"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[2] and number 10 on Cash Box. In Canada, it peaked at number 8.[3]
| "Free Ride" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| SinglebyEdgar Winter Group | ||||
| from the album They Only Come Out at Night | ||||
| B-side | "When It Comes" | |||
| Released | August 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Rock[1] | |||
| Length | 3:05 (single version) 3:20 (full version) | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Dan Hartman | |||
| Producer(s) | Rick Derringer | |||
| Edgar Winter Group singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio | ||||
| "Free Ride"onYouTube | ||||
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[2] 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. When The Cats Away recorded a version and was released in January 1990 and peaked at number 12
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
The song was featured in Air America and in The Drew Carey Show episode "The Dog and Pony Show".[11] 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.[12] It was also featured as a song in the video game tie-in for the film, Cars,[13] and is also used in the Disney California Adventure ride, Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: Breakout![14] It was sampled on the Girl Talk mash-up album Feed the Animals.
