Cruisin' Classics was a series of

oldies music Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 200 ...

compilations released onto

audiocassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens and his team at the Dutch company Phi ...

from 1989-1990 by

Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Y ...

About the series

The idea of the tape albums as described in a 1990 edition of ''

The Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the ...

'', was to tailor them to a different cruising era. The covers of the cassette albums would feature a certain car from that era. A Chevy Bel-Air was on the cover of ''Volume VI'' album which featured the classics, "

Blue Moon A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects. The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...

" by

The Marcels The Marcels were an American doo-wop group known for turning popular music songs into rock and roll. The group formed in 1959 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and signed to Colpix Records with lead Cornelius Harp, bass Fred Johnson, Gene Bricker, ...

Runaround Sue "Runaround Sue" is a rock and roll song (in a modified doo-wop style), originally a US No. 1 Hot 100 hit (No. 4 on the Hot R&B chart) for the singer Dion during 1961, after he split with the Belmonts. It was written by Dion with Ernie Maresc ...

by Dion,

Yakety Yak "Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on List of number-one rhythm and blues hits (United States), the R&B chart ...

The Coasters The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group who had a string of hits in the late 1950s. With hits including "Searchin'", "Young Blood (The Coasters song), Young Blood", "Charlie Brown (The Coasters song), Charlie Bro ...

and "

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (sometimes rendered "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On") is a song written by Dave "Curlee" Williams and sometimes also credited to James Faye "Roy" Hall. The song was first recorded by Big Maybelle, though the best-k ...

" by The Killer. The cover of ''Volume IV'' featured a Ford Mustang. The songs on the album were " Mr. Tambourine Man by

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...

, "

Chain Of Fools A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. ...

" by "

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

" and "

Monday Monday ''Monday Monday'' is an ITV comedy drama. It stars Fay Ripley, Jenny Agutter, Neil Stuke, Holly Aird, Morven Christie, Tom Ellis, and Miranda Hart. It is set in the head office of a supermarket that has fallen on hard times and had to re- ...

" by

The Mamas and the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were an American folk rock vocal group that recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968, with a brief reunion in 1971. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. Formed in New York C ...

. Songs of a later era than the previous two were featured on ''Volume V''. A Corvette was featured on the cover. The songs included "

Listen To The Music "Listen to the Music" is a song by American rock band the Doobie Brothers, released on their second album, '' Toulouse Street'' (1972). The song was written by Tom Johnston and was the band’s first major hit. In 1994, it received a remix by S ...

" by

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

, "

Could It Be I'm Falling In Love "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love" is a 1972 song recorded by the American R&B vocal group The Spinners (known as "Detroit Spinners" in the UK). It was co-written by Melvin and Mervin Steals, two songwriter brothers working for Atlantic, who were ...

by The Spinners, and "

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is a song by English pop duo Wham!, first released as a single in the UK on 14 May 1984. It became their first UK and US number one hit. It was written and produced by George Michael. The single was certified plat ...

" by

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

. In 1990, it was announced in the May 21 issue of '' U.S. Oil Week'' that Shell was again launching its promotion of the cassettes to begin just before the 4th of July holidays with certain tapes being featured in lots of 3. Later that year in September, Shell petrol stations in L.A. were selling the tapes for $1.99 along with an 8 gallon fill-up of petrol.

Example

An example of seventies hits and eighties hits can be found on ''Cruisin' Classics Vol. V''. This compilation album included "Listen To The Music" by The Doobie Brothers, " It's So Easy" by

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

, "

Ventura Highway "Ventura Highway" is a 1972 song by the band America from their album ''Homecoming'', written by Dewey Bunnell. It achieved the number 8 spot in the United States' ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 43 in the UK Singles Chart. Background Dewey ...

" by

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" by The Spinners, "

Can't Fight This Feeling "Can't Fight This Feeling" is a power ballad performed by the American rock band REO Speedwagon, written by lead singer Kevin Cronin. The song first appeared on the 1984 album '' Wheels Are Turnin. The single reached number one on the ''Bil ...

" by

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon), or simply REO, was an American Rock music, rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial suc ...

, " The Heat Is On" by

Glenn Frey Glenn Lewis Frey (; November 6, 1948 – January 18, 2016) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the rock band Eagles, for whom he was the co-lead singer and frontman, roles he came to share with fellow member Don Henley, with ...

, "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!, "

Kiss on My List "Kiss on My List" is a song by American duo Hall & Oates. It was written by Daryl Hall and Janna Allen, and produced by Hall and John Oates. It was the third single release from their ninth studio album, ''Voices'' (1980), and became their sec ...

" by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall & John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1970. Daryl Hall was generally the lead vocalist, while John Oates primarily supplied electric guitar and ba ...

, "

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

" by

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

, and "

Footloose ''Footloose'' is a 1984 American musical drama film directed by Herbert Ross and written by Dean Pitchford. It tells the story of Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon), a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small town, where he attempts to overturn a b ...

" by

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark "Kenny" Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded with Jim Messina (musician), Jim Mess ...

Note

Musician

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

was surprised one day to find a song of his had ended up on what he described as "some schlocky cassette called ''Cruisin' Classics''. This was surprising to him as he recounted in his book ''Fortunate Son: My Life, My Music'', he thought that they, meaning

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

members, had the right to approve what went on to compilation albums. He had come across this compilation album in 1989. A song by

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

was also on it. The song was licensed to the cassette's company by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

. This wasn't supposed to occur and caused great annoyance. There is a typo on one compilation. The Four Seasons are mistakenly given as "The Four Seasons (Spring)", with the printer obviously having mistaken the name for the classical piece.

Releases (selective)

Discog
Cruisin' Classics, Shell - Promotional series.
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References

{{reflist 1990s compilation albums