Life Is a Highway

"Life Is a Highway"
Single by Tom Cochrane
from the album Mad Mad World
Released September 20, 1991[1]
Recorded 1990
Genre Rock, heartland rock
Length 4:26
Label Capitol
Writer(s) Tom Cochrane
Producer(s) Tom Cochrane, Joe Hardy
Certification Gold (CRIA)[2]
Tom Cochrane singles chronology
"White Hot" (Live)
(1989)
"Life Is a Highway"
(1991)
"No Regrets"
(1991)

"Life Is a Highway" is a song written by Tom Cochrane, from his 1991 album Mad Mad World. The song was Cochrane's most famous song, as it was a number one hit in his native Canada. The song also peaked at number six on the Billboard charts in the United States in 1992. The song has been covered by Rascal Flatts for the Cars soundtrack, as well as by Chris LeDoux, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Home Free.

Song information

In the 1990s Cochrane took his family to West Africa, where he helped to raise awareness and money for the World Vision famine relief organization. That experience shaped his next album Mad Mad World which contained "Life Is a Highway". Places mentioned in the song are Mozambique, Memphis, Khyber Pass, and Vancouver.

The song was Cochrane's only Top 40 hit in the United States. It was also featured in the 1992 film There Goes the Neighborhood, starring fellow Canadian Catherine O'Hara.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1991) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 6
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 6
Canadian Singles Chart 1
Australian Singles Chart[3] 2
New Zealand Singles Chart[3] 2
Sweden Singles Chart[3] 23
Dutch Singles Chart[3] 35

Year-end charts

Chart (1992) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 18

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Music video

The original video for "Life Is a Highway" was produced by Albert Botha who went on to line produce two films for Saturday Night Live, Superstar starring Molly Shannon and The Ladies Man starring Tim Meadows. The video was shot in Alberta's Badlands, near the city of Drumheller. Many of the shots are in familiar locations along the Dinosaur Trail, including Cochrane playing guitar amid the Hoodoos and the couple Brennan Elliott running around the car while it rides the Bleriot Ferry across the Red Deer River. It also has an older man (gas station attendant), a couple (tall man, short wife), and two women from a religious order. The car which is featured in the music video is a 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport.

The plot for the video is a pastiche of the 1991 Canadian dark comedy, Highway 61. The song was originally offered by Capitol Records to the film's director, Bruce McDonald, to use in the film. McDonald declined the offer, saying the song was "too poppy".

Rascal Flatts version

"Life Is a Highway"
Single by Rascal Flatts
from the album Me and My Gang and Cars: The Soundtrack
Released June 6, 2006
Format Digital download
Recorded 2006
Genre Country rock
Length 4:36
Label Lyric Street, Walt Disney
Writer(s) Tom Cochrane
Producer(s) Dann Huff
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Rascal Flatts singles chronology
"Me and My Gang"
(2006)
"Life Is a Highway"
(2006)
"My Wish"
(2006)

In 2006, American country band Rascal Flatts recorded a cover of this song for the DisneyPixar animated film Cars. The movie was released on June 9, 2006. The song sold a large quantity of digital downloads, leading to a top ten peak on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition, the cover was placed as a bonus track on later versions of the album Me and My Gang, and also was included on their Greatest Hits Volume 1. This version also won the "Favorite Song from a Movie" award at the 33rd People's Choice Awards.

The instrumental of the Rascal Flatts' cover version was prominently featured in the Top Gear: US Special, which aired February 11, 2007. The song is included on the soundtrack for Lego Rock Band. It topped the 2 million mark in paid downloads as of the chart dated March 28, 2009.[5] As of March 2013, the song has sold over 3 million copies in the US.[6]

On July 14, 2015, Scott Walker, Republican Governor of Wisconsin, launched his presidential campaign as Republican Party nominee in Waukesha, Wisconsin using the song.

Music video

The music video portrays the three band members pulling into a drive-in theater driving three vintage vehicles. The cars allude to three characters from the movie: Lightning McQueen, Doc Hudson and Mater. As the projector rolls, scenes from the Disney/Pixar movie Cars are shown as the band plays through the number. It was directed by Shaun Silva.

Charts

The Rascal Flatts version subsequently became a hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, where it peaked at number No. 7. Even though it was not officially released to country radio, many country stations played the song as an album cut, overlapping with their then-current country single "My Wish". The unsolicited country airplay brought "Life Is a Highway" to number No. 18 on the US Country Song chart. The song has sold 3.4 million copies in the US as of June 2016.[7]

Chart (2006) Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[8] 18
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 7
US Billboard Pop 100 9

Chris LeDoux version

In 1998, Chris LeDoux covered Life is A Highway for his album "One Road Man". The song is one of Chris' most popular among fans, as well as For Your Love, This Cowboys Hat, Hooked on an 8-Second Ride, Cadillac Ranch and Horse Power. Changes include the intro to the song, the timing of vocal entrances on the chorus, and location names between the first and second chorus.

Music video

The music video for the song takes place on multiple roads and highways as well as a blue and red static themed room. When on roads and highways, there is a chance for Chris himself to appear on a television that is sitting on a sidewalk or grass, however, while the background behind Chris (that appears on the TV) is the same background as everything behind the TV itself, Chris does not appear to be standing behind the TV. In most locations, Chris is walking down a road as at the start of the music video. The video ends with Chris signing the chorus while appearing on a flap-down TV inside of someones car, then transitioning to Chris being once again in the static room and then walking out of it. After Chris leaves the room, the screen will slowly fade-out to black and the video will end.

Other covers

References

Preceded by
"Just Came Back" by Colin James
Juno Award for Single of the Year
1992
Succeeded by
"Beauty and the Beast" by Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson
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