Video Classics: “Drive” – The Cars

The Cars (YouTube)

The Cars biggest international hit, “Drive”, was released in 1984.  In retrospect, it was probably the most-appropriate title for a song by a band of that name, though it was the quality of the music and not any cleverness of title that drove its success. It was the third single from their album Heartbeat City. While big overseas, it never quite made #1. The closest it ever got was right next door in Canada at #2, though it logged a very respectable #3 in Ireland and Switzerland.

From Wikipedia …

“Drive” was The Cars’ highest charting single in the United States, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went all the way to #1. It also got to #5 in the UK singles chart, becoming their second biggest UK hit, then was re-released in the UK in 1985 (after the Live Aid performance at JFK Stadium), this time charting at #4. The song was also a big hit in what was West Germany, reaching #4, and in Canada, reaching #6. In addition, it was famously used as part of the Live Aid concert in 1985, as the background music to a montage of clips showing poverty-stricken Africa.

The music video for the song stars, besides Ric Ocasek and Benjamin Orr, Czech-born supermodel Paulina Porizkova, who later married Ocasek. The video was directed by actor Timothy Hutton.

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