"Hot Rod Lincoln" was recorded in 1955, as an answer song

Answer song

An answer song is, as the name suggests, a song made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. It is also known as a response song. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s through 1950s...

 to "Hot Rod Race

Hot Rod Race

"Hot Rod Race" is a Western swing song about an automobile race out of San Pedro, California, between a Ford and a Mercury. Released in November 1950, it broke the ground for a series of hot rod songs recorded for the car culture of the 1950s and 60s...

", a 1951 hit for Arkie Shibley

Arkie Shibley

Jesse Lee "Arkie" Shibley was a country singer who recorded the original version of "Hot Rod Race" in 1950...

 and his Mountain Dew Boys. Hot Rod Race tells the story of a late-model Ford and Mercury who end up racing along the highway, neither driver gaining an advantage, and staying "neck and neck" until they are both overtaken (to their amazement) by a kid in "a hopped-up Model A".

Hot Rod Lincoln was written by Charlie Ryan

Charlie Ryan

Charles "Charlie" Ryan was an American singer and songwriter, best known for co-writing and first recording the rockabilly hit single "Hot Rod Lincoln".-Biography:...

, who had also recorded a version of Hot Rod Race

Hot Rod Race

"Hot Rod Race" is a Western swing song about an automobile race out of San Pedro, California, between a Ford and a Mercury. Released in November 1950, it broke the ground for a series of hot rod songs recorded for the car culture of the 1950s and 60s...

, and W. S. Stevenson. It begins with a direct reference to Shibley's earlier ballad, stating "You heard the story of the hot rod race that fatal day, when the Ford and the Mercury went out to play. Well, this is the inside story and I'm here to say, I'm the kid that was a-drivin' that Model A."

Ryan owned a real hot rod that was built from a 1948 12-cylinder Lincoln

Lincoln V12 engine

Ford Motor Company's Lincoln division has produced three distinct Lincoln V12 engines:* 1932–1942 L-heads:** 1932–1933 Lincoln L-head V12 engine** 1933–1942 Lincoln L-head V12 engine* 1936–1948 Flatheads:...

 chassis shortened two feet and with a 1930 Ford Model A body fitted to it. Thus the song explains how in "Hot Rod Race" a kid in a Model A could have outrun late-model Ford and Mercury sedans. Ryan actually raced his hot rod against a Cadillac sedan driven by a friend in Lewiston, Idaho

Lewiston, Idaho

Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...

, driving up the Spiral Highway (former U.S. 95

U.S. Route 95 in Idaho

In the U.S. state of Idaho, U.S. Route 95 is a north–south highway near the western border of the state, stretching from Oregon to British Columbia for over .-Route description:...

) to the top of Lewiston Hill. His song, however, keeps the same location as "Hot Rod Race

Hot Rod Race

"Hot Rod Race" is a Western swing song about an automobile race out of San Pedro, California, between a Ford and a Mercury. Released in November 1950, it broke the ground for a series of hot rod songs recorded for the car culture of the 1950s and 60s...

", namely the Grapevine Hill, which is an old-time local southern California nickname for the long, nearly straight grade up Grapevine Canyon to Tejon Pass

Tejon Pass

The Tejon Pass is a mountain pass at the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains linking Southern to Central California.-Geography:The apex of the pass is near the northwesternmost corner of Los Angeles County, north of Gorman...

, near the town of Gorman, California

Gorman, California

Gorman, California, is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County. As of 2005 it had just 15 homes and a few registered voters, but tens of thousands of motorists traveled through it daily on the Interstate 5 freeway....

, just south of Bakerfield

Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....

.

The first, 1955, release of Hot Rod Lincoln was recorded by co-writer Ryan, recording as Charlie Ryan and The Livingston Brothers. Ryan's 1959 version, on 4 Star, as Charlie Ryan and The Timberline Riders, is probably better known.

The 1960 version by Johnny Bond

Johnny Bond

Cyrus Whitfield Bond , known professionally as Johnny Bond, was a popular American country music entertainer of the 1940s through the 1960s.-Biography:...

 was a hit for Republic Records

Republic Records

Republic Records was a record label and subsidiary of Universal Motown Republic Group. They originally went by the name Cheese Factory Records...

. Bond's Lincoln has eight cylinders ("and uses them all"), rather than the 12 cylinders pulling Ryan's Model A.

