Free Ride (song)

"Free Ride"
"Free Ride"
Single by Edgar Winter Group
from the album They Only Come Out at Night
B-side	"When It Comes"
Released	August 1973
Recorded	1972
Genre	Rock
Length	3:05 (single version); 3:20 (full version)
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Dan Hartman
Producer(s)	Rick Derringer
Edgar Winter Group singles chronology
Audio
	"Free Ride" on YouTube

"Free Ride" is a song written by Dan Hartman and performed by the Edgar Winter Group from their 1972 album They Only Come Out at Night, produced by Rick Derringer. The single was a top 15 U.S. hit in 1973, reaching number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100^[2] and number 10 on Cash Box. In Canada, it peaked at number 8.^[3]

Personnel

Edgar Winter – clavinet, electric piano, ARP 2600 synthesizer, backing vocals
Ronnie Montrose – lead guitar, backing vocals
Dan Hartman – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussions
Rick Derringer – rhythm guitar, backing vocals, producer
Randy Jo Hobbs – bass guitar
Johnny Badanjek – drums

Other versions

Tavares recorded a version of the song for their 1975 album, In the City. Their version peaked at number 52 on the Billboard Hot 100^[2] and number 8 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Hartman himself re-recorded the song and released it on his 1979 album Relight My Fire.

Charts

Weekly charts

Edgar Winter Group

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[4]	84
Canada 100 (RPM)^[3]	8
US Billboard Hot 100^[5]	14
US Cash Box Top 100^[6]	10

Tavares

Chart (1975–76)	Peak position
Canada RPM Top Singles	71
US Billboard Hot 100^[2]	52
US Billboard R&B	8
US Cash Box Top 100^[7]	56

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Rank
Canada ^[8]	109
US (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)^[9]	115
US Cash Box Top 100^[10]	65

In popular culture

The song was featured in Air America and in The Drew Carey Show episode "The Dog and Pony Show".^[11] The song is featured in the 1993 film, Dazed and Confused while Hartman's recording appeared in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and on its soundtrack album.^[12] It was also featured as a song in the video game tie-in for the film, Cars,^[13] and is also used in the Disney California Adventure ride, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout!^[14] It was sampled on the Girl Talk mash-up album Feed the Animals.

References

^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Free Ride by The Edgar Winter Group - Track Info | AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
^ ^a ^b "RPM100 Singles". RPM. 34 (2). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. October 20, 1973. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 341. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "The Edgar Winter Group Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 10/20/73". Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 10, 1976". Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
^ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Item". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
^ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1973". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
^ Archerd, Army (October 16, 1997). "Hello, 'Monty': Drew drops drawers". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^ "Dazed and Confused (1993)". IMDb.com.
^ Cars (Video Game 2006) - Soundtracks - IMDb, retrieved 2023-05-17
^ Tuttle, Brittani (2017-04-26). "Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! to have its own Awesome Mix". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.

External links

Edgar Winter Group – Free Ride on YouTube

[allmusic.com-1] Greenwald, Matthew. "Free Ride by The Edgar Winter Group - Track Info | AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

[ReferenceA-2] Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X

[RPM100-3] "RPM100 Singles". RPM. 34 (2). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. October 20, 1973. Retrieved November 8, 2015.

[aus-4] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 341. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[Billboardhot100-5] "The Edgar Winter Group Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2015.

[6] "Cash Box Top 100 10/20/73". Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-29.

[7] "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 10, 1976". Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

[8] Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Item". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2021.

[9] Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.

[10] "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1973". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2016-12-29.

[11] Archerd, Army (October 16, 1997). "Hello, 'Monty': Drew drops drawers". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2014.

[12] "Dazed and Confused (1993)". IMDb.com.

[13] Cars (Video Game 2006) - Soundtracks - IMDb, retrieved 2023-05-17

[14] Tuttle, Brittani (2017-04-26). "Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! to have its own Awesome Mix". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.

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v t e Tavares
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