How The Cars' "Heartbeat City" Delivered 5 Hits but Led to Their Breakup

Coming up, it’s 80s power pop at its best. The Cars and their 5th studio album Heartbeat City it sold 5 million and churned out 5 big hits.. But it didn’t come easy for this lead song from the album. In fact, it was a lifetime in the making… Or at least that’s how it felt to it’s band. Used to kicking out albums on the fly, their first four albums were a breeze to record. However, their fifth? That was a different story. Teaming up with meticulous producer and master of sonic sorcery, Mutt Lange, Heartbeat City took over a year to complete. And it took a devastating toll on the Rik Ocasek and Benjamin Orr and the band. Maybe even breaking them up for good. Tempers flared. Plane tickets were bought… and this seminal 80s record was in danger of not getting done. So was it all worth it? Well, if you’ve heard the album and today’s song, You Might Think you know that it was. In fact, it’s cutting edge music video is one of the 80s best and it beat out the biggest selling music video of all time Michael Jackson Thriller ! Get the story next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .