| "Drivin' My Life Away" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.png) A-side label of US single | ||||
| Single byEddie Rabbitt | ||||
| from the albumHorizon | ||||
| B-side | "Pretty Lady" | |||
| Released | June 9, 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1980 | |||
| Genre | Country rock,country pop,rockabilly | |||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | David Malloy | |||
| Eddie Rabbitt singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative release | ||||
.png) Side A of Canadian single | ||||
"Drivin' My Life Away" is a song co-written and recorded by Americancountry music artistEddie Rabbitt. It was released in June 1980 as the first single from the albumHorizon. The song was written by Rabbitt,Even Stevens andDavid Malloy.
The song is a look into the life of a truck driver and the long periods of time they spend away from home.
Although many of Rabbitt's successful songs werecountry-pop material, "Drivin' My Life Away" began his peak popularity as a crossover artist. The song peaked at No. 5 on theBillboard Hot 100, and set the stage for his biggest career hit: "I Love a Rainy Night," which reached the top on thecountry,Hot 100 andadult contemporary charts in early 1981. Two more crossover hits - "Step by Step" and "You and I" (the latter a duet withCrystal Gayle) - followed in 1981 and 1982.
OnBillboard's Hot Country Singles chart, it was his seventh out of 17 career chart toppers, spanning from 1976 through 1990.
In 1981, "Drivin' My Life Away" was certified gold for sales of half a million units by theRecording Industry Association of America.[1] It has also sold a further 267,000 digital copies in the US since it became available for download.[2]
"Drivin' My Life Away" was released in 1980 as the first single from his albumHorizon. It reached number one on theHot Country Singles in1980, and peaked at No. 5 on theBillboard Hot 100.
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 100 |
| CanadianRPM Country Tracks[4] | 2 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[5] | 45 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[6] | 2 |
| Dutch Top 40[7] | 27 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] | 32 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[9] | 22 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[10] | 5 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[11] | 1 |
| USBillboard Adult Contemporary[12] | 3 |
| Year-end chart (1980) | Rank |
|---|---|
| US Top Pop Singles (Billboard)[13] | 85 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[14] | 18 |
| "Drivin' My Life Away" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byRhett Akins | ||||
| from the albumBlack Dog soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | "A Man with 18 Wheels" | |||
| Released | April 1998 (1998-04) | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:06 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producers | Frank Liddell,Greg Droman[15] | |||
| Rhett Akins singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 1998,country music artistRhett Akins recorded a cover version of this song for the soundtrack to the 1998 filmBlack Dog. This cover, released withLee Ann Womack's "A Man with 18 Wheels" on theB-side, peaked at number 56 on the country music charts.[16]
Akins toldBillboard that he was "apprehensive" about recording the song because of the familiarity of Rabbitt's original version. He also said that he wanted to record the song "the way I want to do it", but also that he wanted it to fit with the tone of the movie. As he did not know what the movie was going to be about, he consulted its director,Kevin Hooks, who flew to Nashville and told him the movie's plot and tone. Akins felt that the movie "was going to be high energy", so he made his rendition "a pretty rockin' track, real edgy".[17]
Deborah Evans Price ofBillboard panned Akins' cover, saying that "Akins delivery doesn't have the zip and punch of Rabbitt's energetic version, and the production sounds like a watered-down version of the original."[15]
| Chart (1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] | 61 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[19] | 56 |
Works cited
