| Vehicle | |
| Cover: | Vehicle - Ides of March.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | the Ides of March |
| Album: | Vehicle |
| B-Side: | Lead Me Home, Gently |
| Released: | March 1970 |
| Recorded: | CBS Studios (Chicago) |
| Length: | 2:56 |
| Label: | Warner Bros. (US) |
| Producer: | Bob Destocki, Frank Rand |
| Prev Title: | One Woman Man |
| Prev Year: | 1969 |
| Next Title: | Superman |
| Next Year: | 1970 |
"Vehicle" is a song recorded by American rock band the Ides of March for their debut album Vehicle (1970). The song was released as the lead single from the album in March 1970 through Warner Bros. Records. Written by vocalist and frontman Jim Peterik, it is about a girl that often used him for her mode of transportation, leading Peterik to surmise that he was little more than her "vehicle". The arrangement includes a distinctive horn section riff, which caused some listeners to mistake the band for Blood, Sweat & Tears, who were also popular in that era.
"Vehicle" was a commercial success, and was purported to be the fastest-selling single in the history of Warner Bros. at that time. It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, while reaching the top 5 in Canada and just outside the top 30 in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the Ides of March never had another hit single, leaving them one-hit wonders. Peterik, however, was to go on to found the rock group Survivor, and become a successful songwriter.
The song was used in the 1998 commercial for the Ford Cougar.
Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a tongue-in-cheek joke, having been initially inspired by anti-drug pamphlets passed out to high-schoolers.[1] He expanded on the song's genesis in a piece for The Wall Street Journal:
Peterik had an on-again/off-again relationship with the woman after the song came out, and they eventually wed.[2]
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.
It rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of May 23, 1970,[3] [4] behind "American Woman" by the Guess Who.[5] It was considered to be the fastest-selling single in Warner Bros. Records history at that time.[6]
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 73 |
| Canada RPM Top Singles | 3 |
| UK (OCC)[8] | 31 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[9] | 2 |
| US Cash Box Top 100[10] | 6 |
| Chart (1970) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Canada[11] | 55 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 (1970) | 85 |
| US Cash Box[12] | 47 |
