I Drove All Night

I Drove All Night is a song written by Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly that was written for Roy Orbison, but sung by Cyndi Lauper for her 1989 album "A Night to Remember."

Celine Dion covered the song for her nineteenth studio album "One Heart."

It was released as the lead single from the album on March 3, 2003 and used in a promotional ad for Chrysler. The remake was produced by Peer Astrom & Vito Luprano.

Song Background
In 2003, Chrysler signed Celine to a $14 million deal to endorse their cars.

They were looking for a song to use in the campaign and release as a single. Billy Steinberg knew her and had written the "Falling Into You" which was the title track of her 1996 album.

He sent a copy of Roy Orbison's version of "I Drove All Night" to Celine's record company, who loved it and had her record it with Swedish producer Peer Astrom.

Celine used the song in her Las Vegas show and it became the centerpiece of the Chrysler campaign.

The commercials were great exposure for the song and helped sell many albums, but they did not sell enough cars.

Chrysler pulled out of the deal after many of their dealers complained and it became clear the ads were not working.

Song Composition
In Celine Dion's version of "I Drove All Night," it contains dance-pop music. It was also considerated "a little bit dance-club, a little bit rock & roll."

Lyrically, she recalls a feverish trek for sexual gratification.

Celine sings in the first verse:

"Maybe I should have called you first, but I was dying to get to you/I was dreaming while I drove the long, straight road ahead."

In the chorus, she sings "woke you from your sleep to make love to you/is that all right/I drove all night."

In the second verse, Celine duplicates a line as it is heard in Roy Orbison's original recording.

Instead of singing "no matter where I go I hear the beating of our heart," she sings, "our one heart."

Like the original version, the chorus is sung again twice which ends the single.

Song Promotion
Celine appeared in four commercial spots that were all scored with tracks from the "One Heart" album (including "I Drove All Night") for Chrysler.

It was directed by Peter Arnell and edited by Bee Ottinger while Darius Khondji acted as director of photography on the Chrysler ads.

Music Video
The music video shot in Las Vegas, USA on February 2, 2003 and it was directed by advertising executive Peter Arnell, cinematographed by Rolf Kestermann and edited by Bee Ottinger.

Described as an arty little black and white number, it features Celine (with some arm stretches and back bends) while a couple somewhere else seem to be merrily getting their groove on.

Chart Performance
In Canada, "I Drove All Night" debuted straight at number one on the Canadian Hot 100 chart and spent 5 consecutive weeks at the top.

The song was Celine's third airplay-only single that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 45 (number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay).

The commercial single was released five months later reaching number 26 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales.

Due to several club remixes created mainly by Hex Hector, the song peaked at number 2 on the Hot Dance Club Play.

According to the Nielsen SoundScan, the CD single has sold 55,000 copies in the United States.

In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number 22 on the ARIA Charts, on March 16, 2003.

The following week, the song dropped to number 35 and it kept fluctuating on the chart for the next two weeks, until it climbed from number 44 to number 43.

Later, the song fell to number 49, but it climbed to number 38, the following week.

It spent 10 weeks on the chart and it was certified gold. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 48 on the RIANZ chart, on March 2, 2003.

The following week, the song climbed to number 46, while in its third week, it jumped to number 30.

After falling to number 32, in its fourth week, the song remained at number 31, for two consecutive weeks.

Finally, on April 20, 2003, the song rose and peaked at number 24.[34] The song spent 9 weeks on the chart.

The song was even more successful on the Belgian Flanders Singles Chart, where it debuted at number 14, on March 8, 2004.

The following week, the song jumped to number 4, while in its third week, the song topped the charts.

It remained at the top ten for ten consecutive weeks and fifteen overall weeks on the chart.

It was certified platinum, for selling 50,000 copies.

The song was also a big success in Sweden, debuting at the top of the Swedish Singles Chart, on March 20, 2003, however, the following week, it fell to number 12 and in its third week, it fell to number 13.

In its fourth week, the song jumped to number 7, but it kept fluctuating on the chart for the next three weeks, until it climbed from number 22 to number 16.

It spent 17 weeks on the chart. On the Danish Singles Chart, the song debuted at number 2, where it remained for three consecutive weeks.

Later, it fell to number 5, while on the following week, it fell to number 6, where it remained for another week.

In France, even not reaching the top twenty, the song proved to be strong on the SNEP chart.

It debuted at number 89, however, it fell to number 94 in its second week and to number 97 in its third week.

Despite falling for two consecutive weeks and leaving the charts, the song re-entered at number 22, its peak position, on April 26, 2003.

It spent 11 non-consecutive weeks on the chart.

Critical Reception
The song received positive reviews from music critics.

Allmusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine noticed that the song was "a tongue-in-cheek, neo-house cover" and picked it as one of the best tracks on the album along with the title track and "Have You Ever Been in Love."

Rebecca Wallwork wrote a positive review for Amazon, calling it "the car-commercial-driven tempo" while Jam!'s Darryl Sterdan named it "a Cher-style Eurodisco."

Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani echoed the same thought, saying that "she gets the Cher treatment on the blazing cover."

People's Chuck Arnold wrote that in the song, Celine "shows surprising restraint for a diva who just had a coliseum custom-built for her."

The Guardian's Betty Clarke wrote a negative review, saying:

"Her cover of Roy Orbison's I Drove All Night is full of reverberating notes and sultry asides, but reveals a fundamental lack of sincerity that renders her threatening when she is trying for tender.''"

David Browne of EW gave this cover C+, calling her delivery "frigid" without over-singing it. He called the arrangement "blandly competent."