Hot Rod Lincoln - Charley Ryan (1st version)

[@stevelivingston1259]

My Dad...Neil Livingston, and my uncle Ron played on this first version with Charlie. Grew up listening to this song. I am a musician as well, living here in Spokane WA.

[@buriedinvinyl]

Wow! That was long ago! A lot of people have never heard this version. Probably not a nationwide hit?

[@frankcarper3720]

Ron Livingston was my guitar teacher when I was a teenager and I bought a Chet Atkins Gretsch guitar 1957 then and I still have it. Ron was legally blind and I drove him home from the music store after every lesson and my lesson was less money. I went to the Spring Hill grange hall and listened to him and brother Neil with Charley Ryan. I'm 78 and still playing music. Ron was my guitar hero NEON LEON

[@dannywilsher4165]

Frank, my parents bought me a Chet Gretsch back in 64... I still have it also. Awesome guitar!!!

[@bluefeatherlf7992]

wow

[@monmixer]

Great story and true no doubt. I did not know who wrote this song. Bill Kirchen and Commander Cody get the most credit for it. Not to take anything away from Bill. He certainly deserves his fame. they did put it on the charts big time and more often than not it's the presenter that gets the credit and not the writer.

[@Milesco]

@ Gtank : Wow, the guy who played Peter Gibbons in _Office Space_ was your guitar teacher in the '50s? That's amazing!

[@brandonlyon8632]

My uncle was born in '38 and I'll never forget seeing him play his steel guitar

[@bizichyld]

My great aunt or something was married to him before he died. He played this at a family get together in Spokane WA when he was like 80 and still shredded like a master.

[@buriedinvinyl]

That's cool!

[@lensuber919]

Really?

[@bizichyld]

@@lensuber919 Yep I was only 10 years old or so at the time and didn't fully appreciate it like I would today. I started playing guitar when I turned 30 in 2012 and it would have been so much cooler.

[@lensuber919]

@@bizichyld thank you for sharing your story. It's so good to hear stuff like that. Have a blessed day🙏🙏

[@darinvierth6329]

i first met Charley in 2001. he was a customer of mine here in Spokane Wa. one of the nicest people you would ever meet. he owned the hot rod Lincoln up until he died. after his death his family had the car restored and then sold it at Barret-jackson this spring.

[@SewolHoONCE]

“We left SAN PEEEDRO!” This version knows the actual territory. I did one summer school session at San Peeeedro High School. “And the Cadillac pulled over to let me by.” I drove from San Peeedro to Grapevine when the road was just 2 lanes and had 55 gallon barrels full of water along the side of the road to refill steaming radiators. My father’s Model A was a 1931-1 ton-flatbed 4-banger with duelies. My mother’s car was a ‘46 Cadillac 7-passenger limo with a V-12. I drove a Ford Interceptor V-8 105mph on the way to Barstow. This song is personally irresistible!

[@lancasterritzyescargotdine2602]

Thanks for the memories! Your car sounds like a 1958 Custom 300? This recording was the "answer song" to Arkie Shibley's 1950 "Hot Rod Race", in which a pair of new Ford and Mercury V8s couldn't outrun each other. Then a Ford Model A with a Lincoln V12 comes along and overtakes them both! Johnny Bond recorded the song in 1960 with improved guitar work and super audio enhancements. He also updated the engine to a more contemporary V8, as V12 engines were long obsolete. And thanks for pointing out the commonly-mispronounced city of San Pedro (properly pronounced PAY*dro)!

[@David-yw2lv]

I knew this song was recorded before Commander Cody made it in 1972.This is the first time I heard it.Thanks for posting.

[@buriedinvinyl]

You're welcome!

[@MissHolleyKing]

LOVE hearing the original version of this rockin' song!

