Drive ( the Cars song ) - wikipedia Drive ( the Cars song ) `` Drive '' A-side label of U.S. vinyl single Single by The Cars from the album Heartbeat City B - side `` Stranger Eyes '' Released July 23, 1984 ( 1984 - 07 - 23 ) Format 7 - inch single 12 - inch vinyl mini CD Recorded Genre New wave soft rock synthpop Length 3 : 54 Label Elektra 69706 Songwriter ( s ) Ric Ocasek Producer ( s ) Robert John `` Mutt '' Lange The Cars The Cars singles chronology `` Magic '' ( 1984 ) `` Drive '' ( 1984 ) `` Hello Again '' ( 1984 ) `` Magic '' ( 1984 ) `` Drive '' ( 1984 ) `` Hello Again '' ( 1984 ) Music video `` Drive '' on YouTube Audio sample file help `` Drive '' is a 1984 song by The Cars, the third single from the band 's Heartbeat City album released in March 1984 and their biggest international hit. Written by Ric Ocasek, the track was sung by bassist Benjamin Orr and produced by Robert John `` Mutt '' Lange with the band. Upon its release, `` Drive '' became The Cars ' highest charting single in the United States, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart ; on the Adult Contemporary chart, the song went to No. 1. 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. The song is 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. Following the concert it was re-released in the UK 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. 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. '' Contents 1 Music video 2 Track listing 3 Chart performance 3.1 Weekly charts 3.2 Year - end charts 4 Certifications 5 Cover versions 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Music video The music video was directed by actor Timothy Hutton and features model and actress Paulina Porizkova, who would later become Ric Ocasek 's wife. 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 the track `` 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. Hutton and Ric Ocasek became friends which led to the latter being cast in Made in Heaven. Track listing 7 '' single `` Drive '' `` Stranger Eyes '' 12 '' single `` Drive '' `` My Best Friend 's Girl '' `` Stranger Eyes '' Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1984 -- 85 ) Position Australia ( ARIA ) 10 Austria ( Ö3 Austria Top 40 ) 8 Canada ( Billboard Canada ) 6 France ( SNEP ) 9 Germany ( Official German Charts ) Ireland ( IRMA ) Netherlands ( Dutch Top 40 ) 12 New Zealand ( Recorded Music NZ ) 5 Norway ( VG - lista ) Sweden ( Sverigetopplistan ) 15 Switzerland ( Schweizer Hitparade ) 13 UK Singles ( Official Charts Company ) US Billboard Hot 100 US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) 9 U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1984 ) Rank U.S. Billboard Hot 100 41 U.S. Cash Box 29 Certifications Region Certification Certified units / Sales United Kingdom ( BPI ) Gold 500,000 sales figures based on certification alone shipments figures based on certification alone Cover versions This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( June 2014 ) The song was covered in 1984 by British entertainer Des O'Connor on his album Des O'Connor Now. Australian band The Paradise Motel released a cover as a single in 1999. This was used in the 2001 Noah Taylor film He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. New Zealand band Strawpeople covered the song in 2000, featuring the vocals of Bic Runga. The song peaked at number 7 on the New Zealand charts. In 2001, the German rock band Scorpions covered the song on their live unplugged album Acoustica. A cover by Ziggy Marley of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers was featured in the 2004 film 50 First Dates. In 2005, American band Deftones recorded an exclusive cover of the song for iTunes, which was featured in the trailer for The Stepfather. In 2006 `` Drive '' was included in Julio Iglesias ' album Romantic Classics. In 2010, Australian actor / singer Jason Donovan recorded a cover version of `` Drive '' for his covers album Soundtrack of the 80s. The album went Top 20 in the UK in October 2010. The song was covered by US hard rock band Sixx : A.M. on their 2014 album Modern Vintage. My Morning Jacket covered the song live in January 2015. Britta Phillips covered the song on her album of covers Luck or Magic. Barrett Baber covered the song for his 2016 album, A Room Full of Fighters. In 2018, Aimee Mann covered the song in Episode 4 of The Assassination of Gianni Versace : American Crime Story ; the recording was released on iTunes and Apple Music. See also List of number - one adult contemporary singles of 1984 ( U.S. ) References Jump up ^ `` Drive by The Cars Songfacts ''. Songfacts.com. May 12, 1984. