This, That, and the Other

My theme for this year’s A to Z Blogging Challenge is classic rock songs. Each day during the month (except for the first four Sundays, I will post a classic rock song: a video from YouTube, along with a brief bit of background about the song and the recording artist(s).

This is much more difficult than I thought it would be. For every letter of the alphabet there are dozens of fantastic classic rock songs to choose from and picking just one song for each letter is maddening. But this is what I signed up for.

My V song is “Vehicle” from The Ides of March.

“Vehicle” was a song written by Jim Peterik, vocalist and frontman for the American rock band The Ides of March for their debut studio album of the same name. It was released as the lead single from the album in March 1970. The song reached the number 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. The arrangement includes a distinctive horn section riff, which caused some listeners to mistake the band for Blood, Sweat and Tears, who were also popular in that era.

Despite the success of this song, 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 an extremely successful songwriter.

“Vehicle” is about a girl who often used Peterik for her mode of transportation, leading him to believe that he was little more than her “vehicle.” Peterik said, “At the time, I was madly in love with this girl named Karen. I had a souped-up 1964 Plymouth Valiant, and she was always asking for rides. I drove her to modeling school every week. I was hoping flames would ignite, but they didn’t. I came home one day, dejected, and thought: all I am is her vehicle. And I thought: Wow! Vehicle! I came up with this song, taught it to the band, and the next thing I knew, we were recording.”

The original opening line to the song was, “I got a set of wheels pretty baby, won’t you hop inside my car?” Peterik changed it when his friend showed him a government issued anti-drug pamphlet. It explained the perils of drug use and was illustrated with a little drawing of an undesirable type cruising along the curb looking for easy targets. The caption read, “I’m the friendly stranger in the black sedan, won’t you hop inside my car?” The lyrics that followed, about the picture and candy, came from a warning his mother used to give him about walking home from school.

The lyrics are both a love story and a tale of an unsavory guy who’s up to no good. Peterik said, “To me, the dichotomy is kind of cool. To me, the first line is the most important of all. The original line had nothing going for it. It had no rhythm to it. When I came across, ‘I’m the friendly stranger in the black sedan, won’t you hop inside my car,’ all other concerns went out the window. At age 18 when I wrote the song, I wasn’t thinking about coherency of the song or if one half fit the other half. I was just glad I was writing, just glad I had a song to play live.

Interesting (romantic) factoid: After “Vehicle” became a hit, Peterik got back together with Karen, the girl he wrote it for. They’ve been together ever since, and have been married for almost 30 years.

Here are the lyrics to “Vehicle.”

Hey, well
I'm the friendly stranger in the black Sedan
Won't you hop inside my car?
I got pictures, got candy
I'm a lovable man
And I can take you to the nearest star

I'm your vehicle, baby
I'll take you anywhere you want to go
I'm your vehicle, woman
by now I'm sure you know

That I love ya (love ya)
I need ya (need ya)
I want ya
Got to have you, child
Great God in Heaven, you know I love you

Well, if you wants to be a movie star
I can-a take you to Hollywood
But if you want to stay just like you are
You know, I think you really should

I'm your vehicle, baby
I'll take you anywhere you want to go
I'm your vehicle, woman
by now I'm sure you know

That I love ya (love ya)
I need ya (need ya)
I want ya
Got to have you, child
Great God in Heaven, you know I love you
Oh, you know I do

Well, I'm the friendly stranger in the black Sedan
Won't you hop inside my car?
I got pictures, candy
I'm a lovable man
And I can take you to the nearest star

I'm your vehicle, babe
I'll take you anywhere you want to go
I'm your vehicle, woman
by now I'm sure you know

That I love ya (love ya)
I need ya (need ya)
I want ya
I got to have you
Great God in Heaven, you know I love you

And I'm your vehicle, babe, alright
You know I love ya (love ya)
I need ya (need ya)
I want ya
Got to have you, child
Great God in Heaven, you know I love you

---

Previous 2023 A to Z posts: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T