You Might Think we’re crazy, it can’t have been THAT long, but sure enough today marks the 35th anniversary of The Cars fifth and most successful studio album, Heartbeat City. Released in 1984, Heartbeat City followed on from the Shake It Up album, and an anxious period of “uh-oh-are-they-breaking-up“ solo efforts from two band members. Fortunately for Cars fans, the band reunited and Heartbeat City was born, with singles “Drive” and “You Might Think” both becoming Top 10 hits.
This time around and after using the same producer on their first four efforts, they looked to Robert John “Mutt” Lange to produce their new record, the powerhouse producer behind many of the most famous rock albums including Def Leppard, AC/DC, and Foreigner. The result was widely considered a success, a well-polished return to commercial form and step in the right direction for the band’s sound, which had become more pop driven and less arty on Shake It Up.
“’We don't go, 'Let's do a bubblegum one, then let's do an arty one'... It's elitist to only play for a certain, sophisticated audience. This band has always tried to bring out good music within a pop format.", said guitarist Elliot Easton in a 1988 interview with Creem.
The Cars, who came together in Boston, had emerged from the new wave scene of the late 70s but brought together guitar rock and synth-pop in a unique combination. Led by chief songwriter and singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek, along with bassist and songwriter Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, drummer David Robinson, and keyboardist Greg Hawkes, they released six studio albums across a relatively short career.
Heartbeat City was laden with plenty of hits, five of them reaching the Top 40 and enjoying healthy radio play and TV exposure, but the stand out tracks were “You Might Think” which reached top 10 status and won an MTV award for its video, and “Drive” which became the band’s most successful international single.
“Drive” is a timeless, shimmering, classic that has glided across airwaves since the early 80s and continues to be loved by fans and covered by a diverse list of artists including Scorpions, Julio Iglesias, Deftones and even Australia’s own (yeah sorry, he’s ours) Jason Donovan. Although written by Ocasek, the vocal on “Drive” was performed by bassist Benjamin Orr, who sadly lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2000. The Cars performed “Drive” (along with “You Might Think” and fan favourite “Just What I Needed” from The Cars self-titled album) at the Live Aid event in Philadelphia in 1985.
At the Live Aid event in London, “Drive” was used as the background music to a montage video of the Ethiopian famine, the video introduced by David Bowie. Following the Live Aid concert, the single was re-released in the UK where it reached number 4 on the charts. Proceeds from the single raised nearly £160,000 for the Band Aid Trust.
The Cars were to release only one more album after Heartbeat City and disbanded in 1988, but 30 years later in 2018 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they reunited (along with Weezer bassist Scott Shriner filling Orr’s spot) to perform “Just What I Needed”, “My Best Friend’s Girl” and Heartbeat City’s “You Might Think”. It was the first time the surviving band members had played together in many years.
Take a moment out of your day to listen to Heartbeat City, a power pop gem that although somewhat dated, still has enough “Magic” to have you singing along.