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Ric Ocasek Rocks CBGB Music News ''. Rolling Stone. September 30, 2005. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ Whitburn, Joel ( 2002 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 - 2001. Record Research. p. 49. Jump up ^ `` BBC ON THIS DAY 13 1985 : Was Live Aid the best rock concert ever ? ''. BBC News. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Geldolf Live Aid ''. Mojo4music.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Jump up ^ NME. London, England : IPC Media : 4. November 15, 1986. Missing or empty title = ( help ) Jump up ^ Guarisco, Donald A. `` Drive - The Cars Listen, Appearances, Song Review ''. AllMusic. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Video Classics : `` Drive '' -- The Cars ``. CBS. February 4, 2012. Jump up ^ `` 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 Jump up ^ `` Cars, The - Drive ( Vinyl ) at Discogs ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Cars, The - Drive ( Vinyl ) at Discogs ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Australian-charts.com -- Cars -- Drive ''. ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Austriancharts.at -- Cars -- Drive '' ( in German ). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Top Singles - Volume 41, No. 5 ''. RPM. October 6, 1984. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Lescharts.com -- Cars -- Drive '' ( in French ). Les classement single. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Musicline.de -- Cars Single - Chartverfolgung '' ( in German ). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Chart Track : Week 43, 1984 ''. Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Nederlandse Top 40 -- The Cars '' ( in Dutch ). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Charts.nz -- Cars -- Drive ''. Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 17, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Norwegiancharts.com -- Cars -- Drive ''. VG - lista. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Swedishcharts.com -- Cars -- Drive ''. Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Swisscharts.com -- Cars -- Drive ''. Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Official Singles Chart Top 100 ''. Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 24, 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Cars Chart History ( Hot 100 ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` The Cars Chart History ( Adult Contemporary ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` The Cars Chart History ( Mainstream Rock ) ''. Billboard. Jump up ^ `` CASH BOX Top 100 Singles -- Week ending October 6, 1984 ''. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 01. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Cash Box magazine. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1984 / Top 100 Songs of 1984 ''. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on September 30, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2018. Jump up ^ `` British single certifications -- The Cars -- Drive ''. British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Enter Drive in the search field and then press Enter. Jump up ^ `` ' He Died with a Felafel in His Hand ( Music From The Feature Film ) ' ''. Discogs. Retrieved April 17, 2016. Jump up ^ Kritik von Martin Mengele. `` Drive von Scorpions -- laut.de -- Song ''. Laut.de. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Various - 50 First Dates - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ( CD ) at Discogs ''. Discogs.com. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Jason Donovan 's Drive cover of The Cars 's Drive ''. WhoSampled. