Hell on Wheels (song)
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| “Hell on Wheels” | |||||
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| Single by Cher from the album Prisoner |
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| B-side | Git Down (12" Version) | ||||
| Released | 1979 | ||||
| Format | 7" single 12" single |
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| Recorded | 1979 | ||||
| Genre | Disco | ||||
| Length | 5:31 | ||||
| Label | Casablanca | ||||
| Writer(s) | Bob Esty; Michele Aller | ||||
| Producer | Bob Esty | ||||
| Cher singles chronology | |||||
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"Hell on Wheels" is a song recorded by singer/actress Cher and was written by its producer Bob Esty and co-writer Michele Aller.
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[edit] Song information
Hell on Wheels was used as the first international release from American singer/actress Cher's sixteenth studio album Prisoner. Despite a worldwide commercial release, Hell on Wheels did not manage to achieve any success other than charting on the Billboard Hot 100 (at a disappointing #59), and peaking at #6 in Norway for over a month and #3 in France for a week.
The song received mostly 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 describes Hell on Wheels as, "hoping to cash in on the disco-roller skating craze that was sweeping the nation in 1979."
In 1979, Hell on Wheels was included in original soundtrack to the film, Roller Boogie.
[edit] Music video
Hell on Wheels is arguably Cher's first professional video. Some consider the videos for Take Me Home and Love & Pain to be her first professional clips, though these were lifted from her highly rated 1979 TV special 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.
Hell on Wheels is one of the 1970's pioneer music videos to be produced in the MTV style before MTV itself existed. The video was premiered on the late night NBC television show "The Midnight Special". Promotional clips were also shown during a 1979 interview with Phil Donahue on "The Phil Donahue Show."
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1979) | Peak position |
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| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 59[1] |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 6 |
| French Singles Chart | 3 |
| world wide sales | 450,000 |
[edit] References
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