Free Ride (song)

"Free Ride"
Single by Edgar Winter Group
from the album They Only Come Out at Night
B-side"When It Comes"
ReleasedAugust 1973
Recorded1972
GenreRock[1]
Length3:08
LabelEpic
SongwriterDan Hartman
ProducerRick 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 eight.[3]

There appears to be two separate versions of the song. The album version, released in November 1972, where Ronnie Montrose is listed as lead guitar, clocks in at 3:08. According to drummer Chuck Ruff, “Ronnie Montrose left the band because he and Steve Paul (their manager) did not get along at all. They were gonna call a big meeting and fire him. I told Ronnie, so before they could do that he quit.” [4] Many have noted that the 3:05‑long single released in August 1973 sounds different, with a mid‑song guitar solo of a different tone. [5] Ruff later stated, “We actually did re‑record ‘Free Ride’ two or three times with Rick Derringer and Jerry Weems.” [6]

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 eight on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Hartman himself re-recorded the song and released it on his 1979 album Relight My Fire. Audio Adrenaline recorded the song and released it on their 1996 album Bloom.[7] When The Cats Away recorded a version and was released in January 1990 and peaked at number 12.

Charts

The song has been featured in several films, including Air America, Dazed and Confused, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, the latter of which features Hartman's recording on its soundtrack album.[15] The song also appeared in The Drew Carey Show episode "The Dog and Pony Show".[16] In addition to film and television, the song has also been included in several video game soundtracks such as in the video game tie-in for the 2006 film Cars.[17] The song was also included on Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, on the in-game radio station Liberty Rock Radio, and on MLB 11: The Show. In other media, the song is also used in the Disney California Adventure ride, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout![18] It was also sampled on the Girl Talk mash-up album Feed the Animals.

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. 34 (2). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. October 20, 1973. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ Ruff, Chuck (2011). Chuck Ruff Documentary (200 SUB SPECIAL!) Part One. YouTube channel havajam. Timestamp 19:55. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHWUt4rGWiA
  5. ↑ RichC (October 26 2020). "Music Monday: Edgar Winter Group – Free Ride." My Desultory Blog. https://mydesultoryblog.com/2020/10/music-monday-edgar-winter-group-free-ride/
  6. ↑ Ruff, Chuck (2011). Chuck Ruff – The Last Interview, Part 2. Interview by Shanda Golden (@shandagolden5523). YouTube. Timestamp 5:23. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHWUt4rGWiA&t=5s
  7. ↑ "Free Ride". AllMusic.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "The Edgar Winter Group Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 10/20/73". Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  11. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 10, 1976". Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  12. ↑ Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Item". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
  14. ↑ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1973". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
  15. ↑ "Dazed and Confused (1993)". IMDb.com.
  16. ↑ Archerd, Army (October 16, 1997). "Hello, 'Monty': Drew drops drawers". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  17. ↑ Cars (Video Game 2006) - Soundtracks - IMDb, retrieved 2023-05-17
  18. ↑ Tuttle, Brittani (2017-04-26). "Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! to have its own Awesome Mix". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.
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