Vehicle – Ides of March

Chart Position: 2

• Lead vocals: Jim Peterik
• Written by Jim Peterik
• Jim Peterik later founded Survivor after Ides of March went on an extended hiatus from 1973 – 1990
• Ides of March is from Chicago IL
• The inspiration for the song was Peterik’s relationship with a young lady, whom he had been driving to appointments in his ’64 Valiant in an attempt to respark a love affair; they later married
• The opening line “I’m the friendly stranger in a black sedan, won’t you hop inside my car?” was lifted from a government anti-drug pamphlet
• This became Warner Record’s fastest -selling single at the time
• Band’s original name was Shon-Dels
• This is Ides of March’s only hit single
• All the members of the band were teenagers when this song became a hit

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