Life Is a Highway
| "Life Is a Highway" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Life Is a Highway" is a song written by Tom Cochrane, from his 1991 album Mad Mad World. The song was Cochrane's most famous song, as it was a number one hit in his native Canada, and was ubiquitous on Canadian radio in 1991. The song also peaked at number six on the Billboard charts in the United States in 1992.
In the 1990's Cochrane took his family to West Africa where he helped to raise awareness and money for the World Vision famine relief organization. That experience shaped his next album Mad Mad World which contained "Life Is a Highway".
The song was Cochrane's only Top 40 hit in the United States although he continued to have significant hits in Canada. Prominent Cincinnati disc jockey Brian Douglas was the first American DJ to play this song on air.
In 1998, Chris LeDoux released a cover of "Life Is a Highway" on the album One Road Man. Changes include the timing of vocal entrances on the chorus, and location names between the first and second chorus. This version also appears on LeDoux's 20 Greatest Hits, released June, 1999.
The song was featured in the movie Cheaper by the Dozen (2003).
The song was brought back into prominence when it was the first song performed at Live 8 Barrie July 2, 2005.
Music Video
The original video for 'Life Is a Highway' was produced by Canadian-South African, Albert Botha who went on to line produce two films for Saturday Night Live, Superstar starring Molly Shannon and The Ladies Man starring Tim Meadows.
Rascal Flatts version
In 2006, American country music band Rascal Flatts covered this song for the Disney/Pixar animated film Cars. The movie was released on June 9, 2006. The song sold a large quantity of digital downloads, leading to a top ten peak on the Hot 100. In addition, the cover was placed as a bonus track on later versions of the album Me and My Gang.
The Rascal Flatts version subsequently became a hit on the US Hot 100 charts, where it peaked at #7. Even though it was not officially released to country radio, several country stations played the song as an album cut; it reached #18 on the singles charts as a result."