"Vehicle" is a song recorded by American rock band The Ides of March for their debut studio albumof the same name. It was released as the lead single from the album in March 1970 through Warner Bros. Records. Written by vocalist and frontman Jim Peterik, the song is about a girl that often used him for his 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 and 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 BillboardHot 100 in the US, while reaching the top 5 in Canada and top 30 in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the Ides of March never had another hit single, leaving them one-hit wonders.
Background
Peterik wrote "Vehicle" as a tongue-in-cheek joke, having been initially inspired by anti-drug pamphlets passed out to high-schoolers. 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. Fourteen seconds of the completed "Vehicle" master tape was accidentally erased in the recording studio. The missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take.
Chart performance
It rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of May 23, 1970, behind "American Woman" by the Guess Who. It was considered to be the fastest-selling single in Warner Bros. Records history at that time.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Covers
Richard Stoute of Barbados did a Spouge remix in 1974 on the Rainbow WIRL label.
Bo Bice did a cover as a B-side of his 2005 single "Inside Your Heaven".
Singer Tom Jones performed "Vehicle" in the 1970 season of his television series This is Tom Jones.
Erykah Badu sampled the song for her 2000 track "... & on" on the Mama's Gun album.
Chet Baker's version is on the 1998 compilation album Talkin' Verve Groovy.
Joe Lynn Turner covered the song in his 1997 rock album of covers, Under Cover.
Shirley Bassey recorded this song in 1971, but it wasn't released until 1994; it is now a bonus track on her CD Something Else.
Garage punk band Adam West recorded the song in 1994. It is available on their compilation album Five the Hard Way! .
Star Trek actor Robert Picardo did a parody cover on one of his parody albums.
Roadsaw covered this song for Sucking the 70s compilation.
