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"Free Ride"
Single by Edgar Winter Group
from the album They Only Come Out at Night
B-side	"When It Comes"
Released	August 1973
Recorded	1972
Genre	Rock
Length	3:05 (single version) 3:20 (full version)
Label	Epic
Songwriter(s)	Dan Hartman
Producer(s)	Rick 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 and number 10 on Cash Box. In Canada, it peaked at number 8.

Personnel

• Edgar Winter – clavinet, electric piano, ARP 2600 synthesizer, backing vocals
• Ronnie Montrose – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Dan Hartman – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion
• Rick Derringer – 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 chart. Hartman himself re-recorded the song and released it on his 1979 album Relight My Fire.

Charts

In popular culture

The song was featured in Air America and in The Drew Carey Show 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 film, Cars, and is also used in the Disney California Adventure ride, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout! It was 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. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
3. ^ "RPM100 Singles". RPM. 34 (2). Ottawa: Library and Archives Canada. October 20, 1973. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
4. 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.
5. "The Edgar Winter Group Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
6. "Cash Box Top 100 10/20/73". Archived from the original on 2015-06-09. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
7. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, January 10, 1976". Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
8. Canada, Library and Archives (17 July 2013). "Item". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
9. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
10. "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1973". Archived from the original on 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2016-12-29.
11. Archerd, Army (October 16, 1997). "Hello, 'Monty': Drew drops drawers". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
12. "Dazed and Confused (1993)". IMDb.com.
13. Cars (Video Game 2006) - Soundtracks - IMDb, retrieved 2023-05-17
14. Tuttle, Brittani (2017-04-26). "Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT! to have its own Awesome Mix". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved 2023-05-17.

External links

• Edgar Winter Group – Free Ride on YouTube

• 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