My Best Friend's Girl (song)

"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.

"My Best Friend's Girl"
Single by the Cars
from the album The Cars
B-side
ReleasedOctober 10, 1978 (1978-10-10)
RecordedAIR Studios, London, February 1978
GenreRock, new wave, power pop, rockabilly
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
"My Best Friend's Girl" on YouTube

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 WCOZ and 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 register of the guitar, a two-bar progression moving from I to IV to V in F.[6] Hand claps enter in bar five, and after the eight-bar intro, the first verse begins featuring Ric Ocasek's vocals over a lead guitar lick in the key of F.[6] An organ 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]

Billboard Magazine described the song as a "melodic youth-oriented rocker" that uses "catchy handclaps" to generate the feel of an early 1960s song.[10]

Release

Released in October 1978, "My Best Friend's Girl" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week ending October 21.[11] It peaked at number 35 on the charts in December.[11] 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.[12] The single was the first picture disc available commercially in the UK.[13][14][15]

"My Best Friend's Girl" was included on the soundtrack to the film Over the Edge (1979), and the song appears on numerous compilation albums, such as the band's Greatest Hits (1985), Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology (1995), and Complete Greatest Hits (2002). A live version of the song by the New Cars appears on their debut album, 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.[16]

Reception

Music critics have given the track generally favorable reviews. 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.[17] "My Best Friend's Girl" was ranked the 12th best song of 1978 by critics Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein, and it was named one of "The 1001 Best Songs Ever" in a 2003 issue of Q magazine.[18] Some critics have noted the similarity in style of Fountains of Wayne's 2003 hit single "Stacy's Mom" to this song.[19][20][21]

Other versions

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

Chart performance

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. "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. "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. Moore, Allan F. (2003). Analyzing Popular Music. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. pp. 188–190. ISBN 978-0-521-77120-7.
  7. The Cars, Complete Greatest Hits: Guitar Recorded Versions Universal Music Publishing Group, distributed by Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1-4584-1562-2
  8. Guarisco, Donald A. ""My Best Friend's Girl" - Song Review". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  9. Charlton, Katherine (2006). Rock Music Styles (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-07-312162-8.
  10. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. October 21, 1978. p. 90. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  11. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). New York: Billboard Books (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.). p. 53. ISBN 978-0-8230-7499-0.
  12. "'My Best Friend's Girl' - Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  13. McAleer, Dave (2004). Hit Singles: Top 20 Charts from 1954 to the Present Day (5th ed.). Milwaukee, Wisc.: Backbeat Books (Hal Leonard). p. 208. ISBN 978-0-87930-808-7.
  14. Simmonds, Jeremy (2008). The Encyclopedia of Dead Rock Stars: Heroin, Handguns, and Ham Sandwiches. New York: Chicago Review Press (Independent Publishers Group). p. 53. ISBN 978-1-55652-754-8.
  15. Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock Movers and Shakers: An A-Z of People Who Made Rock Happen (8th ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 87. ISBN 978-0-87436-661-7.
  16. "It's Alive - Overview". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  17. Rachlis, Kit (1997-06-17). "The Cars - Music Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  18. "The Cars - 'My Best Friend's Girl'". Acclaimed Music. 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. Layman, Will (2007-04-16). "Fountains of Wayne: Too Smart to Be a Rock Band, Too Smart to Be Anything Else". 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. Cross, Charles R. (November 2008). "Exit...Stage Left". Guitar World. Future US, Inc. 29 (11): 52. ISSN 1045-6295.
  23. Heylin, Clinton (2004). Bootleg: The Rise And Fall Of The Secret Recording Industry. London: Omnibus Press. p. 295. ISBN 978-1-84449-151-3.
  24. "Unlistenable-Review". Allmusic.
  25. "Achtung Jackass - Review". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  26. "A Hillbilly Tribute to Mountain Love - Overview". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  27. "Big Bad & Acoustic - Overview". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  28. "No Stress Express - Review". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  29. "Chart Positions Pre-1989". Australian Charts. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  30. "RPM 100". RPM. RPM Music Publications Ltd. 30 (17). 1979-01-20. Archived from the original on 2012-10-22. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  31. "'My Best Friend's Girl' - Chart history". www.Top40.nl. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  32. "The Cars - Charts & Awards - Billboard Singles". Allmusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 2009-11-04.
  33. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending December 30, 1978". Cash Box Magazine. December 30, 1978. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  34. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X.
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