“Real Gone,” performed by Sheryl Crow, is the first song heard in Pixar’s Cars.
The track plays over the film’s opening sequence, which introduces Lightning McQueen during the Piston Cup race and establishes his confidence, speed, and ambition. Its energetic rock-and-country sound fits the film’s racing and American road-trip atmosphere.
The Cars soundtrack combines original songs with instrumental score material by Randy Newman. Other prominently associated songs include “Life Is a Highway,” performed by Rascal Flatts, and “Our Town,” performed by James Taylor. Those tracks are memorable, but they are not the opening song performed by Sheryl Crow.
“Real Gone” was written by Sheryl Crow and John Shanks. The song’s placement helps define the film before the story shifts from the racetrack to Lightning McQueen’s accidental arrival in Radiator Springs.