[@tallntrue56]

many many years ago, (maybe about 1976??)-- i met an older man in our Tacoma dealership that said he wrote "Hot Rod Lincoln" he said it was a true story..he showed me hub caps in his trunk that came off the original hot rod Lincoln. I knew the Commander Cody version, but he told me the original song he recorded sounded more country... I realize now that man was probably Charlie Ryan from Spokane...

[@Gr504-l1u]

tallntrue56 the actual car is on KZbin that Charlie Ryan wrote the song about just look up original hot rod Lincoln

[@forrestpierson6806]

I'm very delighted to hear this original version of this classic.I didn't even know that it went back that far.All I ever knew of was Commander Cody when I was a teenager and it made an indelible impression on me back then, and then Asleep at the Wheel's version, which is also awesome.All of them classic versions 😊❤️

[@jo9354]

Frank Carper... Ron and Sherry Livingston introduced my parents before they were married. My dad sang with the group Ron and Neil were a part of. While visiting them one time, I watched Ron fall asleep on the floor, still picking his guitar after he'd fallen asleep! ...excellent guitarist, and even better person!

[@cliff7292]

My wife inherited this record (version) when her brother left home for the Air Force circa 1963. We still play it for the grand-kids along with some other interesting 45's.

[@buriedinvinyl]

Clifford Warner Seems like little kids love this old stuff. Thanks for your input!

[@charliejohnson1810]

+buriedinvinyl little kids like old stuff. because it's great stuff. Then they grow up and some thing happens in their brain. and bang they lost that loving feeling and LISTEN to whatever they call that stuff today.... country music today. yes o.k. ... not... that's like saying today's Race cars are stock cars. no they are not like king Richard said. they ain't no stock nothing in s Race car today. Elvis if alive today . would brutalize the music industry for what they have done to what they call music today.

[@oldrod]

Cliff In the 10th grade this was a big hit in Bellflower. Near by Pedro in the song; south of the Grape Vine. loved it then and still do

[@ardvarkkkkk1]

+Charlie Johnson Little kids like it because that is all they've heard. As they get older, they start listening to what their friends listen to. Your parents said that their music was the good stuff and what you listened to was crap. You kids will say that their music is the good stuff and the new music is crap. And so it goes from generation to generation. Every generation thinks that they are THE generation. The parents were old fashioned and the new generation is full of crap. Don't be the grumpy old man. Things change. Accept it. There is nothing special about your generation. It's just point of view.

[@charliejohnson1810]

ardvarkkkkk1 spot on lad .

[@bobkonradi1027]

Its been about 10 years ago, or so, but THE Hot Rod Lincoln was auctioned off at the January Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, AZ. I had the pleasure of checking it out for a while, and remember it well. FIRST: It had a Lincoln Zephyr V12 flathead engine, 2). it was based on the Lincoln Zephyr frame, shortened so as to accommodate a Ford Model A coupe body. 3). It sold for $105,000 plus 8% buyers fee, and the buyer was a young man of around 28 (+/-) years of age. He went berserk when he got the car for only $105K, and now he brings it to parades in his area, and couldn't be prouder if he was driving a million dollar Duesenberg. NOW: There are various versions of this song, by others than Charly Ryan. For some reason they all say, "Its got 8 cylinders and uses 'em all." I don't know why they changed from "12 cylinders" to "8 cylinders" but this song with Charly Ryan is the correct one. To repeat, the actual car has a Lincoln Zephyr V12 flathead engine. It does have a "4 barrel carb" as adapted to the original intake manifold.

[@buriedinvinyl]

That's interesting. Thank you for sharing.

