Peak
1
Weeks
19
Score
3,670
Chart Year
1991
The music video for "Joyride" was directed by Doug Freel.[1] It was made as a playful and spectacular video, where Marie and Per, among other things, sat on a Ferrari while a driver laying down, being invisible to the camera took care of the gas and brake. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the song reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 11th May 1991, the video was restored and premiered in 4K on YouTube in 2021.[1] Gessle told about the restoring process, "Some so-called “green screen” scenes have been removed, because they were very difficult to recreate. Instead, we’ve found other goodies in the raw material. In the long run, however, we plan to restore the video completely – and perhaps also other Roxette videos – in 4K resolution." By February 2024, "Joyride" had generated more than 14 million views.
Per Gessle (the male member of the duo) wrote this song for his girlfriend. He came home late and she had left a note on his piano that read, "Hej din tok, jag alskar dig," which means, "Hello, you fool, I love you," in Swedish. Gessle used the line in the song. >> Gessle decided to add whistling to the tune after watching Monty Python's Life of Brian, which features the whistle-heavy song "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life." He told Billboard magazine: "I did the whistling myself. It's overdubbed 12 times, but I did it." Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, the other half of Roxette, knew they wanted this to be the lead single, but their record label, EMI, disagreed. Thinking the uptempo track would be too risky, the label recommended the ballad "Spending My Time" as the first single for the US. Luckily, the duo refused to relent and "Joyride" became the duo's fourth consecutive #1 hit. As for "Spending My Time," it was their first chart single to miss the Top 30. The album title was inspired by a magazine interview with Paul McCartney, in which he described writing songs with John Lennon as "a long joyride." Gessle recalled: "At the time, we were in the middle of recording, and I was looking for a fun, positive title for the album. 'Joyride' seemed like a perfect word." This also hit #1 in several other countries, including Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, Norway, and their native Sweden. This was used on Beverly Hills, 90210 in the 1991 episode "Pass, Not Pass."
I hit the road out of nowhere I had to jump in my car And be a rider in a love game Following the stars Don't need no book of wisdom I get no money talk at all She has a train going downtown She's got a club on the moon And she's telling all her secrets In a wonderful balloon She's the heart of the funfair She's got me whistling her private tune And it all begins where it ends And she's all mine, my magic friend She says: Hello, you fool, I love you Come on join the joyride Join the joyride She's a flower, I can paint her She's a child of the sun We're a part of this together Could never turn around and run Don't need no fortune teller To know where my lucky love belongs Oh no Cause it all begins again when it ends And we're all magic friends She says: Hello, you fool, I love you Come on join the joyride Join the joyride Be a joyrider I take you on a sky ride A feeling like you're spellbound The sunshine is a lady Who ROX you like a baby She says: Hello, you fool, I love you Come on join the joyride Join the joyride
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mar 2, 1991 | 57 | 69 |
| 2 | Mar 9, 1991 | 41 | 85 |
| 3 | Mar 16, 1991 | 30 | 96 |
| 4 | Mar 23, 1991 | 26 | 100 |
| 5 | Mar 30, 1991 | 17 | 109 |
| 6 | Apr 6, 1991 | 12 | 114 |
| 7 | Apr 13, 1991 | 6 | 120 |
| 8 | Apr 20, 1991 | 5 | 121 |
| 9 | Apr 27, 1991 | 2 | 124 |
| 10 | May 4, 1991 | 2 | 124 |
| 11 | May 11, 1991 | 1 | 125 |
| 12 | May 18, 1991 | 6 | 120 |
| 13 | May 25, 1991 | 15 | 111 |
| 14 | Jun 1, 1991 | 21 | 105 |
| 15 | Jun 8, 1991 | 29 | 97 |
| 16 | Jun 15, 1991 | 37 | 89 |
| 17 | Jun 22, 1991 | 47 | 79 |
| 18 | Jun 29, 1991 | 59 | 67 |
| 19 | Jul 6, 1991 | 89 | 37 |