She Drives Me Crazy

"She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by British group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 by London Records as the first single from their second and final album, The Raw & the Cooked (1989). The song was written by the group's frontman Roland Gift with David Steele and produced by FYC with David Z. It peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in January 1989, becoming the band's highest charting single. "She Drives Me Crazy" proved an even bigger hit in the US, topping the Billboard Hot 100 on 15 April 1989 for one week and becoming the first of two chart-topping singles for the band on that chart. It also reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, as well as in countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand and Spain. It reached the top 3 on several European charts including Belgium, West Germany, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland. Two different music videos were produced for the song, directed by Philippe Decouflé and Pedro Romhanyi.

In 2018, Time Out magazine listed "She Drives Me Crazy" at No. 28 in their countdown of "The 50 Best '80s Songs". In 2023, Billboard magazine ranked it No. 77 in their "500 Best Pop Songs of All Time". American country artist Dolly Parton included a reimagined country cover version on her 2008 album Backwoods Barbie.

Background and recording
Co-produced by Prince associate David Z, the track was recorded in Studio B of Prince's Paisley Park complex outside of Minneapolis. The unique snare drum "pop" sound was created by recording the snare drum portion separately. A speaker was then placed on top of the snare drum, and a microphone below. The original recording of the snare drum part was played back through the speaker and re-recorded.

Critical reception
Jo-Ann Greene from AllMusic stated that "She Drives Me Crazy" "features the most unique, and instantly identifiable, beat/riff combination of the decade." The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen noted that it, "with its synthesized drums, was a great party song - Gift's falsetto delivery which went into a full-fledged roar was perfect for the track. Even the guitar work fits the track - from the jangly jazz riffs to the crunch of the power chords." David Bennun from Melody Maker said that "She Drives Me Crazy" "clattered and chugged and breathed limpid desire just about as well as you could in the Eighties."

Pan-European magazine Music & Media described it as a "subtly persuasive pop number that is sure to attract major airplay on pop and rock radio." Pop Rescue called it a "real gem with plenty of guitar, interesting vocals and beeping synth layers." Andy Strickland from Record Mirror wrote, "Always interesting, always a few surprises and this is no exception from the bandy trio. A stuttering pop record that's too slow to dance to and too fast to smooch to. The FYCs always sprinkle some interesting sounds over their records and here we have funky guitar breaks, heavy metal chords and plenty of things going boing, clicky click ding." James Hamilton from the magazine's DJ Directory deemed it a "haunting sparse jittery tapped then chunky rock guitar chorded whinneying falsetto 108½bpm lurcher".

Music video
Two music videos were produced for "She Drives Me Crazy", one by French choreographer, dancer, mime artist, and theatre director Philippe Decouflé and another by Pedro Romhanyi.

The video received several nominations at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, including "Best Video".

Re-release
The song was re-released in 1997 in support of Fine Young Cannibals' compilation album The Finest. It included a remix by Roger Sanchez, as well as Mousse T. remixes of "Johnny Come Home". The single reached No. 36 on the UK Singles Chart. "She Drives Me Crazy (Seth Troxler 'Out of Time' Remix)" was released in 2020 by London Records.

Track listings

 * 7" single
 * 1) "She Drives Me Crazy" – 3:35
 * 2) "Pull the Sucker Off" – 3:34


 * 12" single
 * 1) "She Drives Me Crazy" (David Z Remix) - 7:05
 * 2) "She Drives Me Crazy" (Driven Crazy Dub) - 5:33
 * 3) "She Drives Me Crazy (Justin Strauss Remix) - 7:39
 * 4) "She Drives Me Crazy (Single Remix) - 3:48


 * CD maxi
 * 1) "She Drives Me Crazy" - 3:35
 * 2) "Pull the Sucker Off" - 3:37
 * 3) "Tired of Getting Pushed Around" (The Mayhem Rhythm Remix) - 6:37


 * CD maxi (1997 Re-release)
 * 1) "She Drives Me Crazy" (Original 7") - 3:36
 * 2) "She Drives Me Crazy" (Roger Sanchez Radio Edit) - 3:33
 * 3) "Johnny Come Home" (Mousse T. Edit) - 4:06
 * 4) "Johnny Come Home" (Mousse T. Cocktail Mix) - 4:13

Personnel

 * Roland Gift – vocals
 * Andy Cox – guitar
 * David Steele – bass, keyboards, drum machine