[@glock_n_out8718]

Well, you heard the story of the hot rod race, that fatal day When the Ford and the Mercury went out to play Well, this is the inside story, and I'm here to say I was the kid who drivin' that Model-A It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up That Model-A body makes it look like a pup It's got twelve cylinders and it uses 'em all With an overdrive that just won't stall Got a four-barrel carb and dual exhausts Four-eleven gears, you can really get lost Got safety tubes and I'm not scared The brakes are good and the tires are fair We left San Pedro late one night The moon and the stars were shinin' bright Eveything went fine up the Grapevine Hill We was passin' cars like they were standin' still Then all of a sudden, like a flick of an eye A Cadillac Sedan had passed us by A remark was made, "There's the car for me" But by then the taillights were all you could see Well, the fellas ribbed me for bein' behind So I started to make that Lincoln unwind I took my foot off the gas and, man alive I shoved it down into overdrive Well, I wound it up to a hundred-and-ten Twisted the speedometer cable right off in the end I had my footfeed clear to the floor I said, "That's all there is, there ain't no more" We went around a corner and we passed a truck I whispered a prayer just for luck The fenders are clickin' the guard rail post The guys beside me were white as a ghost I guess they thought, I'd lost my sense The telephone poles looked like a picket fence They said, "Slow down, I see spots" The lines on the road, they just look like dots Smoke was a-rollin' out of the back When I started to gain on that Cadillac I knew I could catch him and hoped I could pass But when I did, I'd be short on gas Went around the corner with the tires on the side You could feel the tension, man, what a ride I said, "Hold on, I've got a license to fly" And the Cadillac pulled over and let me go by Then all of a sudden the rod started knockin' Went down in a dip, she started a-rockin' I looked in the mirror, a red light was blinkin' Cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln Well, they arrested me and put me in jail I called my pop to go my bail He said, "Son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin' If you don't quit drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln

[@horarwgt]

This version was released in 1955. Charley's hit version (4 Star 173) debuted the week of May 9, 1960 and peaked at #33 pop over a 15 week chart run. Ryan, born in 1915, died at 92 in 2008. Song is a rewrite of Tiny Hill's "Hot Rod Race," a #29 pop hit in 1951.

[@tedelliott8734]

Road my bicycle to town when I was 12 bought the album still have it

[@samspade8612]

Somehow Charley puts you right in the car on that epic journey.

[@OdySlim]

1970 my dad came home from Vietnam and bought a brand new Plymouth Duster 340. It had a 8 track tape player and played this song for me while hauling ass though the Nevada desert with the speedometer needle stuck to the peg, 120mph. The was a fast freakin car. Now the road is called the Extra Terrestrial hi-way. Back then it was just SR375. It was fast and flat. No cars then. Just heat mirages and tumbleweeds on the road back then. Rarely any other cars. regards Ody Slim. true story

[@buriedinvinyl]

Cool story!

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Ody Slim That's a fine beer drinking story if I ever heard 1!

[@justenough730]

The Chrysler 340 were underrated, excellent engine,love MOPAR

[@cmf1965]

A 1970 Duster speedo, only registered "120" NEVER - 150! :p

[@P_RO_]

@@cmf1965 I can't say on those, but in 69 you could order any part of a "Police Package" from GM except the engine if you had the part numbers which were never made public. Mopar was much the same way in the late 60's as were Fords in the mid-60's. I've ridden in a 69 Chevelle with a heavily-built 454 and saw the speedo go past the 150 top marking, under the numbers it said "Calibrated" or "Calibrated Police", I can't remember which but I damn sure remember that ride with the car feeling like it was about to float off the road. I've never been faster in a car and I've never seen any other 69 Chevelle speedo read past 120. One thing I've learned through the years is to never say 'never' about US cars from back then because a lot of things happened 'unofficially' if the right person asked for it.

[@samuelyellnats2221]

We need more music like this

[@Eyes-of-Horus]

Sure do remember this one. Best car song ever.

[@robertdensel1626]

Charlie Ryan was the king of hot rod songs!

[@steevelevert6483]

I love that it mentions the V12, nit the more modern V8 version. It's a cool car and needs to be remembered 😊

[@firstastrodave]

Great to hear the original of this classic after so many years.

[@robertahrens7464]

I was a kid when this song came out, and I still like it!!

[@rjfranklin3869]

The best version is always by the one who done wrote the song.

