It isn't likely anyone will be singing a song about their Ford Fiesta, Toyota Prius or Kia Sorento as they drive down US-75 highway this weekend to watch the NHRA O'Reilly Summer Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka.
It seems songwriters are running on empty nowadays when it comes to auto-inspired tunes, but that wasn't always the case, especially in rock 'n' roll. In fact, many music historians credit a car song as being the first rock 'n' roll song.
Although credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, "Rocket 88" was recorded in March 1951 in Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tenn., by Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm, with saxophonist Brenstron doing the vocals in the song about an Oldsmobile 88 and its V8 engine. In 1991, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dubbed "Rocket 88" as the first rock song.
Rolling Stone magazine said rock 'n' roll guitar started in 1955 when Chuck Berry recorded "Maybellene," a song about a cheatin' woman and a race between a Ford and Cadillac. The rock pioneer also contributed "You Can't Catch Me" and "No Particular Place to Go" to the car song catalog.
Another high-mileage car songwriter was Brian Wilson, who co-authored for the Beach Boys a trunk-load of car or driving songs, including "409," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "I Get Around," "Little Deuce Coupe," "Shut Down" and "This Car of Mine." For Jan Berry and Dean Torrence — better known as Jan & Dean — Wilson co-wrote "Dead Man's Curve" and "Drag City." Berry returned the favor, co-writing "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena," which was a hit first for Jan & Dean then was recorded live by the Beach Boys for their No. 1 album "Beach Boys Concert."
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When it came to cars and songs about the need to speed, Bruce Springsteen may not have been "The Boss" of the sub-genre but certainly ranked high in power structure with "Backstreets," "Born to Run," "Cadillac Ranch," "Open All Night," "Pink Cadillac," "Racing In the Street," "Ram Rod," "State Trooper" and "Thunder Road."
One could argue that "Pink Cadillac" isn't about a car exactly, rather it's a metaphor for something else. Sometimes "fast cars" is a synonym for "fast women" when it comes to song lyrics, with Prince's "Little Red Corvette" and Wilson Pickett's "Mustang Sally" falling into the same category. Heck, even the Beatles "Drive My Car" probably wasn't really an invitation to get behind the steering wheel.
There have been musical odes to roads, too, such as the often-covered "Route 66" and Kraftwerks' "Autobahn." Specific makes and models have been immortalized in song, such as the Shelby Cobra in the Rip Chord's "Hey Little Cobra" and the Pontiac GTO in Ronny & the Daytona's "Little GTO." Janis Joplin pined for a "Mercedes Benz," and Steve Miller made his ride preference clear in "Mercury Blues."
Sometimes, the kind of car one drives isn't as important to songwriters as driving itself. Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" has gotten many a driver's motor revving, and the Eagles' "Take It Easy" has put lots of motorists in a mood for cruising. And there doesn't always have to be a need for speed, either, as evidenced by War's "Low Rider" and Foghat's "Slow Ride."
While cars have often made rock roll, it isn't the only genre of music with auto-inspired songs. Country music isn't all about trucks and tractors. While the NHRA might have a rock sense to it, NASCAR is set to country music with its moonshiner roots. Consider Robert Mitchum's "The Ballad of Thunder Road" or "Hot Rod Lincoln," a hit for Johnny Bond, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and Asleep at the Wheel.
Johnny Cash got country music fans laughing with "One Piece at a Time" in which a retired worker at a Cadillac factory explains how he stole one part at a time to assemble a "'49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59 automobile."
With Father's Day approaching, one can't forget Southern rockers Confederate Railroad's touching car song, "Daddy Never Was a Cadillac Man" or "Drive" by Alan Jackson, who also scored a hit with the aforementioned "Mercury Blues."
However, the heyday of car songs has long passed. Testament to that is "The Illustrated Discography of Hot Rod Music 1961-1965" by John Blair and Stephen McParland, which lists more than 1,500 recorded hot rod songs in that five-year span alone.
After OPEC started driving up gasoline prices in the 1970s, some allure of muscle cars started to atrophy. Conserving gasoline doesn't provide quite the muse, except perhaps to Sammy Hagar who lashed back with "I Can't Drive 55" after getting ticketed for going 62 mph at 2 a.m. on a four-lane highway with no one around, except for the officer who pulled him over.
While some might still agree with Queen and sing, "I'm in Love with My Car," they probably aren't going to write a song about it.
Bill Blankenship can be reached at (785) 295-1284 or bill.blankenship@cjonline.com.
