Hitch Hike (song)

"Hitch Hike" is a 1962 song by Marvin Gaye, released on the Tamla label. Another song Gaye co-wrote (this time with Clarence Paul and William "Mickey" Stevenson), this time instead of confessing to being stubborn, the singer is now on the look out for his girl, whom he feels has run so far that he has to travel "around the world" thinking of places she could have found herself at including St. Louis, "Chicago City Limits" and "L.A.".

The song sparked a brief dance craze when audience members from American Bandstand performed the "hitch hike" dance. Marvin performed the song on the show and also did the move onstage. The dance was also performed during Marvin's performance of the song in the T.A.M.I. Show. The single was successful enough to land Gaye his first top forty pop single in 1963 with "Hitch Hike" reaching number thirty on the pop singles chart while reaching number twelve on the R&B singles chart. Again, like "Stubborn", Martha and the Vandellas accompanied Gaye on this song. Artists including The Sonics, The Rolling Stones, The Mothers of Invention and Alice Cooper covered this song during their early years.

The Velvet Underground's song "There She Goes Again" is based on "Hitch Hike", as is the guitar intro to The Smiths' "There is a Light That Never Goes Out" (Johnny Marr specifically credits The Rolling Stones' cover as the inspiration).

Paul McCartney performed a live cover of the song during his 2011 performance at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan.^[1] Another song which is likely based on "Hitch-Hike", is "You Can't Do That" by The Beatles, especially the use of cowbell and congas and the pronounced stops at the end of each verse.

Other versions

• Martha and the Vandellas, who recorded backing vocals on the original version, covered it on their album Dance Party. Their version uses the original backing track with the Vandellas' backing vocals intact, in addition to Martha Reeves's lead vocal, Rosalind Ashford and Betty Kelly's harmony vocals, and added percussion from the Funk Brothers.

• It was covered in 1965 by The Rolling Stones on their album Out Of Our Heads.

• It was covered in 1966 by The Grass Roots on their first album Where Were You When I Needed You.

• It was covered in 1966 by The Sonics on their album Boom (album).

• It was covered in 1984 by Alison Moyet as the B-side of her single Invisible.

Personnel

• Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye
• Background vocals by The Vandellas: Martha Reeves, Rosalind Ashford and Annette Beard
• Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers:
  • Robert White: guitar
  • Eddie Willis: guitar
  • Joe Messina: guitar
  • James Jamerson: bass
  • Marvin Gaye: drums and piano
  • Jack Ashford: tambourine, percussion
  • Earl Van Dyke: piano
  • Henry Cosby: saxophone
  • Dayna Hartwick: flute solo

References