[@thomassmithification]

That was Charley Ryan,Redwood City,California..It is a 31 model A,with a lincoln V-12..The car was the inspiration,for him to write the song.. The model A,still exists...

[@justincb5193]

This performance of "Hot Rod Lincoln" has a beat that feels like crazy driving and flooring it, while other performances have a flat beat. Others have the guardrail posts and rod knocks with a drum, but this one has a whoosh when the Cadillac passes him and the siren. The fiddle line in this version also sounds like a car horn being honked by an angry driver, while others don't have as good a fiddle line.

[@thatfeeble-mindedboy]

Mmm … no … they are both prototypical “slightly countrified bluegrass style”… you get drums playing the mind-numbing “boom chick boom chick’ pattern ; bass drum on the downbeats and snare drum on the upbeats and the bass guitar or standup acoustic bass matches the down beats, alternating between the root of the chord being played and a note that is a 5th interval away. This is why a person of minimal skill that can play that rhythmic pattern and play 3 chords, like C,F, &G, for example, that’s enough to do a I, IV, V chord progression, (also known as a Blues Progression) can join in whether it’s “unclouded day”, or “kansas city star”, “The Gambler”, “country road”, “I’ll Cry Instead” (Beatles) or the theme to the Beverly Hillbillies, or Green Acres, and a few trillion other songs so long as it retains the feel of a 2/4 or 2/2 time signature. This won’t work for something like “Your cheatin heart”, or “Walkin after midnight” as they are more of a 4/4 feel. To my ear, the Commander Cody cover need not apologize for anything in the face of the original. Your own opinions and tastes are just as legitimate as anyone else’s, but you use terminology that has very specific meaning, that you may not fully understand, hence you mis-use it, and wind up saying things that weren’t what you meant.

[@jimmyhawke]

I always thought Johnny Bond originally did this. Nice to know that I was wrong! Just goes to show that you can study the history of rock and roll for fifty years and not know it all!!!

[@NowhereManForever]

Laying down some dope ass rhymes

[@richardturner6981]

I love this song. It's one of my old favorites.

[@sssshhhh101]

Never heard this version before. I like it. Thanks for posting it. Peace

[@buriedinvinyl]

It's a good one! Thanks for your comment!

[@jimking4088]

+sssshhhh101 - - Sure beats that pitiful version done by Commander Cody, doesn't it?

[@tigtrager6923]

There isn't anything wrong with the CC version to be called pitiful.

[@DucksDeLucks]

I liked the CC til I heard this! But CC deserves our gratitude for keeping this great song on our minds!

[@jimking4088]

Johnny Bond did the first version (I think) Even though Charlie Ryan wrote the song. Roger Miller also did a good cover of the song. I grew up listening to those versions as well as Charlie Ryan's version of his song & they're all good but when Commander Cody finally came on the scene & did a cover of it, I was so 'Disgusted' with what he did to it that I won't listen to anything he does.

[@ronnieboucherthecrystalcraftsm]

at my grand ma`s house 1963 i first heard this on the country gippsland radio in australia - turned me into a petrol head - 62 and still own a rocket turbo car shoot !

[@insatiablebaker8105]

Ronnie Boucher NICE !!!

[@jimmarshallman6300]

Same story as I ..... 3TR????

[@jaclestrat]

First heard it on Australian radio in Singapore 1962.

[@4skully]

loved this when I was a little girl sure made me smile

[@RogerEhinger-tg1hv]

Yup good song, remember hearing it on the radio as a kid.

[@shanecochran1969]

Always liked this song...

[@mickgough3574]

This is so good! I have always loved the big ol' American cars of this era. Thanks so much for posting.

[@kervinbrungardt7547]

And we have some updates ... 1978 -- Father said son gonna covert to Shinto if you don't stop drivin that hot rod Pinto. 2008 -- Father said son gonna run off to Paris if you don't stop driving that hot rod Yaris. And, yes, I need a real life very much.

