Free Ride (song)

Last updated
"Free Ride"
Free Ride Edgar Winter.jpg
Single by Edgar Winter Group
from the album They Only Come Out at Night
B-side "When It Comes"
ReleasedAugust 1973
Recorded1972
Genre Rock [1]
Length3:05 (single version)
3:20 (full version)
Label Epic
Songwriter(s) Dan Hartman
Producer(s) Rick Derringer
Edgar Winter Group singles chronology
"Frankenstein"
(1973)
"Free Ride"
(1973)
"Hangin' Around"
(1973)
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]

Contents

Personnel

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

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]

Related Research Articles

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Daniel Earl Hartman was an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter and original frontman for several bands, including The Soploids, Mak and the Turnarounds, Our Wringer, Last Wing, and Orion. Among songs he wrote and recorded were "Free Ride" as a member of the Edgar Winter Group, and the solo hits "Relight My Fire", "Instant Replay", "I Can Dream About You", "We Are the Young" and "Second Nature". "I Can Dream About You", his most successful song, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984 and No. 12 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985. The James Brown song "Living in America", which Hartman co-wrote and produced, reached No. 4 on March 1, 1986.

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Edgar Holland Winter is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their popular songs "Frankenstein" and "Free Ride". He is the brother of late blues singer and guitarist Johnny Winter.

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References

  1. Greenwald, Matthew. "Free Ride by The Edgar Winter Group - Track Info | AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 ISBN   0-89820-089-X
  3. 1 2 "RPM100 Singles". RPM . Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. 34 (2). October 20, 1973. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  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.
  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.