"Hitchin' a Ride" is a song written by Mitch Murray and Peter Callander, issued as a single by the English pop/rock band Vanity Fare in late 1969. It reached number 16 on the UK Singles Chart in February 1970, but was a bigger hit in the United States, reaching number 5 on the Hot 100 on June 27, 1970. Billboard ranked the record as the number 14 song of 1970. In Chicago the record achieved even greater heights, scaling the WCFL Big 10 Countdown on 18-25 May 1970, and ranking #4 for all of 1970, and rival WLS Radio 89 Hit Parade on 1-8 June 1970, and ranking #10 for all of 1970. "Hitchin' a Ride" sold a million copies in the United States alone, and it became a gold record.
The song is about a young man who is attempting to hitchhike, since he has no money. The song is noted for its two recorders, first heard in the introduction as well as in the sections between the choruses and the verses.
The song is also noted for its instrumental section, featuring an electric piano, that plays a bass line in repetition, which is accompanied by the piano's upper register, bass, drums, and guitar, which is later heard before the song's fade. The U.S. single edit shortens the ending by eliminating the final repeated lines of "ride, ride" before the song fades out.
"Hitchin' a Ride" was covered by American singer Sinitta. It was released in 1990 as the fifth and final single from her second album Wicked (1989). The song was produced by Ralf Rene Maue. The B-side contains a previously unreleased song "I'm On My Way". This single reached number 24 in the UK,[17] number 19 in Ireland, and number 131 in Australia.[18]
Critical reception
Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "U.K. siren continues her bid for American stardom with a peppy, HiNRG cover of the Vanity Fare nugget."[19] David Giles from Music Week stated that the song has been "given an ultra-glossy Hi-NRG sheen". He added that "it sounds a little dated, reminiscent perhaps of Kelly Marie's "Feels Like I'm in Love", but should still clear the shelves."[20]
A country music version of the song was released by singer, Jack Reno and reached #12 on the U.S. country chart in 1971.[22]
British group Paper Lace adapted their 1974 version as "Hitchin' a Ride '75", reaching #55 on the official UK "Breakers List" chart and #16 in New Zealand.[23]
A 1986 recording by The Replacements is featured on the 2017 live album For Sale: Live at Maxwell's 1986.
Vanity Fare (often misspelled Vanity Fair, due to the similarity of the novel and magazine title) are an English pop/rock group formed in 1966. They had the million-selling song, "Hitchin' a Ride", which became a worldwide hit in 1970.
School friends Trevor Brice (born 12 February 1945, Rochester, Kent, England) (vocals), Tony Goulden (born Anthony Goulden, 21 November 1942, Rochester) (guitar), Dick Allix (born Richard Allix, 3 May 1945, Gravesend, Kent) (drums) and Tony Jarrett (born Anthony Jarrett, 4 September 1943, in Rochester, Kent) (bass) formed the band in Kent in 1966, originally calling themselves The Avengers. Under that name, they recorded a number of demos, including "Marianne", with record producer Joe Meek, but none were ever released. After that, they changed their name to The Sages, and had one 45 single release on the RCA Victor label (47-8760), with "In The Beginning" on the A side and "I'm Not Going To Cry" on the B side. They played local clubs and were spotted by entrepreneur Roger Easterby who became their manager and producer. Having changed the name of the band to Vanity Fare after the novel Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray, they signed to Larry Page's Page One Records.
In the summer of 1968, Vanity Fare achieved a UK hit single with their first release, a cover of "I Live for the Sun", originally recorded in 1965 by the California group The Sunrays.[1]
Following two more singles, "Summer Morning" and "Highway of Dreams," both of which failed to make the UK Singles Chart, they released their biggest UK hit, "Early in the Morning". Written by Mike Leander and Eddie Seago, it reached number 8 in that country in August 1969,[1] number 12 in the US, and number 10 in Canada[2] in early 1970. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.[3]
For their next release "Hitchin' a Ride", they added keyboardist Barry Landeman (born 25 October 1947, Woodbridge, Suffolk, England), formerly of Kippington Lodge, to the group. "Hitchin' A Ride", written by Peter Callander and Mitch Murray, gave them a second million-selling hit, reaching No. 16 in the UK (January 1970), No. 1 for two weeks each on Chicago radio stations WCFL (May 1970) and WLS (June 1970), No. 5 on the Hot 100 (June-July 1970), and No. 3 in Canada.
The hit was preceded by a tour of the United States, following which both Dick Allix and Tony Goulden left the band and were replaced by guitarist and singer Eddie Wheeler and drummer Mark Ellen (died 18 February 2021).
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