[@flyingmerkel6]

Son don't you know you'll turn into a blob if you don't stop driving that hot rod SAAB.

[@rickyusa1000]

Everyone will want to be us Cause we're driving that hot rod Prius

[@P_RO_]

Papa said "Son I'll kick you out of the family if you don't stop racing that turbo Camry

[@richarddewitt2072]

Classic Rockabilly (1950)....before Rock 'n Roll hit the Pop music charts.

[@piotrb8434]

It's not rockabilly, it's hillbilly/country music. There was no rockabilly in 1950 yet. Rockabilly is an offshot of rock and roll.

[@richarddewitt2072]

@@piotrb8434 Don't buy it, Eh? Try this one, Hot Rod Lincoln (1955) is Hillbilly Boogie that is in the style of Arkie Shibley's Hot Rod Race no. 1 (1950) that was influenced by Arthur Smith's twelve bar boogie style in his hit instrumental Guitar Boogie (1945/1948). In 1953 the Super-Sonics did a more upbeat rendition of Guitar Boogie in a Paul Les style called New Guitar Boogie Shuffle, their version was almost rock and roll but there was no rock and roll in 1953.

[@piotrb8434]

@@richarddewitt2072 There was rock 'n' roll in 1953 - The Treniers and Bill Haley & His Comets. Alan Freed already used this term in 1952.

[@richarddewitt2072]

@@piotrb8434 Freed's definition of rock and roll was R&B, Country Blues and, strangely enough, swing bands. Rock and roll was not a genre until 1955, the only music categories before rock and roll were R&B, Country/Hillbilly, and Pop. Rock and roll is simply the crossover formula of all three categories of charted music that hit the Pop charts in 1955. Believe it or not, Bill Haley referred to his style of "Cowboy Jive" in 1953 as Rockabilly.

[@clydesuckfinger7097]

This is version I have been looking for. Thank you.

[@buriedinvinyl]

Glad to help. Thanks for your comment!

[@yaesuman]

***** My thanks also. I had been searching the vintage vinyl shops for this for years.

[@buriedinvinyl]

Bill Price Glad you found it, Bill. Thanks for your comment!

[@charliebrown5611]

One day, my son in law asked me if I heard of this record because he knew Commander Cody. After I recited from memory the first three lines, I convinced him I heard of it. LOL

[@raskey327]

His son, Joe, used to drink at the Capitol Tavern in Spokane Washington. Many times Charlie would come in also and play . My understanding is the Lincoln is in a museum up north somewhere,

[@jandeband]

I read all this and i still dont know who wrote it, its amazing how the writer gets lost in the mix ( pun intended) its an awesome song, about a decade ago i decided to learn it, a gutsy move for a guitar player, i found out its not hard once yu learn it, altho the words are a little hard to get out sometimes, i did discover a cute little thing on the guitar iv never heard anyone else do, involving sixth chords, i think 😅 its a great song ❤

[@scottbechler9975]

I had a pal that owned a beautiful big LTL-9000 FORD semi tractor with a 600 HP Caterpillar engine in it, and the words "Hot Rod Lincoln" on the bug deflector on the hood. I always thought that was cool because I knew this song.

[@justforever96]

Okay....but how is that a "Lincoln"? It's a Ford truck, with a Caterpillar engine. This is about a Ford A with a Lincoln V-12. Or more accurately, a shortened Lincoln chassis and engine with a Model A body dropped on top. That makes even less sense than calling your F-150 a "Hot Rod Lincoln": at least the F-150 (usually) has a Ford-sourced motor.

[@paulheywood69]

Cars such as the Lincoln "zephyr"(v12) and similarly mid 30caddies '16" cyl and some odd "straight eights" of that same era engines found their way into endless early "rods,drops ,cuts ?and the host of other dumb names they stuck to some actually really sound engineering in those early rods !! A lot of those guys had been fighting in Normandy welding and fabricating Sherman tanks to with adornments such as "hedgerow cutters" which saved a lot of lives and these guys went to it after ww2 and outta those clever guys the"rod building"we now love has a history of almost 70yrs and ain't ever gonna end!!!