The 1972 release by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen is an American country rock band founded in 1967. Core members included founder George Frayne, John Tichy, Billy C. Farlow, Bill Kirchen, Andy Stein, Paul "Buffalo" Bruce Barlow, Lance Dickerson, and Bobby Black....

 went to #9 on the Billboard charts

Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

 and #7 in Canada. Cody's version is largely true to the original with changes that most people don't notice. However, the first line "You've heard the story of the hot rod race when the Fords and the Lincolns were setting the pace ..." completely misses telling the listener that this song is the story of the kid and his Model A that outran the fellows in the late-model Ford and Mercury in the earlier song.

Hot Rod Lincoln and Hot Rod Race are defining anthem

Anthem

The term anthem means either a specific form of Anglican church music , or more generally, a song of celebration, usually acting as a symbol for a distinct group of people, as in the term "national anthem" or "sports anthem".-Etymology:The word is derived from the Greek via Old English , a word...

s of the hot rod

Hot rod

Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...

 community.

Arkie Shibley, who recorded a series of Hot Rod Race songs, died in 1975. Charlie Ryan died in Spokane, Washington, on February 16, 2008, at age 92. He was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Rockabilly Hall of Fame

The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on the internet on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre....

.

Other covers

Many different versions exist, with the words slightly altered by each new group.

"Hot Rod Lincoln" is also a signature song of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

-based Western swing

Western swing

Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...

 band Asleep at the Wheel

Asleep at the Wheel

Asleep at the Wheel is a American country music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, but based in Austin, Texas. Altogether, they have won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception. In their career, they have released more than twenty studio albums, and have charted more than twenty...

.

Roger Miller also recorded the song, with a few words changed.

In his live show Bill Kirchen

Bill Kirchen

Bill Kirchen is an American rockabilly guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the guitarist with the original Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid 1970s, although, in reality, his time with the Commander accounts for only a portion of his career...

 (original guitarist on the Commander Cody recording of "Hot Rod Lincoln") performs an extended version of the song, in which he solos in the styles of many famous rock, blues, power pop, punk, and country guitarists.

Hot Rod Lincoln was covered by Pat Travers

Pat Travers

Patrick Henry "Pat" Travers is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career with Polydor Records in the mid-1970s...

 on his debut rock album titled Pat Travers released in 1976 on Polydor Records

Polydor Records

Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...

.

On their 1989 album Allroy's Revenge, U.S. pop-punk band ALL

ALL (band)

All is an American punk band originally from Los Angeles, currently residing in Fort Collins, Colorado, formed by Descendents members Bill Stevenson, Karl Alvarez, and Stephen Egerton.-Formation and Cruz Records Years:...

 recorded a cover of "Hot Rod Lincoln". Their version, like Commander Cody's, places the story in the setting of San Pedro, California.

Jim Varney

Jim Varney

James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...

 recorded a version that appeared in the film version of The Beverly Hillbillies in which Varney starred as Jed Clampett.

The song "Five-O Ford" off the 1994 album Liquor in the Front

Liquor in the Front

Liquor in the Front is the double entendre title of the third album by The Reverend Horton Heat. It was jointly released by Sub Pop and Interscope Records in July of 1994...

 by the Reverend Horton Heat is very similar to the song, describing a similar race scene and using the same chord progression.

In 2002 Les Claypool

Les Claypool

Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...

 recorded a version of "Hot Rod Lincoln" for the NASCAR on Fox

NASCAR on Fox

NASCAR on Fox is the Emmy-winning branding used for Fox Sports's broadcasts of NASCAR races airing on the Fox network since 2001. The production has been in high-definition since 2005.-Background:...

 album Crank It Up.

Lawrence Ramsay released a version of "Hot Rod Lincoln", March 2010, on the album "Blowin' Cash", featuring the guitar works of Dauwynn Cyncore.

External links

• Rockabilly Hall of Fame — Documents the history of the song through dozens of covers, including lyrics.
• www.rockabilly.nl — Short article about Arkie Shibley and his difficulties in releasing "Hot Rod Race
  Hot Rod Race
  "Hot Rod Race" is a Western swing song about an automobile race out of San Pedro, California, between a Ford and a Mercury. Released in November 1950, it broke the ground for a series of hot rod songs recorded for the car culture of the 1950s and 60s...
  
  ".
• www.hot-rod-lincoln.com — The official site of Charlie Ryan