Songs About Cars
Cars and music go hand-in-hand. The first radio was installed in 1922 in a Chevy. For $200 the radio antenna dominated the roof of the car as well as the majority of interior. It was not convenient. Needless-to-say, the radio did not take off. But, by the mid 1940s, there were over 9 million cars with radios. Over the years, there have been several songs about cars and most of those catchy lyrics have stuck with us for decades. These are some of the most memorable cars and the songs about them:
Ford Thunderbird. This car was immortalized in “Fun, Fun, Fun” by the Beach Boys who hoped that daddy would never take the Ford Thunderbird away. Detroit native, Bob Seger, also sung about the iconic Ford Thunderbird in his anthem: “Makin’ Thunderbirds,” which is not as iconic as the Beach Boy’s tune, but it still reminds listeners about the magic of the T-bird.
Chevy Corvette: Prince turned “Little Red Corvette” into one sexy metaphor about a woman that he Prince just wants to have a little fun with in bed. The Corvette appears in “The Corvette Song” by George Jones, too.
Mercedes Benz: Janis Joplin might not be the first person you think of when someone talks about a Mercedes, but her gritty song about rejecting consumerism picked on one of the most luxurious car makers of all time. In “Mercedes Benz” Joplin begs the Lord to buy her a fabulous car because all of her friends have Porsches. It may not make you ignore the speedometer like “Little Red Corvette” does, but it will stick with your for a while.
Lincoln: “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen most likely would not drive you to drink, but it might make you wonder what type of Lincoln it was. Rumor has it, the Hot Rod was actually more of a Ford, than a Lincoln. The songwriter, Charlie Ryan, actually had a Hot Rod with a 1948 Lincoln chassis with a 1930 Model A Ford body on it. The 12-cylinder Lincoln chassis had to be shortened to accommodate the body.
Ford Mustang: “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett makes you want to own a 1965 Mustang so you can ride around and not get your feet on the ground. This memorable tune has been linked to the first female astronaut: Sally Ride, and the song has been covered by more than twenty different artists, including BB King, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Los Lobos, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
