And the later song seems to pick up lyrically where "Hot Rod Race" leaves off (the earlier song ends with the hero getting smoked by a Model A, which is the car being driven in "Hot Rod Lincoln").Ĭheck out a version of "Hot Rod Race" below you might be surprised at how familiar it feels, even if you've never heard it before. And the same idea was carried over to “Hot Rod Lincoln." We’d bet there’s a whole generation that can rattle off the hypothetical specs for the cars at the center of these songs (and the same goes for “Little Deuce Coupe” and so on), even if they’ve never turned a wrench on a real car.Ĭomparing “Hot Rod Race” to “Hot Rod Lincoln” is a little like looking at a concept or early prototype next to a production car: The basic elements of the better-known version are all there, but they’re expressed in a slightly rawer, more elemental form. The car’s engine and body style, as well as the titular race’s location, seemed to change with the times and the telling ( this page has a fairly exhausting history of each variation).īut the idea of stringing together a fairly detailed, and plausible, list of mechanical bits and pieces in a song intended for mass-market consumption remained the same. Other versions followed, and the lyrics - and road-racing plot at the song’s center - evolved. It turns out the initial release of “Hot Rod Race” was not without moderate controversy: The Shibley version of the song included the verse “Now along about the middle of the night/We were ripping along like while folks might,” which was (depending on how deeply you wanted to read into it) either an unexpected bit of Jim Crow-era Night Riding racism or a just plain clunky lyric.Ĭonsequently, Eastern radio stations refused to give the song any airtime, at least until versions recorded by Red Foley, Ramblin’ Jimmie Dolan and Tiny Hill in ’51 changed up the lyrics and removed the offending line. Guitar Jedi Bill Kirchen & Redd Volkaert perform the Americana classic 'Hot Rod Lincoln,' recorded live at Ozark Folk Center State Park in scenic Mountain View, Arkansas. Western swing aficionados no doubt know this story inside and out, but the rest of us might appreciate a refresher. It’s an inescapable part of car culture, but it’s actually a riff on an earlier song: 1950’s “Hot Rod Race,” which was written by George Wilson and became a hit single for Arkie Shibley and His Mountain Dew Boys. There’s nobody reading this who hasn’t heard “Hot Rod Lincoln,” especially the manic Commander Cody version - the insanely catchy rockabilly classic, which was penned by Charlie Ryan and first released in 1955, is one of the 40 or so Approved Songs for Cruise-Ins and Car Shows, and Hawaiian shirt-wearing show-and-shine DJs will be spinning it until the sun goes cold. Forgotten Racing Song Friday will dig up these musical treasures and, for better or for worse, give them another moment in the spotlight. You can still hear Kirchen perform some of the Commander Cody material in his shows.There are plenty of great songs about racing, but for every track to achieve the stature of “Shut Down” or “Hot Rod Lincoln,” there are dozens - maybe hundreds - that history has forgotten. And the lyrics are different in one key word: It’s got a Lincoln motor and it’s really souped up. Listen offline to Hot Rod Lincoln song by. The Hot Rod Lincoln song was originally written and released in 1955 by singer-songwriter Charley Ryan as a response Shibley’s Hot Rod Race, and tells the story from the vantage point of the Model A driver. Kirchen played guitar and trombone, plus wrote and sang some of the songs. Hot Rod Lincoln song from Bears Sonic Journals: Found in the Ozone free mp3 download online on. The most familiar Airmen is Bill Kirchen. and would become an Engineering School department head at RPI and Andy Stein had a long career working on the NPR radio program A Prairie Home Companion. Several of the original band members have gone on to notable careers. He has worked as an art professor in Wisconsin and as a cinematographer, has a video in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. He combines his music with a career in art. The label wanted an Eagles style soft rock country album and the Lost Planet Airmen had something entirely different in mind.Ĭommander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen disbanded in 1976, but Frayne continued to perform as Commander Cody for decades. The band’s difficulties in actually getting out a record was the subject of a 1976 book, Star Making Machinery, which documented the impact of music industry marketing and promotion. Initially forming in Michigan, the band moved to Berkely, California where they soon signed a recording contract. Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen had their version reach the top 10 in 1972.įrom the mid 60s to the mid 70s Commander Cody represented an emerging style of raw-edged alt country that would form the basis of the new Americana genre. If that still does not ring a bell, then you will recognize their one hit song when you hear it, a remake of the 1955 song Hot Rod Lincoln. If you don’t recognize the name you might recognize his stage name Commander Cody.
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