1979 · Behind the Songs
A song about roller-skating fandom, recorded by a rock session crew, filmed before MTV existed.
In August 1979, Cher released “Hell on Wheels,” the first and only international single from her sixteenth studio album Prisoner. Written by Bob Esty and Michele Aller and produced by Esty, it was a disco record through and through — but the idea came from Cher’s own life. Her biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli notes that she was a roller-skating fanatic. The song is about following what you like, and it latched onto the roller-skating craze — as the Los Angeles Times put it — “as tenaciously—and stylishly—as the Beach Boys latched onto surfing.”
A Rock Band in Disco Clothes
The session crew read like a rock record: Steve Lukather on guitar, Richard Tee on the Hammond B3, Mike Baird on drums. The B-side, “Git Down (Guitar Groupie),” was pulled from Take Me Home, and the track also opened the Roller Boogie (1979) motion picture soundtrack.
The Video Before the Video Era
“Hell on Wheels” became Cher’s first professional music video — and one of the first modern music videos, period — premiering on The Midnight Special before MTV even existed. The single reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 64 in Cash Box, becoming her last hit for Casablanca Records. Decades later, in 2019, the song found a second life as the theme of Michael Kors’ Fall campaign, starring Bella Hadid and Mayowa Nicholas.