PHOTOS
Greg Zyla
Car and hot rod enthusiasts have grown up with their own brand of music. Several car songs hit the Top-10 charts, so let's go back in time and assembled an all-time Top-10 car song favorites, in order of preference.
1. "Don't Worry Baby," The Beach Boys
What? Is this a car song? Yes it is.
If you listen closely, you'll find out that the reason for all the "worry" is the guy "bragging up his car" once to often. His buddies challenge him to a drag race, and now he's got to back up his words. His girl tells him "Don't worry baby, everything will turn out all right." Listen to the words the next time you hear it. It's about a drag race, and perhaps the best melody of the bunch.
2. "Little Old Lady From Pasadena," Jan and Dean
There really was a "Little Old Lady" with a bright red Super Stock Dodge. Released on the Drag City album, it's one of the very best, offering a great beat and lasting rhythm. Go granny, go.
3. "Shut Down," The Beach Boys
"It happened on the strip where the road is wide," preludes a great contest between a factory Super Stock 413 Dodge Ramcharger and a fuel-injected Corvette. The Vette finally overtakes the Dodge at the finish, but in real life, we'd have put our money on the 413.
Still, a great song for those who love drag races and the high-performance street scene.
4. "Little Deuce Coupe," The Beach Boys
The single and the titled album that put the Beach Boys on top with the car lovers. The Deuce Coupe "purred like a kitten until her lake pipes roared...and got rubber in all four gears." Has to be number one with car fans. By the way, if you own the original album, it's worth quite a few dollars. Re-released recently in country and western format with Beach Boy accompaniment.
5. "Fun, Fun, Fun," The Beach Boys
"She got her daddy's car and she cruised to the hamburger stand, now." Seems "the library" was just a front to get the keys, and this little miss had a great time with daddy's T-Bird until he got wise. Enter the song's hero, who gets the girl and they continue to have fun cruising around.
6. "Dead Man's Curve," Jan and Dean
Another hit from this talented duo, things went bad when the Jaguar XKE hit the curb entering the "curve" in a race against a Corvette. As the lingo went, "you won't come back from Dead Man's Curve."
7. "Beep Beep," The Playmates
A little Nash Rambler plays havoc with a Cadillac, which it not only outruns, it does so in second gear! "Beep Beep" is a classic from the '50s, and one of the best-loved for its novelty and "in your face" attitude to the "Caddy" owner. The song's beat escalates as the action increases. Neat song.
8. "409," The Beach Boys
When released, Beach Boys writer Brian Wilson was disappointed that "She's real fine my 409" didn't hit number one. However, they ended up with a double-sided hit when "Surfin' Safari" took off and eventually made the Top 10 list. As for the "409," it was by far the most influential of its time, hands down.
9. "GTO," Ronnie and the Daytonas
The only big hit from this group, "Little GTO" couldn't have been timed any better. With "three deuces and a four-speed, and a 389," she really "whined."
10. "Tell Laura I Love Her," Ray Peterson
Sad song from 1960 of a young man who needs money to help him get married to Laura. He sees a sign for a stock car race, enters his car, and then is fatally injured. His last words?
"Tell Laura I Love Her." Corny song, but it gets lots of air time. Thank goodness NASCAR and the NHRA came along to police its drivers, or we'd have things like this really happening!
Honorable mentions go to "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody, "Last Kiss" by Frankie Wilson, "Pink Cadillac" by Aretha Franklin, "Maybelline" and "No Particular Place To Go" by Chuck Berry and "Mercedes-Benz" by Janis Joplin.
Also, a pat on the back to Dick Dale, the West Coast surf guitarist who started the whole car song craze.