Did you ever take a ride take a ride on a roller coaster ...

Four years before the Ides of March had their one big hit, "Vehicle" (you know, "I'm your vehicle, baby, I'll take you anywhere you wanna go ..."), the Chicago-area band put out a little single called "Roller Coaster" on Parrot Records.

I thought it was great, bought the record new in 1966 and have played it over and over over the years. Alas, the world was not ready for the Ides of March, and I had to wait four more years to see them on the charts.

By then, my first reaction to "Vehicle" was, "The Ides of March? Can't be the same band, can it?" The horns, nowhere to be heard on "Roller Coaster," and the clearly different vocal style made me suspicious. But there was the name "Peterik" on the label - writer Jim Peterik to be precise. Yep, same band.

The record (pun intended) will show that "Vehicle" was a much more commercially successful song than "Roller Coaster." But me, I like this one better. A girl in love is the greatest thrill the world has ever known ...