Locate the name of the songwriter and who recorded the song, if different than the songwriter, which can be found on the album or CD jacket or through online resources, such as the The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) database, AllMusic or Billboard.com.
Find out the exact title of the song and, if released as part of an album, the exact name of the album and what type of medium it was released in, such as compact disc or vinyl album; this information is also available on the album itself and from online information sites.
Determine where the song was recorded, what year it was released, the name of the record label that released the song and the year of that the song was recorded if different than when it was released; much of this information can be found on the album itself. Check music information sites for information you cannot determine from the album information.
Give credit to the songwriter in the form of an in-text citation by listing the last name of the song writer and the date that the song was released. Separate the information by a comma and place it in parentheses after the sentence with the information you are quoting from, such as a song lyric; it should look like this: (Ocasek, 1979).
List the recording in the following manner in the reference list: Songwriter's name listed with last name first and initials, ending with a period; date of copyright (listed in parentheses), ending with a period; title of the song (with the name of the recording artist, if different, listed in brackets), followed by a period; the word "On" followed by the name of the album and the medium of recording (which should be listed in brackets), followed by a period; the city and state (or country) where the recording took place, followed by a colon; the record label's name, followed by a period; and the recording date, if different from copyright date listed in parentheses.
Cite your example so that it looks like this: Ocasek, Ric. (1979). Good Times Roll. [The Cars]. On The Cars [album/CD/cassette]. Boston, Massachusetts: Elektra Records. (1978).