You Are the Girl

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"You Are the Girl"
Cover to You Are the Girl by The Cars.jpg
Single by the Cars
from the album Door to Door
B-side "Ta Ta Wayo Wayo"
ReleasedAugust 1987 (1987-08)
Genre
Length3:52
Label Elektra 69446
Songwriter(s) Ric Ocasek
Producer(s) Ric Ocasek
The Cars singles chronology
"I'm Not the One"
(1986)		"You Are the Girl"
(1987)		"Strap Me In"
(1987)

"You Are the Girl" is a 1987 song by the Cars, from their album Door to Door . It was released as a single in August 1987, reaching number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. [1] It also reached number 2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and number 12 on the Adult Contemporary chart. [2] It was the Cars' 13th and final Top 40 hit. [1]

Contents

Background

Rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter Ric Ocasek shares lead vocals with bassist Benjamin Orr on "You Are the Girl". [3] Both singers had recently cracked the Top 40 with solo hits, Ocasek with 1986's "Emotion in Motion" and Orr with 1987's "Stay the Night". "You Are the Girl" was the Cars' first—and last—Top 40 hit after their 1987 regrouping following the band members' three-year hiatus to focus on solo work. [1] [4] It also became the second (and last) single after "Since I Held You" from "Candy-O" in which both singers shared vocals on a song.

The lyrics for the song are about an ex; [5] the music video, directed by cult filmmaker John Waters, has been described as "alien-populated". [4] In 1987, the Cars performed "You Are the Girl" and "Double Trouble" (another track from Door to Door) at the MTV Video Music Awards. [6]

Cash Box called it a "likeable pop tune" with "slick production values." [7]

Aftermath

The song was recorded for what would be the band's final studio album for the next 25 years, and last with its five original members, 1987's Door to Door. It was recorded at a time of personal conflict between the band members that led to their eventual disbanding. [8] Following the release of the album, there was public speculation that the band was breaking up, and within a year the Cars announced that they had disbanded. [9]

Although "You Are the Girl" was the Cars' last Top 40 hit, two more singles released from Door to Door did reach the Top 100: 1987's "Strap Me In" (number 85) and 1988's "Coming Up You" (number 74). [2]

Charts

Chart performance for "You Are the Girl"
Chart (1987)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) [10] 69
Canada Top Singles ( RPM ) [11] 33
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [12] 30
US Billboard Hot 100 [13] 17
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [14] 12
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [15] 2
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles [16] 17

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ric Ocasek</span> American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer (1944–2019)

Richard Theodore Otcasek, known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock band the Cars. In addition to his work with the Cars, Ocasek recorded seven solo albums, and his song "Emotion in Motion" was a top 20 hit in the United States in 1986. Ocasek also worked as a record producer for artists such as Motion City Soundtrack, Suicide, Bad Brains, Weezer, Nada Surf, Guided by Voices, and No Doubt. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Orr</span> American bassist and singer (1947–2000)

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"You Might Think" is a song by American rock band The Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Mutt Lange and the Cars, with Ocasek also providing the lead vocals.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Times Roll</span> 1979 single by the Cars

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magic (The Cars song)</span> 1984 single by the Cars

"Magic" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their fifth studio album, Heartbeat City (1984). It was released on May 7, 1984, as the album's second single, reaching number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The track was written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange and the Cars. Ocasek sang lead vocals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">My Best Friend's Girl (song)</span> 1978 single by the Cars

"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records, released on June 6 of that year. Written by Ocasek as a song about something that "probably ... happened to a lot of people," the track found radio success as a demo in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's All I Can Do</span> 1979 single by the Cars

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emotion in Motion (song)</span> 1986 single by Ric Ocasek

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Not the One</span> 1986 single by the Cars

"I'm Not the One" is a song by the American rock band the Cars, from their fourth album, Shake It Up. It features Ric Ocasek on lead vocals, Benjamin Orr singing the 'You Know Why' phrase, with the whole group repeating "going round and round" as backing vocals throughout the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strap Me In</span> 1987 single by the Cars

"Strap Me In" is a 1987 song by the Cars, appearing on their sixth studio album Door to Door.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coming Up You</span> Single by The Cars

"Coming Up You" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their sixth studio album, Door to Door (1987). It was written by Ric Ocasek and sung by Benjamin Orr.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 109. ISBN   0-8230-7499-4.
  2. 1 2 "The Cars: Charts & Awards: Billboard Singles". AllMusic . Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  3. ↑ Door to Door (Media notes). The Cars. 1987.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. 1 2 Gundersen, Edna (October 19, 1987). "Ric Ocasek opens a new 'Door' with the Cars". USA Today .
  5. ↑ Pareles, Jon (September 9, 1987). "The Pop Life". The New York Times . Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ "MTV Video Music Awards: Show Highlights, Winners, Performers, Hosts and More From Past Video Music Awards". MTV.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 22, 1987. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-09-11.
  8. ↑ "The Cars". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  9. ↑ "The Cars: Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0893." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  12. ↑ "The Cars – You Are the Girl". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  13. ↑ "The Cars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  14. ↑ "The Cars Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  15. ↑ "The Cars Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending October 31, 1987". Cash Box . Retrieved May 22, 2021.
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