[@paulheywood69]

Yeah you dig it too !! Cool!! I'm a bit confused though brother vet!! You seem to have posted me a picture of your "USMC" service medal or ring ?? Ca nt make out the as For some reason its come through "feint" it looks USMC but as said can't make it out!!! We don't have em in the British military !!! I jus wondered if you sent it for a reason?. As .y post was about old rods and their engineerin I kept having some asshol bug anything I happened to post ! No matter what he always had some way to put me down ?? I stopped posting for while ,not that he bothered me he did he was A fellow com vet??? USMC??? With hindsite I think "cross timbers" was full of shit , but hey its the web, lunatics everywhere man !! Thanks for +1 stay cool

[@jackiejoy7276]

You would have had hell to pay if the great Prime would have had snow on it that day running with the Devil great song love this version

[@flyingmerkel6]

I rode a 750 Kawasaki over the Grapevine in January in the beginnings of a snowstorm. Never again.

[@D.L.D_1971]

My dad sang this to me while driving me to high school. He started racing cares when in Was 8. He was born in 1945. He drive an built stock care N modified stock

[@miriamsheaffer5219]

Charlie Ryan was my neighbor in Spokane. He was able to remodel his house when Commander Cody did his recording.

[@buriedinvinyl]

Cool.

[@rarebudgetrecordsbrianmcfa3180]

The Charlie Ryan version is what budget label Grand Prix used for it's Hot Rod Lincoln LP. The rest of the record was fleshed out by "Tommy Dugan and the Hot Rodders!"

[@edwardlealsr1946]

@CamarilloBB There was a story about this on T.V. in the 70s. I remember a guy named Charley in Redwood City, Ca. that had a 32 2 dr. sedan with a stock V-12 Lincoln, fender-less and track roadster grill shell. Very interesting because a flat- head V-8 could usually beat them. It's all good though. What nostalga!

[@13spdRoadranger]

Sorry guys, you all got it wrong. :) The car was built and owned by the man that wrote the original song Charlie Ryan (that's correct) BUT...! The actual car and the actual race were out of the Palouse country. The actual race occurred on the Old Lewiston grade outside Lewiston, ID. Look it up, type in 'Hot Rod Lincoln Charlie Ryan" into your search engine and go to the Official Web Site of the Charlie Ryan family and read all about it. :) I met a man that rode in that car years ago in Spokane.

[@Archimedes616]

I grew up in Orofino about forty miles from Lewiston and have driven the Lewiston grade (Old Spiral Highway on Google Maps) a number of times. It gives me the willies thinking of going up that thing at 110 + MPH.

[@TheOldNeighborhood]

One of my favorite songs. I have the 4 Star version which plays at only 2:30. I think they wisely cut out some of the horn blowing and siren. If you like this record be sure and check out the follow up record by Charlie Ryan, "Hot Rod Hades."

[@buriedinvinyl]

Hot Rod Hades is a good one!

[@lensuber919]

​@@buriedinvinylthank you for downloading this song🎉

[@stevebaverstock8055]

Nothings better than the original

[@im1sinfulman]

THANKING YOU FOR SHARING

[@arnoldpalmer3224]

What was on the B side??????????????

[@buriedinvinyl]

Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3zLdXWrbNSij7s

[@bettyswedensky1819]

Funny song . From way back . I like it .

[@johncarlson3978]

Mom and dad one of these old 45 used to play it everyday

[@Rocking_B]

By far the only version of the song worth listening to

[@silviawilson5322]

That brief guitar riff at the very end was pure Bob Wills, don't you think? This is the version I danced to, back in the 50s.

[@tomfields3682]

Had my foot feed pressed to the floor

[@stevesherman1743]

I like Commander Cody’s 1972 version better, but this is still delightful !!

