Hell on Wheels (song)

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"Hell on Wheels"
"Hell on Wheels" cover
Single by Cher
from the album Prisoner
Released 1979
Recorded 1979
Genre Disco
Length 5:31
Label Casablanca
Writer(s) Bob Esty; Michele Aller
Producer(s) Bob Esty
Cher singles chronology
"Wasn't It Good"
(1979)
"Hell on Wheels"
(1979)
"Dead Ringer for Love"
(1979)

"Hell on Wheels" is a song recorded by singer/actress Cher and was written by its producer Bob Esty and co-writer Michele Aller.

Contents

[edit] Song information

Hell on Wheels was used as the first international release from American singer/actress Cher's twenty-fourth album Prisoner. Although the single was commercially released world wide the single did not manage to achieve any success other than charting in the United States.

The song received positive reviews from critics including one where the song is described as, "an excellently produced follow-up dance single." The song has also received neutral/negative reviews like one which decribes Hell on Wheels as, "hoping to cash in on the disco-roller skating craze that was sweeping the nation in 1979." [1]

In 1979, Hell on Wheels was included in original soundtrack to the film, Roller Boogie.

[edit] Music video

Hell on wheels is arguably the first professional video ever released by Cher, many believe that the videos for Take Me Home and Love & Pain are her first professional videos, but it's unknown whether Take Me Home and Love & Pain are regconized as promotional videos since they are recorded acts from the show Cher... and Other Fantasies.

The video for Hell on Wheels was tough for Cher to shoot. She was required to skate down steep, mountainous roads while sporting a broken arm. In the video Cher is roller skating and being followed by a huge truck driven by two men which use the maximum speed of the truck to catch up with her. Following this, Cher convinces many people with different types of transportation to follow and take a ride with her.

This is one of the 1970s pioneer rock videos to be produced in the MTV style before MTV itself existed. The Video Was Premired On The Late Night NBC Television Show "THE MIDNIGHT SPECIAL" & Clips Were Shown Of It During A 1979 Interview With Phil Donahue On "THE PHIL DONAHUE SHOW"

[edit] Charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 59
world wide sales 250,000

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
Cher
Also associated with: Sonny & Cher
Sonny & Cher discography
Cher discography
Studio albums: All I Really Want to Do - The Sonny Side of Cher - Cher - Backstage - With Love, Cher - 3614 Jackson Highway - Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves - Foxy Lady - Bittersweet White Light - Half-Breed - Dark Lady - Stars - I'd Rather Believe in You - Cherished - Take Me Home - Prisoner - Black Rose - I Paralyze - Cher - Heart of Stone - Love Hurts - It's a Man's World - Believe - not.com.mercial - Living Proof - Live! The Farewell Tour
Main compilations: Greatest Hits - Greatest Hits: 1965-1992 - If I Could Turn Back Time: Cher's Greatest Hits - The Greatest Hits - The Very Best of Cher
Singles: See singles
Videography: See videography
Tours and concerts
The Wondrous World Tour - All I Ever Need Is You Tour - Allman and Woman Tour - Live in Monte Carlo - A Celebration at Caesar's Palace - Heart of Stone Tour - Love Hurts Tour - Do You Believe? Tour - Living Proof: The Farewell Tour