One of country rock’s biggest hits was a cover of a sequel. And it stood tall among the mini-genre that we might call road racing rock. These songs told stories of souped-up cars blasting across highways in an effort to prove which vehicle was fastest.
“Hot Rod Lincoln” might just be the most famous of all these songs. The unforgettably named Commander Cody And His Last Planet Airmen took it to the US Top 10.
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Start Your Engines
Before Commander Cody could get to it, the rockabilly/country artist Charlie Ryan wrote and recorded “Hot Rod Lincoln”. But even he didn’t come up with the idea from thin air. Ryan was building off a song released a few years earlier by a fellow named Arkie Shibley called “Hot Rod Race”.
“Hot Rod Race” ends with a fellow driving a Model A blowing by the car of the narrator. Ryan’s “Hot Rod Lincoln” continued the tale by connecting one song to the next. “I was drivin’ that Model A,” Ryan sings in the latter song.
Apparently, Ryan knew whereof he sang. He actually was a car aficionado. And he owned a vehicle with a Lincoln engine and the body of a Model A that he used to do some road racing of his own. His version of “Hot Rod Lincoln” made it to the Top 40 in 1955. Johnny Bond did a little better on the charts with the song five years later. But even that version would pale next to the success of the take done by Commander Cody.
The Race Continues
George Frayne IV took the stage name Commander Cody from the character Commando Cody, who was popular in 50s serial movies. He named his band The Lost Planet Airmen in another nod to that character’s exploits. They formed in Michigan in the mid-60s and released their debut album, Lost In The Ozone, in 1971.
Their record label was looking for something a bit more genteel, in keeping with the country rock that was starting to infiltrate the charts in the early 70s. But the band stuck to their freewheeling guns. That was evidenced by their decision to include a cover of “Hot Rod Lincoln” with slightly altered lyrics on the record.
That decision paid off. In early 1972, their take on “Hot Rod Lincoln” made it all the way to No. 9 on the pop charts. That was their only crossover success. But it helped lay the foundation for a long career as a pioneering act that combined traditional country elements with the “cosmic” version of the genre that started to take shape in the 70s.
Behind the Lyrics of “Hot Rod Lincoln”
“Hot Rod Lincoln” begins with an immortal couplet related to the generation gap. “My pappy said, ‘Son, you’re gonna drive me to drinkin’/If you don’t stop drivin’ that Hot Rod Lincoln.’” It also foreshadows what’s to come. The narrator, out joyriding with his buddies, sees a challenge when he’s passed by a souped-up Cadillac.
From there, the race is on. As his passengers freak out over the increased speed, the driver notes the landmarks: “And telephone poles looked like a picket fence.” His triumph at passing the Cadillac is short-lived, as he’s soon corralled by the police. That’s when we find out that his father uttered those words from the beginning of the song in response to the son’s plea for bail.
Many others have covered “Hot Rod Lincoln” over the years. After all, a well-told tale with a bit of irreverent humor never goes out of style. But the version by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, which fit perfectly with the counterculture at the time, remains the definitive take.
(Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns)