I have a distinct early childhood memory of my family’s drives down south.  In the summer, I’d be trapped in the backseat of the car with my sweaty thighs burning on the Chrysler’s leather.  My position was behind the driver’s seat, which provided the treat of rancid gas fumes if my father was snarfing peanuts from the can.  He refused to turn on the air conditioning in an attempt to save on fuel, so I would make repeated attempts to crack the window and raise my head to breathe out of the opening.

The car was decked out with only a radio and 8-track player so our soundtrack was limited to the few he owned.  Can you imagine a one-way, 9+ hour drive hearing The Staple Singers, The Hues Corporation and Natalie Cole on repeat?  Now I love Natalie, but back then her “I’m Catching Hell” took on a whole different meaning for me.   

In honor of the boat-like car we tooled down 77-South in, here’s The Hues Corporation’s best known hit.