"Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)" is a song originally performed by The Gap Band in 1980 and written by member Charlie Wilson, Rudy Taylor, and producer Lonnie Simmons.
Background
According to engineer Jack Rouben, the foundation of the song started with its bassline: "[The track] was a musical idea that Charlie came up with on the Minimoog that turned into a groove, then a completed arrangement, and then they put the lyrics at the very end...This song was built upon that one repeating bass track, and that was the jam that blossomed into a whole complete song."[3] Rouben also remarked how the title for this song, along with many other hits by the band, was a phrase coined by co-writer Rudy Taylor.
Chart performance
In 1981, it peaked at number 84 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 90 on Cash Box and number 1 hit on the R&B charts.[4]Billboard magazine ranked it as the 12th biggest R&B single of 1981. A later single released, featuring "Humpin'" on the B-side, scored a number 19 appearance on the dance charts.[5]
^Molanphy, Chris (July 31, 2021). "What a Fool Believes Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 223.
Whitburn, Joel (2014). Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996. Record Research. p. 155.
