My Best Friend's Girl

"My Best Friend's Girl" is a song by American rock band the Cars from their 1978 self-titled debut album on Elektra Records, released on June 6 of that year. Written by Ocasek as a song about something that "probably ... happened to a lot of people," the track found radio success as a demo in 1977. Written by Ric Ocasek and produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the song was released as the album's second single. It peaked at number 35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and reached number three in the UK. It has since been positively received by critics and included in compilation albums for the band. Background "My Best Friend's Girl" was written by Ric Ocasek for the Cars' self-titled debut album. Ocasek later said the lyrics were not inspired by any personal incident, saying "Nothing in that song happened to me personally. I just figured having a girlfriend stolen was probably something that happened to a lot of people." Ocasek also said that the lyrics for the chorus were an afterthought, saying, "At some point, I realized my lyrics didn't include the words 'My Best Friend's Girl.' So I pulled out the lyrics someone had typed up and added a chorus in the margin in pen: 'She's my best friend's girl/She's my best friend's girl/But she used to be mine. The song first appeared in 1977 on Boston radio stations WCOZ and WBCN from the said demo tape, along with "Just What I Needed". DJ Maxanne Sartori, who was given the tapes of these songs by Ric Ocasek, recalled, "I began playing the demos of 'Just What I Needed' and 'My Best Friend's Girl' in March during my weekday slot, from 2 to 6 p.m. Calls poured in with positive comments." Shortly thereafter, it became one of the stations' most requested songs.