Rockin' down the highway: #1 "Hot Rod Lincoln" Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (1971)

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An unexpected title topping the list. Even I am surprised but something about.... “My pappy said Son, you gonna drive me to drinkin’ If you don’t stop driving that hot rod Lincoln” ...that says this is it, the ultimate hot rod statement. Commander Cody is a cover. “Hot Rod Lincoln” was written by Charlie Ryan and recorded in 1955 by Charlie Ryan and the Livingston Boys. The rockabilly song was an answer to Arkie Shibley’s 1951 “Hot Rod Race” which was the first hot rod song. Ryan wrote about his hot rod which was a Ford Model A body on a 1948 Lincoln cassis. In 1959, Ryan recorded a new version with the Timberline Riders. Johnny Bond’s 1960 country cover went #26. Pat Travers and Asleep at the Wheel have also performed covers. George Frayne IV (Cody) formed Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in 1967 out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. From the album “Lost in the Ozone,” “Hot Rod Lincoln” was the band’s only top 50 hit charting at Billboard #9. The sound is country rock blues rockabilly. The band is still around. Eat my vinyl dust!