Tonight She Comes

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"Tonight She Comes"
Single by the Cars
from the album Greatest Hits
B-side"Just What I Needed"
ReleasedOctober 14, 1985
GenreNew wave
Length3:52
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)Ric Ocasek
Producer(s)
The Cars singles chronology
"Why Can't I Have You"
(1985) 		"Tonight She Comes"
(1985) 		"I'm Not the One"
(1986)
Music video
"Tonight She Comes" on YouTube

"Tonight She Comes" is a 1985 song by American rock band the Cars from their Greatest Hits album. It was released as a single in October 1985, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1986.[1] The song reached number one on the Top Rock Tracks chart, where it stayed for three weeks.

Background[edit]

"Tonight She Comes" was written by Cars singer and guitarist Ric Ocasek, who had originally intended to save the song for his solo career; however, the song was instead recorded as a standalone single. Ocasek recalled, "I was in the middle of recording my solo album and it was one of the songs I didn't use in the solo album at that point. That was like a one-off single that we just all came together and did."[2]

Composition[edit]

It is a straightforward, diatonic song in F major, with a guitar solo by Cars guitarist Elliot Easton. The solo was transcribed by Steve Vai in the February 1986 issue of Guitar Player magazine as the centerpiece to an interview with Easton.

In the interview, Easton described the custom-made Kramer guitar used for the solo, and said the reason the solo was "so dense" was due to the four weeks spent recording the single, which allowed Easton ample time to compose it.[3] The title of the song is yet another Ocasek double entendre, although as Easton said, "It doesn't actually say that she reaches orgasm. It could mean that tonight she's coming over to make popcorn."[3]

Release and reception[edit]

"Tonight She Comes" was the Cars' fourth and last Top 10 hit.[4] It was the first of two songs to be released as a single from their album of Greatest Hits. A remixed version of "I'm Not the One", previously recorded in 1981 for the album Shake It Up, was the second.[4] A music video was made, and was put into heavy rotation on MTV.[5]

Cash Box said that the song "captures the group’s technologically astute and emotionally problematic songwriting perspective."[6] AllMusic critic Greg Prato, in his review of Greatest Hits, described the track as "playful", while Tim Sendra, also of AllMusic, said in his review of The Essentials that the track (among the others on said album), was "definitely essential".[7][8]

Charts[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Billboard Jan 11, 1986". Billboard. 11 January 1986.
  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. ^ a b Milano, Brett. Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology. Rhino.
  4. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 109. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
  5. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (January 11, 1986). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. November 2, 1985. p. 15. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  7. ^ Prato, Greg. "Greatest Hits". AllMusic.
  8. ^ Sendra, Tim. "The Essentials - The Cars". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0614." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  11. ^ "The Cars – Tonight She Comes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Cars: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  13. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  14. ^ "The Cars Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles – Week ending January 18, 1986". Cash Box. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  16. ^ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  17. ^ "Mainstream Rock Songs – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  18. ^ "The Cash Box Year-End Charts: 1986 – Top 100 Pop Singles". Cash Box. December 27, 1986. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
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