<ref>[http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19700516.html Cash Box Top 100 Singles, May 16, 1970]{{Dead link|date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
+|US [[Cash Box (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19700516.html|title=Cash Box Top 100 5/16/70|date=8 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608162229/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19700516.html |access-date=8 September 2023|archive-date=2015-06-08 }}</ref>
 |align="center"|6
 |-
+|US [[Record World]] Top 100
+|align-"center"|3
 |}
 {{col-2}}
@@ Line 76: / Line 81: @@
 ! style="text-align:center;"|Rank
 |-
-|Canada<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3740&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3740.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3740|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada|work=collectionscanada.gc.ca}}</ref>
+|Canada<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3740&URLjpg=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f4/nlc008388.3740.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3740|title=Image : RPM Weekly|first=Library and Archives|last=Canada|date=17 July 2013|website=Bac-lac.gc.ca|access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>
 | style="text-align:center;"|55
 |-
+|[[Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (1970)]]<ref name="auto"/>
-|US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>[http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1970.htm Musicoutfitters.com]</ref>
 | style="text-align:center;"|85
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@@ Line 87: / Line 92: @@
 |}
 {{col-end}}
-==Covers==
-* Richard Stoute of Barbados did a [[Spouge]] remix in 1974 on the Rainbow WIRL label.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
-* [[Bo Bice]] did a cover as a [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] of his 2005 single "[[Inside Your Heaven]]".
-* Singer [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] performed "Vehicle" in the 1970 season of his television series ''[[This is Tom Jones]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gnbn4erdsk0 |title=Tom Jones sings "Vehicle" - Live 1970 |via=[[YouTube]] |date=2011-05-20 |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref>
-* [[Erykah Badu]] sampled the song for her 2000 track ". . . & on" on the ''[[Mama's Gun]]'' album.
-* [[Chet Baker]]'s version is on the 1998 compilation album ''Talkin' Verve Groovy''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-Talkin-Verve-Groovy/release/1720958 |title=Various - Talkin' Verve Groovy! (CD) at Discogs |website=Discogs.com |date=2016-09-29 |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref>
-* [[Joe Lynn Turner]] covered the song in his 1997 rock album of covers, ''[[Under Cover (Joe Lynn Turner album)|Under Cover]]''.
-* [[Shirley Bassey]] recorded this song in 1971, but it wasn't released until 1994; it is now a bonus track on her CD ''[[Something Else (Shirley Bassey album)|Something Else]]''.
-* Garage punk band [[Adam West (band)|Adam West]] recorded the song in 1994. It is available on their compilation album ''Five the Hard Way!'' [All Recordings 1992-1194].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/release/3146750 |title=Adam West (2) - Five The Hard Way! (All Recordings 1992-1994) (CD, Album) at Discogs |website=Discogs.com |date=2016-09-29 |access-date=2016-10-03}}</ref>
-* ''Star Trek'' actor [[Robert Picardo]] did a parody cover on one of his parody albums.
-* [[Roadsaw]] covered this song for ''[[Sucking the 70s]]'' compilation.
-* [[Puddles Pity Party]] performed "Vehicle" with the Ides of March on WGN June 6, 2019
-* An instrumental cover of "Vehicle" was featured in a 1980s UK television commercial for [[Schweppes]] soft drinks, featuring British comedian [[Roy Jay]].<ref>{{YouTube|Q8LBJJVnyB4}}</ref>
-The song is heavily sampled on [[Aloe Blacc]]'s "King is Born".
 ==See also==
-* [[List of one-hit wonders in the United States#1970s|List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States]]
+* [[List of one-hit wonders in the United States]]
 ==References==