Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen “Hot Rod Lincoln”

“Hot Rod Lincoln”

Couple months ago I was reading a fellow bloggers post about a railroad crossing he has to go through every day and this forgotten lost classic from Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen came to mind. In the post Ten Seconds of Mayhem: Wudaokou Railway Crossing, Beijing China. Andy tells us what kind of hell breaks lose after the train goes by a street crossing in Beijing, China. I for one would lose my mind having to deal with this kind of junk just once let alone everyday. Andy’s writing ability sets the scene up so magnificently that you can not wait until the 10 seconds of mayhem happens just so you can find out how the crossing goes.

The first time that I heard Hot Rod Lincoln it was the live version at some outdoor party way back in the day and I just fell in love with it. Hot Rod Lincoln was written by Charlie Ryan back in 1955. Charlie’s idea was to write a answer song for Arkie Shibley’s 1951 Western Swing hit tune Hot Rod Race. Ryan’s original Rockabilly version was released by Souvenir Records but none of these versions were hits like Commander Cody’s was.

George Frayne’s (Commander Cody) voice was made for singing upbeat hard rocking “Country Rock” and Hot Rod Lincoln is just one of the Lost Planet Airmen songs that proves it. On the widget bar I have added a few other classics tunes from the band that you might remember. Hot Rod Lincoln comes off of the debut album by the band Lost in the Ozone and ended up being number 69 on Billboard Year End Hot 100 singles of 1972.

There are two songs that were a must when I made my travel music CD. The first one is Radar Love by Golden Earring and the second one is Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen’s Hot Rod Lincoln with what has to be one of the greatest first lines ever written:
“My pappy said, “Son, you’re gonna’ drive me to drinkin’
If you don’t stop drivin’ that Hot Rod Lincoln.”

Live version:

Studio version: