Vehicle (song)

"Vehicle"
Single by The Ides of March
from the album Vehicle
Released	1970
Format	7" single
Recorded	CBS Studios in Chicago
Genre	Funk, rock
Length	2:56
Label	Warner Bros. (US)
Writer(s)	Jim Peterik
Producer(s)	Bob Destocki, Frank Rand

"Vehicle" is the one-hit wonder success for the Chicago-based band The Ides of March. It rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of May 23, 1970. It is purported to be the fastest selling single in Warner Bros. Records history.

Written and sung by Jim Peterik, the song features a distinctive horn section riff that is still popular today. The song is often mistaken for the horn driven sound of Blood, Sweat and Tears which was popular in the same time range. Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a joke.

Peterik has also said that:

Peterik had an on again off again relationship with Karen after the song came out. Eventually they married and have been together for years. Fourteen seconds of the completed "Vehicle" master tape (primarily the guitar solo) was accidentally erased in the recording studio. The missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take.

An instrumental cover of "Vehicle" was featured in a 1980s UK television commercial for Schweppes soft drinks, featuring British comedian Roy Jay.

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Wikipedia