"Free Ride" is a song written by Dan Hartman and performed by

the Edgar Winter Group Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their pop ...

from their 1972 album '' They Only Come Out at Night'', produced by

Rick Derringer Richard Dean Zehringer (August 5, 1947 – May 26, 2025), known professionally as Rick Derringer, was an American musician, producer and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, " Hang On Sloopy", ...

. The single was a top 15 U.S. hit in 1973, reaching number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' – and number 10 on ''Cash Box''. In Canada, it peaked at number 8.

Personnel

Edgar Winter Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American multi-instrumentalist, working as a vocalist along with playing keyboards, saxophone, and percussion. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group and their pop ...

–

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

, electric piano,

ARP 2600 The ARP 2600 is a subtractive synthesizer first produced by ARP Instruments in 1971. History Developed by a design team headed by ARP namesake Alan R. Pearlman and engineer Dennis Colin, the ARP 2600 was introduced in 1971 as the successor to ...

synthesizer, backing vocals *

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American musician and guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morri ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals (1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard) * Dan Hartman – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion *

– rhythm guitar, backing vocals, producer * Randy Jo Hobbs – bass guitar * Johnny Badanjek – drums

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 and number 8 on the

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart. Hartman himself re-recorded the song and released it on his 1979 album '' Relight My Fire''.

Audio Adrenaline Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio A ...

recorded the song and released it on their 1996 album '' Bloom.

Charts

Weekly charts

;Edgar Winter Group ;Tavares

Year-end charts

In popular culture

The song was featured in the 1990 film '' Air America'' and in ''

The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...

'' episode " The Dog and Pony Show". The song is featured in the 1993 film '' Dazed and Confused'', while Hartman's recording appeared in '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'' and on its soundtrack album. It was also featured as a song in the video game tie-in for the 2006 film ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'', and is also used in the

Disney California Adventure Disney California Adventure is a theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The park is themed after Disney's interpretation of California ...

ride, '' Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout!'' It was sampled on the Girl Talk mash-up album '' Feed the Animals'' (2008).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Free Ride (Song) 1972 songs 1973 singles 1975 singles 1979 singles The Edgar Winter Group songs Tavares (group) songs Songs written by Dan Hartman Epic Records singles Capitol Records singles