The Edgar Winter Group – Free Ride

The Edgar Winter Group – Free Ride, performed live, November 2, 1973

“Free Ride” – Single by Edgar Winter Group from the album They Only Come Out at Night
B-side: “When It Comes”
Released: August 1973
Recorded: 1972
Label: Epic
Songwriter: Dan Hartman
Producer: Rick Derringer
Charted No.14 in US

The “free ride” can be literally interpreted as a road trip, but it’s really about a spiritual journey. The song was written and sung by Dan Hartman, who had recently joined the Edgar Winter Group, but Winter added the lyrics:

We got to do better, it’s time to begin
You know all the answers must come from within

Edgar Winter played Woodstock before he even released an album. That’s because his older brother, Johnny Winter, was a celebrated blues guitarist who used Edgar in his band. When Edgar struck out on his own in 1970, it was with a horn-heavy band he assembled for his first album. His next two albums were with a group he called White Trash, which had more jazz leanings. In 1972, he started clean with a new band: the Edgar Winter Group. Dan Hartman, who was in a Pennsylvania band called the Legends, was his first recruit. Hartman had already written “Free Ride” (which is one of the reasons Winter wanted him), so it was one of the first songs this new group recorded.