[@williammeyer207]

Beautiful song

[@willB19938]

I heard this back in the mid sixty's always like this version best.

[@frankrogers9844]

In Glen Aubrey N.Y., my brother raced a 49 Mercury stripped down stock car.

[@DFArule]

Can't believe I never heard this before now. Now I know why so many people couldn't help themselves; they just had to drive it too.

[@williampalchak7574]

OK. That's the best version.

[@DucksDeLucks]

Fabulous classic rockabilly much better than the remake! Dammit, before I die and before the EPA outlaws cars I wanna get me a hot rod Lincoln. Why no market for retro cars? People would buy them!

[@justforever96]

Not enough people to make it profitable, most "retro" cars look stupid, and they literally would be unable to sell replica cars because they wouldn't meet "pedestrian safety" requirements, rollover requirements, and they'd hurt CAFE averages. Stupid, they could easily make a 1957 Chevy (to use the cliche example) with a LT or LS V8 in it, modern electronics hidden in the dash, but no, government says we can't, and I doubt GM would do it even if they could.

[@DucksDeLucks]

Current cars are so friggin uncomfortable to get in and out of and you can't lie down and take a nap in one, how do you fit six people in a modern sedan? That ain't progress.

[@corwinorr]

And my pappy said son you're gonna drive me to breakfast if you don't stop driving that factory stock Lincoln.

[@jerrymorgan6036]

never heard this, it is the REAL THING

[@annettestroup2642]

Jerry Morgan yeah it is.

[@phuckpains9502]

START PLAYING GUITAR & SING THE SONG "Hot Rod Lincoln Drags Again" from 1961, GREAT SONG! GREAT Hot Rod! Country Western singer/songwriter Charlie Ryan in the 1950s WAS THE KING Hot Rod Lincoln WITH THE BADDEST ASS V-12 ON THE ROAD, ONE COOL CAT! Hot Rod Lincoln - Charley Ryan (1st version)

[@28rpu]

One of the best !!

[@SafetyMentalst]

"Hot Rod Lincoln" Cars go faster than a mind can think Follow to close you'll hit a brake light So always signal your blinkers do blink Night driving requires lights on bright And rethink having to much to Drink

[@garywaddell7246]

Love the original version with Charlie Ryan but also the 1960 version with Johnny Bond.

[@bobkonradi1027]

Note that the Charley Ryan version says, "its got 12 cylinders and uses 'em all" whereas all the other versions say, "its got 8 cylinders and uses 'em all." NOW, in KZbin, search "The Original Hot Rod Lincoln" which is a 3-minute video sponsored by Hagarty Classic Car Insurance and its about the Hot Rod Lincoln. The engine is definitely a V12. Some years ago the actual car was auctioned off at the Barrett-Jackson January auction, and I happened upon the car, which was on inside display prior to going over the block. I had my hand on the car and on the Lincoln Zephyr flathead V12 engine. The intake manifold was for a 2-bbl carb, but had a 4-into-2 adapter. The chassis is from a Lincoln Zephyr, shortened and narrowed. The body is from a 1933 Ford rumble seat coupe.

[@garywaddell7246]

@@bobkonradi1027 Cool info BK - I didn't realize that.

[@bryanandrews2433]

My oldest brother had this and played it all the time! I like the original, but Commander Cody's version is great too!

[@buriedinvinyl]

I like both of them.

[@RamonHernandez-gj4ss]

This is the version that we heard in El Paso, Texas, back in 1957 (or something).

[@Keith_455]

I had this version of the 45.

[@buriedinvinyl]

It's a tough one to find.

[@gordonwallin2368]

It was a Lincol flathead V-12. Not a V-8 like so many other bands sang. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@gordonwallin2368]

Lincoln

[@loyalroyal1329]

This is there flippin flapjack bizness ,fun style 🎵🎶🎵🎶

[@srhcb1]

... the cops was after my hot rod Lincoln This actually brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it! Been there ...

