Song of the Day 3/15: The Ides of March, “Vehicle”

An old anecdote tells of the student who went to see “Hamlet” and complained, “It’s just a bunch of cliches strung together.” Indeed, absent the Bard, would anyone refer to today as the Ides of March?

This much is certain: Without him, this 1970 hit would be by the Shon-Dels.

That was the name a bunch of high school friends chose when they formed the band in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn in 1964. They changed their name two years later after their bass player was assigned “Julius Caesar” in English class.

They had been recording singles for several years and had some regional hits before frontman and guitarist Jim Peterik wrote “Vehicle.” He told the Wall Street Journal in 2016,

At the time, I was madly in love with this girl named Karen. I had a souped-up 1964 Plymouth Valiant, and she was always asking for rides. I drove her to modeling school every week. I was hoping flames would ignite – but they didn’t. I came home one day, dejected, and thought: All I am is her vehicle. And I thought: Wow! Vehicle! I came up with this song, taught it to the band, and the next thing I knew, we were recording in a CBS studio.

Horn bands were hot at the time, and a lot of people thought the song was by Blood, Sweat & Tears. The single quickly rose to No. 2 on the Hot 100, kept from the top spot by the Guess Who’s “American Woman.”

Though the Ides of March was a one-hit wonder, Peterik went on to greater success with his next band, Survivor, whose megahit “Eye of the Tiger” has become a sports anthem. He also co-wrote 38 Special’s biggest hits, “Hold On Loosely” and “Caught Up in You.” The Ides reformed in 1990 and remain active today.

By the way, Peterik and Karen married years later and are still together.