| Car song | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | 1900s:Popular music,dance,ragtime,march1950s:Blues,doo-wop,rock and roll,rhythm and blues,soul,traditional pop 1960s:Rock,surf |
| Cultural origins | Earliest forms emerged in the 1900s, United States Fully developed in early 1950s, United States Peak popularity achieved as "hot rod rock", in early 1960s,California, United States |
Acar song is a song with lyrics or musical themes pertaining to car travel. Though the earliest forms appeared in the 1900s, car songs emerged in full during the 1950s as part ofrock and roll andcar culture, but achieved their peak popularity in theWest Coast of the United States during the 1960s with the emergence ofhot rod rock as an outgrowth of thesurf music scene. Though this popularity declined by the late 1960s, cars remain a frequently used subject matter in pop music into the 21st century.[1]
In the turn of the twentieth century, the recent invention of the automobile began to appear withinpopular music. Many of the earliest pieces had no lyrics, instead attempting to musically emulate the sounds of the automobile, such as "The Motor Car" (1903) and "The Auto Race" (1904).Dance,ragtime, andmarch compositions began emerging that, though wordless, were musically inspired by the automobile. Eventually, some of these songs took on words, such as Henry Krull's "Automobile Races".[2] In 1905,Gus Edwards premiered the song "In My Merry Oldsmobile", a tune whichKenneth T. Jackson calls "the best-known car song ever written about the automobile."[3]
The car song began to emerge in full in the burgeoningrock and roll scene in the early 1950s.Jackie Brenston had a hit with "Rocket 88", attributed toIke Turner, praising theOldsmobile Rocket 88.[4] Among the best known of the genre were "Hot Rod Race" byArkie Shibley and His Mountain Dew Boys and theanswer song "Hot Rod Lincoln" byCharlie Ryan. Although theJohnny Mercer song "Skylark" was actually released in 1942, it became the inspiration for theBuick Skylark that debuted in 1953.[citation needed] Many 1950s songs could serve as soundtracks to play in one's car when approaching a drive-in restaurant or meeting someone. "Walk Don't Run" bythe Ventures, "Rumble" byLink Wray, or "Sleep Walk" bySanto & Johnny could all serve a slow entrance, "Let's Go for a Ride" bythe Collegians, "You Can't Catch Me" byChuck Berry, or "Rebel-'Rouser" byDuane Eddy worked for a more speedy approach, and "No Particular Place to Go" by Chuck Berry worked for all situations.[5] Many groups emerged that took their names from car brands:the Impalas,the El Dorados,the Cadillacs,the Fleetwoods,the Starfires,the Rivieras,Little Anthony and the Imperials, among numerous others.[5]
The muscle car craze, as well as the surge of interest insports car racing, brought several cars referencing performance cars.The Beach Boys, already a highly successfulrock band, tapped into the Californiacruising anddrag racing culture, spearheading a short-lived rock music craze commonly referred to as "hot rod rock".[6][7][4] AuthorGeoffrey Himes wrote "The music was only subtly different [from surf music]".[8] According toThe Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary by Jeff Breitenstein:
While cars and, to a lesser degree, hot rods have been a relatively common and enduring theme in American popular music, the termhot rod music is most often associated with the unique 'California sound' music of the early to mid-1960s ... and was defined by its rich vocal harmonies, amplified (generally Fender brand) electric guitars, and youth-oriented lyrics (most often celebrating hot rods and, more broadly, surfing and 'girls'.[9]
From 1961 to 1965, some fifteen hundred car songs were recorded.[5] Alongside the Beach Boys,Jan and Dean,Ronny and the Daytonas, andthe Fantastic Baggys all rose to the forefront of the scene.[5][10] As in the 1950s, many groups adopted the names of car brands, but this time with a greater emphasis onhot rods, such as the GTOs andthe T-Bones.[5]
Some of the most popular car/motorcycle songs to emerge in this era include:
After the hot rod music period ended by the mid-1960s, car songs, though still frequent, did not enjoy the same level of popularity. Some key songs that have emerged since that era include the following: