New Wave
The song was written by band member Ric Ocasek for their 1978 debut album The Cars. It was released as a single in 1979, backed with “All Mixed Up.” It had modest charting success, going to #31 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #5 in France, and #74 in Canada. The album, on the other hand has earned 6x multi-platinum certification in the U.S. and silver certification in the U.K. It has now appeared on a number of compilation albums by The Cars, including the 1985 Greatest Hits; the 1995 Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology; and the 2002 Complete Greatest Hits.
Ocasek said that the song was a comment, sarcastic in intent, about the good times that could be had with rock and roll but often aren’t. He has said: “It was kind of a parody of good times, really. It was kinda like not about good times at all.”
The Cars formed in Boston in 1976. On the 1978 album were Ric Ocasek (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar, backing vocals), Greg Hawkes (keyboards, percussion, sax, backing Vocals), Benjamin Orr (lead vocals, bass), and David Robinson (drums, percussion, Syndrums, backing vocals).