Start the Car (song)

"Start the Car"
Australian CD cover
Single by Jude Cole
from the album Start the Car
B-side"A Place in the Line"
Written1991[1]
Released1992
Length
  • 5:01 (album version)
  • 4:07 (short edit)
LabelReprise
SongwriterJude Cole
Producers
Jude Cole singles chronology
"Compared to Nothing"
(1991)		 "Start the Car"
(1992)		 "Tell the Truth"
(1992)

"Start the Car" is a song by the American guitarist and singer Jude Cole. It was released as the lead single from the album of the same name. It was written by Cole and produced by Cole alongside co-producer James Newton Howard. The song peaked at No. 71 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 6 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, and No. 24 on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart.

Background

Cole later explained that he wrote “Start the Car” in 1991 while immersed in classic 1970s soul artists such as Al Green, Marvin Gaye, the Staple Singers, and Roberta Flack. His initial concept was a groove-driven track in the style of Al Green. However, on his drive to the studio, he had Aerosmith’s Pump album playing at high volume, and the powerful transition between “Young Lust” and “F.I.N.E.*” made a strong impression on him. Arriving at James Newton Howard’s studio in the Palisades of Los Angeles for pre-production, Howard suggested shifting the song toward a more rock-oriented approach.[1]

Reception

Billboard described "Start the Car," the title track from Jude Cole's 1992 album of the same name, as a chugging, horn-framed rocker fueled by an instantly catchy chorus and strong guitar/rhythm interplay, predicting that with his 1990 album A View from 3rd Street having quietly produced one delicious pop/rock single after another, this cut held promise of catapulting him beyond his previous top 40 success and straight into the top 10.[2]

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[3] 59
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[4]24
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 71
US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[6][7] 6

Travis Tritt version

"Start the Car"
Single by Travis Tritt
from the album No More Looking over My Shoulder
Released1999
GenreCountry, Southern rock[8]
Length4:12
LabelWarner
SongwriterJude Cole
ProducersTravis Tritt, Billy Joe Walker Jr.
Travis Tritt singles chronology
"No More Looking Over My Shoulder"
(1999)		 "Start the Car"
(1999)		 "Move It On Over"
(1999)

In 1998, American country music singer Travis Tritt covered "Start the Car" for his album No More Looking over My Shoulder. His version was the album's third single, charting for ten weeks on Billboard Hot Country Songs and peaking at number 52, making it Tritt's first single to peak below the top 40 there.[9]

Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly called Tritt's cover a "gritty blues version" and considered it an example of Tritt's Southern rock influence.[8]

Chart (1999) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10]52
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 90

References

  1. 1 2 "Start the Car – The Writing". judecole.com. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. August 22, 1992. p. 74.
  3. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  4. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Image 1918". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Start the Car – Jude Cole (Single)". elpee.jp. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Start the Car — Jude Cole". Music VF. Retrieved November 3, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Mainstream Rock Airplay". Billboard. October 24, 1992. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Nash, Alanna (October 16, 1998). "No More Looking Over My Shoulder Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
  9. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2017). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2017. Record Research, Inc. p. 367. ISBN 978-0-89820-229-8.
  10. ↑ "Travis Tritt Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
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