Hot Rod Lincoln


"Hot Rod Lincoln" is a song by American singer-songwriter Charlie Ryan, first released in 1955. It was written as an answer song to Arkie Shibley's 1950 hit "Hot Rod Race".
It describes a drive north on US Route 99 from San Pedro, Los Angeles, and over "Grapevine Hill" which soon becomes a hot rod race that ends with serious consequences.

Song details

The car race is described between two hot rod cars, the narrator's Ford Model A and a Cadillac. The song says the Ford's "got 12 cylinders", overdrive, a four-barrel carburetor, 4.11:1 final drive ratio, and safety tubes. The narrator ends up being arrested by the police for his high-speed driving, and is thrown into jail, where the narrator calls his father to bail him out, and describes the exasperation of his father: "He said, 'Son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin' / If you don't quit drivin' that hot rod Lincoln!'"
Ryan's original rockabilly version of the song was released in 1955 through Souvenir Records under the artist name Charley Ryan and the Livingston Bros. A second version was released in 1959 through 4 Star Records, credited to Charlie Ryan and the Timberline Riders. Ryan based the description of the eponymous car on his own hot rod, built from a 1948 12-cylinder Lincoln chassis shortened two feet, with a 1930 Ford Model A body fitted to it. Ryan raced his hot rod against a Cadillac [de Ville series|Cadillac sedan] driven by a friend in Lewiston, Idaho, driving up the Spiral Highway to the top of Lewiston Hill. Some say he incorporated elements from this race in his lyrics to "Hot Rod Lincoln", but changed the setting to Grapevine Hill to fit it within the narrative of "Hot Rod Race".

Johnny Bond version

Another version of "Hot Rod Lincoln" was recorded by country musician Johnny Bond and released in 1960 through Republic Records, with Bond's lyrics changing the hot rod's engine from a V12 to a V8, among other changes. It reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1960. Bond released a sequel in the same year called "X-15", set in 1997, about an air race in an X-15 plane.

Commander Cody version

A 1971 version, by country rock band Commander Cody and His [Lost Planet Airmen] on their album Lost in the Ozone, became the most successful version of "Hot Rod Lincoln", reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 28 Adult Contemporary, No. 7 in Canada, and was ranked No. 69 on the U.S. Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1972. The song peaked at No. 45 in Australia. This version maintained most of the lyrical changes from Johnny Bond's version but changed them further while maintaining the original story.

Chart history

Weekly charts

;Charlie Ryan
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 10033
U.S. Billboard Country Songs|Country]14

;Johnny Bond
Chart Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 10026
U.S. Cash Box Top 10025

;Commander Cody
Chart Peak
position
Australia 45
Canada RPM Top Singles7
New Zealand 15
U.S. Billboard Hot 1009
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening28
U.S. Billboard Country51
U.S. Cash Box Top 1007

Year-end charts

Other versions

In addition to Johnny Bond and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, many other artists have recorded "Hot Rod Lincoln" in the decades since its original release, including: