My Best Friend's Girl (song)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with The Girl of My Best Friend.
"My Best Friend's Girl"
Single by the Cars
from the album The Cars
B-side
ReleasedOctober 10, 1978 (1978-10-10)
RecordedFebruary 1978
StudioAIR, London
Genre
Length3:43[1]
LabelElektra 45537
Songwriter(s)Ric Ocasek
Producer(s)Roy Thomas Baker
The Cars singles chronology
"Just What I Needed"
(1978) 		"My Best Friend's Girl"
(1978) 		"Good Times Roll"
(1979)
Music video (live)
"My Best Friend's Girl" on
YouTube

"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records, released on June 6 of that year. Written by Ocasek as a song about something that "probably ... happened to a lot of people," the track found radio success as a demo in 1977.

Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and reached number three in the UK. It has since been positively received by critics and included in compilation albums for the band.

Background

"My Best Friend's Girl" was written by Ric Ocasek for the Cars' self-titled debut album. Ocasek later said the lyrics were not inspired by any personal incident, saying "Nothing in that song happened to me personally. I just figured having a girlfriend stolen was probably something that happened to a lot of people."[2] Ocasek also said that the lyrics for the chorus were an afterthought, saying, "At some point, I realized my lyrics didn't include the words 'My Best Friend's Girl.' So I pulled out the lyrics someone had typed up and added a chorus in the margin in pen: 'She's my best friend's girl/She's my best friend's girl/But she used to be mine.'"

The song first appeared in 1977 on Boston radio stations

WBCN from the said demo tape, along with "Just What I Needed".[3] DJ Maxanne Sartori, who was given the tapes of these songs by Ric Ocasek, recalled, "I began playing the demos of 'Just What I Needed' and 'My Best Friend's Girl' in March during my weekday slot, from 2 to 6 p.m. Calls poured in with positive comments."[4] Shortly thereafter, it became one of the stations' most requested songs.[5]

Composition

"My Best Friend's Girl" begins with chords in the lower

Yamaha CP-30) is introduced in the first chorus, followed by a rockabilly guitar lick which leads to the second verse.[6] The song is composed in contrasting verse-chorus form.[6]
The song was originally written and recorded in E major, one semitone lower, then the entire master tape was sped up to place it in F major. Many live performances show the band performing the song in E.[7] The lyrics depict a man's frustration with a woman who is dating his best friend after the man dated her.[8] The narrator coolly[9] notes, "She's my best friend's girl, but she used to be mine."[8]

Release

Released in October 1978, "My Best Friend's Girl" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending October 21.[10] It peaked at number 35 on the charts in December.[10] In addition, the song reached number 40 on the Dutch Top 40, number 55 in Canada, and number 67 in Australia. The song was the highest-charting UK single of the band's career, peaking at number three in November 1978.[11] The single was the first picture disc available commercially in the UK.[12][13][14]

"My Best Friend's Girl" was included on the soundtrack to the film

It's Alive! (2006). The song originates from late 1976-early 1977 as another successful demo, like "Just What I Needed", of the song was done.[15]

Reception

Cash Box said that "the guitar work is derivative but the enthusiasm is refreshing" and praised the vocals and organ playing.[17] AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco called the song "one of the classics of the Cars' catalog",[8]
and Rolling Stone writer Kit Rachlis called it a wonderful pop song.[18] "My Best Friend's Girl" was ranked the 12th best song of 1978 by critics
hit single "Stacy's Mom" to this song.[19][20][21]

Track listing

7" vinyl
  1. "My Best Friend's Girl" (Ocasek) – 3:44
  2. "Moving in Stereo" (Hawkes, Ocasek) – 5:15

Personnel

Charts

References

  1. ^ "Complete Greatest Hits di The Cars". Music.apple.com. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. ^ Dolan, Jon; Doyle, Patrick; Hiatt, Brian; Hoard, Christian; Leight, Elias; Sheffield, Rob; Schteamer, Hank (16 September 2019). "The Cars' Ric Ocasek: 17 Essential Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  3. ^ Milano, Brett. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. Rhino.
  4. ^ Myers, Marc (23 April 2018). "The Story Behind the Cars' 'My Best Friend's Girl'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  5. ^ Scott, Jane. "The Cars take off fast in record derby" The Plain Dealer 9 June 1978: Friday 28
  6. ^ a b c d Moore, Allan F. (2003). Analyzing Popular Music. Cambridge, England:
    ISBN 978-0-521-77120-7
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-4584-1562-2
  8. ^
    Rovi Corporation
    ). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  9. ^ Charlton, Katherine (2006). Rock Music Styles (5th ed.). New York:
    ISBN 978-0-07-312162-8
    .
  10. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York:
    ISBN 978-0-8230-7499-0
    .
  11. ^ "'My Best Friend's Girl' - Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  12. ^ McAleer, Dave (2004). Hit Singles: Top 20 Charts from 1954 to the Present Day (5th ed.). Milwaukee, Wisc.:
    ISBN 978-0-87930-808-7
    .
  13. ^ Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. New York: Chicago Review Press (
    ISBN 978-1-55652-754-8
    .
  14. ^ Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock Movers and Shakers: An A-Z of People Who Made Rock Happen (8th ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.:
    ISBN 978-0-87436-661-7
    .
  15. Rovi Corporation
    ). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  16. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. October 21, 1978. p. 90. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  17. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 21, 1978. p. 28. Retrieved 2022-01-01.
  18. ^ Rachlis, Kit (1997-06-17). "The Cars - Music Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  19. ^ Bumgardner, Ed (2003-07-18). "Truths: Fountains of Wayne Indulges in Delightful Thievery". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  20. Pop Matters
    . Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  21. ^ Vaziri, Aidin (2007-05-02). "Fountains of Wayne Just Do That Thing They Do. Apparently, It Isn't Very Much". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  22. ISBN 0-646-11917-6
    .
  23. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0083b." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  24. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Cars The" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  25. ^ "The Cars – My Best Friend's Girl" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  26. ^ "Cars: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  27. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 23, 2021.
  28. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending December 30, 1978". Cash Box. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  29. ISBN 0-89820-142-X
    .
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