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Hot Rod Race
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Wikipedia article
"'Hot Rod Race'" is a Western swing song about a fictional automobile race in San Pedro, California, between a Ford and a Mercury. Released in November 1950, it broke the ground for a series of hot rod songs recorded for the car culture of the 1950s and 1960s.Hoffmann, Frank: 'Sports and Recreation Fads', p. 179, Routledge, : "The record industry was particularly successful in eploiting the craze [hot rodding]. The first genre recording, "Hot Rod Race," released in November 1950, sold 200,000 copies." With its hard driving boogie woogie beat, it is sometimes named one of the first rock and roll songs.
Written by George Wilson, it became a major hit for Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys (Gilt-Edge 5021), staying on the charts for seven weeks, peaking at number five in 1951.Whitburn, Joel; 'The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits', p. 313, Trying to repeat his success, Shibley recorded at least four follow-up songs.
Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan, Tiny Hill, and Red Foley, all released versions in 1951; Hill's version reached number seven on the Country chart and number 29 on the pop chart.
Shibley's record may have climbed higher and outpaced any of the others, but his second verse opened up with:
Eastern radio stations, never a fan of Western swing anyway, refused to play it.Grushkin, Paul; 'Rockin' Down the Highway', p. 54-55, : "... but stations back East considered themselves too progressive to play such intimations of racism on the air." Dolan changed the verse to say "plain folks"; Hill to "rich folks"; and Foley to "poor folks".
The song ends with:
These lyrics set the stage for an "answer song" called "Hot Rod Lincoln", first recorded in 1955.
References
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