Music for Driving

During this time of the year, in my younger times, I would be getting my motorcycle ready to race at Daytona Beach, Florida. I would be humming tunes related to warmer weather as I prepared for the trip. Upon mentioning that habit to a friend, they suggested that I do a fun automotive article about car songs.

It seemed like a playful idea especially after suffering through the doldrums of winter, so using reflective data here is what came up and yes, I did smile greatly during my research.

Little GTO, originally done by Ronnie and the Daytonas, was also done by the Beach Boys as a salute to NASCAR.

Three Deuces and a 4-speed and a “389.” It was a tribute to the 1964 Pontiac GTO which heralded the start of the Muscle Car Era.

She’s real fine my 409 was another song by the Beach Boys. A 409 was an early 60s Chevrolet full size car that was fast! With approximately 425 horsepower, it was considered a rocket.

Little Deuce Coupe was a 1932 Ford hotrod and yet another song by the Beach Boys—sure did love that California sound!

In a different vein, The Beatles performed a song called Drive My Car. This one, in particular, is about a girl who wants to become a movie star, but before she can do that, she asks a guy to become her driver. It quickly turns out that she doesn’t even have a car, but at least she has found a driver.

Dead Mans Curve was a song by Jan and Dean, written about a dangerous road that was a testament to the skills or stupidity of excess testosterone fed foolish driving: “You don’t come back from Dead Man’s Curve.”

Pink Cadillac, originally written by Bruce Springsteen in 1984, was also done by Natalie Cole four years later. Similar to Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally, many references to

Submitted by Gary Miller, Retired Service Advisor & Certified Automotive Specialist

automobiles and car travel have been used as sexual metaphors in song lyrics. Pink Cadillac is one of them.

Road Runner started out as a 1968 full size Plymouth with a 383 cubic inch engine. This vehicle was a take-off of the “Road Runner/Wylie Coyote” cartoon antics and was quite popular. The vehicles even incorporated the “beepbeep” sound of the road runner as it’s horn.

Talking about “beepbeep” we can’t exclude the Little Nash Rambler chasing a much faster car, a Cadillac just to ask how to get out of second gear. This was written by The Playmates in 1958— a very funny tune.

Hot Rod Lincoln, a song written originally by Charlie Ryan and introduced in 1960, was a fun song about a “product evaluation” between a Lincoln and a Cadillac. A point of useless trivia, Cadillac and Lincoln were originally created by the same person, Henry Leland.

Fun, Fun, Fun, Till Her Daddy Takes Her T-Bird Away was a song where the girl has the car instead of the boys— another Beach Boys special from 1964.

Chevrolet was a song written by ZZ Top simply about driving his Chevy.

Mercedes Benz, by Janis Joplin, was about the pure joy of driving her car. Unfortunately she died just a few days after the song was released.

Bob Seger wrote a song about making, not driving, the 1950s Ford Thunderbird. The song was called The Distance in 1982.

Chuck Berry’s first big single, 1955’s Maybellene spun a tale about chasing after his unfaithful girlfriend (their cars in the song: she drove a Cadillac Coupe DeVille, he had a V8 Ford).

There are so many more car related songs, suffice it to say I had great fun researching and writing this one.

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ACROSS

1. Relaxing place

4. Plant by scattering

7. A type of explorer

12. Unique traits

15. Lady

Dismayed