[@SidewaysEightSix]

The original version of this song if I’m not mistaken

[@robbieburton5074]

Technically Charlie Ryan released the first version titled "Hot Rod Lincoln" (originally released in 1955 and re-released in 1959) however, in reality I think "Hot Rod Race #1" (1950) by Arkie Shibley/George Wilson should be considered the original song. Others: Johnny Bond (1960), Commander Cody and the Lsot Plant Airmen (1972), George Frayne (1975), and Asleep at the Wheel (1988)

[@buriedinvinyl]

I agree. Thanks for your comment.

[@aquatarkus2022]

Any hot rodders can tell me, what are safety tubes?

[@P_RO_]

They were extra-thick inner tubes for tires which weren't really any safer or better than standard tubes. Just a sales gimmick that sounded like a good idea.

[@FredFukkinBear]

I remember playing this record on my Grandma's old console record player and radio. This version sounds pretty much like the record. Her records were pretty much my first obsession with music considering I was maybe 5+ in late 1967, plus I was already into cars thanks to Hot Wheels, so the rail car with the guitar on it on the album cover was visually mesmerizing to me.

[@jims1942]

The record above is "the" original version from 1955 by Charlie Ryan. I have the original 45 record that I bought back in 1955.

[@salamander5318]

He was going way over 110 mph. 110 is just when the factory speedo needle got pegged and speedo cable broke. It was probably like 130 or 140, but it's as scary as 200 mph in a modern car.

[@justforever96]

At least! Cars from 1930 would have been terrifying to drive at 80mph, if you could find a road open enough to hit that kind of speed. This was 1960, and they had better highways, paved and open, but the cars were still pretty hairy. Reaching 100mph would be terrifying, and going faster would be suicidal (not least because tires couldn't handle that kind of stress, and the car would be trying to literally lift itself off the pavement from aerodynamic lift at that speed). Say we assume he's upgraded the suspension, tires, brakes and aerodynamics of his car, he'd still be at the very edge of loosing control at those speeds; that's the kind of speed you do on salt flats, where it's wide open and flat and there's nothing to hit. You might reach it on a stretch of open highway, but only for short periods (which is good, since the tires wouln't hold up forever). A Lincoln V-12 isn't actually very powerful, and the power required to drive fast doubles as speed goes up, because drag doubles exponentially.

[@aliendroneservices6621]

8x power required for every 2x speed.

[@ScottBeadle23]

That makes sense because on the flip, Thru the Mill, in the lyrics Charlie makes reference to having cut a record, and the guitarist plays the lead line from Hot Rod briefly.

[@diannedaniels9583]

I always thought Johnny Bond was the Original Version, My Uncle had 45 Record. Dianne D

[@jesseshinn6857]

Charley Ryan has the best version. Asleep At the Wheel 2nd best

[@loumontcalm3500]

Nope, Johnny Bond second best.

[@deidrycardona4880]

I'm here for "Christine" a book by Stephen King ♥️

[@Peevesx]

Christine, page 24.

[@shirleyjennings5787]

Cool!

[@buriedinvinyl]

Thanks for sharing!

[@hughjass1044]

Never heard this version before.

[@Pinecricka]

I’m old enough to know the old Lewiston grade.

[@privateprocess4hire624]

1st song my father ever turned me on to....

[@BenjaminV1954]

What I can't understand is; it is a long ways from San Pedro to the Grapevine. Maybe it didn't seem so far back in 1950.

[@Trucker1970]

I grew up with Commander Cody version and to me it will always be the only version 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@Jp421JP]

Props for coming up with this song, but nothing beats the Commander Cody version.

[@d57z12]

Pre dates the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean………brilliant!

[@danielmkubacki]

Good answer song.

[@davidschmeck1497]

GREAT SONG

[@jackiejoy7276]

I was trying to say you would had held to pay if there would have been snowing on the Grapevine that day

[@tomelder6028]

This was the first version that i heard