"You Are the Girl" is a 1987 song by

the Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

, from their album ''

Door to Door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a ...

''. It was released as a single in August 1987, reaching number 17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached number 2 on the

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, and number 12 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. It was the Cars' 13th and final Top 40 hit.

Background

Rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter

Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...

shares lead vocals with bassist

Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orzechowski (September 8, 1947 – October 3, 2000), known professionally as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as the bassist, co-lead vocalist, and co-founder of the rock band The Cars. He sang lead vocals on sever ...

on "You Are the Girl". Both singers had recently cracked the Top 40 with solo hits, Ocasek with 1986's " Emotion in Motion" and Orr with 1987's " Stay the Night". "You Are the Girl" was the Cars' first—and last—Top 40 hit after their 1987 regrouping following the band members' three-year hiatus to focus on solo work. It also became the second (and last) single after "Since I Held You" from "

Candy-O ''Candy-O'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Cars, released on June 13, 1979 by Elektra Records. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the album spawned two singles, " Let's Go" (number 14 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100) and " It's ...

" in which both singers shared vocals on a song. The lyrics for the song are about an ex; the music video, directed by cult filmmaker

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

, has been described as "alien-populated". In 1987, the Cars performed "You Are the Girl" and "Double Trouble" (another track from ''Door to Door'') at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called it a "likeable pop tune" with "slick production values."

Aftermath

The song was recorded for what would be the band's final studio album for the next 25 years, and last with its five original members, 1987's ''Door to Door''. It was recorded at a time of personal conflict between the band members that led to their eventual disbanding. Following the release of the album, there was public speculation that the band was breaking up, and within a year the Cars announced that they had disbanded. Although "You Are the Girl" was the Cars' last Top 40 hit, two more singles released from ''Door to Door'' did reach the Top 100: 1987's " Strap Me In" (number 85) and 1988's " Coming Up You" (number 74).

Charts

References

{{The Cars singles The Cars songs 1987 singles Song recordings produced by Ric Ocasek Songs written by Ric Ocasek Elektra Records singles