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ Fulton, Rick ( October 23, 2010 ). `` Jason Donovan reveals how becoming a dad helped him kick cocaine habit ''. Daily Record. Glasgow, Scotland : Trinity Mirror. Retrieved October 7, 2013. Jump up ^ Cornell, Jeff ( August 27, 2014 ). `` Sixx : A.M. Reveal Their Cover of The Cars ' Classic ' Drive ' ''. Loudwire Network. Retrieved September 14, 2014. Jump up ^ http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/my-morning-jacket/2015/hard-rock-hotel-riviera-maya-mexico-3cacd07.html Jump up ^ Roberts, Christopher ( March 10, 2016 ). `` Watch : Britta Phillips ( of Luna and Dean & Britta ) - `` Drive '' Video ( The Cars Cover ) Luck or Magic Due Out April 29 via Double Feature Records ``. Under the Radar. Retrieved March 10, 2016. Jump up ^ https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/02/american-crime-story-aimee-mann-who-is-the-singer-listen-drive-the-cars-audio External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics The Cars Ric Ocasek Elliot Easton Greg Hawkes David Robinson Benjamin Orr Studio albums The Cars Candy - O Panorama Shake It Up Heartbeat City Door to Door Move Like This Compilations Greatest Hits Just What I Needed : The Cars Anthology Shake It Up & Other Hits Complete Greatest Hits The Essentials The Elektra Years 1978 -- 1987 Singles `` Just What I Needed '' `` My Best Friend 's Girl '' `` Good Times Roll '' `` Let 's Go '' `` It 's All I Can Do '' `` Double Life '' `` Touch and Go '' `` Do n't Tell Me No '' `` Gimme Some Slack '' `` Shake It Up '' `` Since You 're Gone '' `` Victim of Love '' `` Think It Over '' ( UK only ) `` You Might Think '' `` Magic '' `` Drive '' `` Hello Again '' `` Why Ca n't I Have You '' `` Heartbeat City '' ( UK only ) `` Tonight She Comes '' `` I 'm Not the One '' `` You Are the Girl '' `` Strap Me In '' `` Coming Up You '' `` Sad Song '' Other songs `` I 'm in Touch with Your World '' `` Do n't Cha Stop '' `` You 're All I 've Got Tonight '' `` Bye Bye Love '' `` Moving in Stereo '' `` All Mixed Up '' `` Candy - O '' `` Night Spots '' `` Dangerous Type '' `` Panorama '' `` Cruiser '' `` Blue Tip '' Concert tours North American Tour Spring 2011 Related articles Discography Substitution Mass Confusion : A Tribute to The Cars The New Cars Todd Rundgren Kasim Sulton Atom Ellis Prairie Prince It 's Alive ! Utopia Bic Runga Bic Runga discography New Zealand Music Awards Studio albums Drive ( 1997 ) Beautiful Collision ( 2002 ) Birds ( 2005 ) Belle ( 2011 ) Close Your Eyes ( 2016 ) Live albums Together in Concert : Live ( 2000 ) Live in Concert with the Christchurch Symphony ( 2003 ) Compilation albums Try to Remember Everything ( 2008 ) Anthology ( 2012 ) Extended plays Drive ( 1995 ) Singles `` Bursting Through '' `` Sway '' `` Suddenly Strange '' `` Roll into One '' `` Hey '' `` Good Morning Baby '' `` Sorry '' `` Drive '' `` Get Some Sleep '' `` Something Good '' `` Listening for the Weather '' `` Winning Arrow '' `` That 's Alright '' `` Say After Me '' `` Hello Hello '' `` Close Your Eyes '' Related articles Sony Music New Zealand New Zealand Music Awards APRA Silver Scroll ( 1996 ) APRA Top 100 New Zealand Songs of All Time ( 2001 ) New Zealand Order of Merit ( 2006 ) New Zealand Music Hall of Fame ( 2016 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Drive_(The_Cars_song)&oldid=856781265 '' Categories : 1983 songs 1984 singles 1985 singles 1980s ballads The Cars songs New wave ballads Bic Runga songs Billboard Adult Contemporary number - one singles Songs about automobiles RPM Adult Contemporary number - one singles Song recordings produced by Robert John `` Mutt '' Lange Songs written by Ric Ocasek Elektra Records singles Hidden categories : Pages with citations lacking titles CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Use mdy dates from August 2015 Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2017 Singlechart usages for Australia Singlechart usages for Austria Singlechart usages for France Singlechart usages for Germany Singlechart usages for Ireland Singlechart usages for Dutch40 Singlechart usages for New Zealand Singlechart usages for Norway Singlechart usages for Sweden Singlechart usages for Switzerland Singlechart usages for UK Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100 Singlechart called without song Singlechart usages for Billboardadultcontemporary Singlechart usages for Billboardmainstreamrock Certification Table Entry usages for United Kingdom Articles needing additional references from June 2014 All articles needing additional references Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Italiano Norsk Português Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Edit links This page was last edited on 27 August 2018, at 13 : 59 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sang lead on the song drive by the cars
Answer: bassist Benjamin Orr