Hot Cars 'n Fine Music - Part 1

Welcome back! I missed you!!

For something different, let's talk about the old days of cars and music.

Do you remember when you would see a car on the road and immediately recognize the make and model? Unlike today where all cars look the same.

Those were the days when you rolled your pack of smokes up in the sleeve of your white tee shirt, slipped your comb out of your back pocket and slicked back the sides, spun the curl in the front and fine tuned your duck tail of your Brylcreamed hair.

Then off you walked down the street in your harness boots with the horse shoe taps a clattering, checking every car parked at the curb.

You could not wait until the new cars came out so you could rush to the dealers' lots to see what the new cars looked like.

Yes, you did that every year, as every year the body styles changed.

And then it happened, muscle cars and music came together and we grew up with rock and roll on the radio and a hot car in the driveway.

Cars were cool and the songs were all about fast cars. Muscle cars and music were tied together!

Now we had a need for speed.

Here are just a few of the songs that helped define and popularize the muscle car.

Pull into the local drive-in for a burger and a cherry coke or vanilla malt and watch the cars cruise through while the music blares.



First up:


"Little Deuce Coupe"
by The Beach Boys

Well I'm not braggin' babe so don't put me down
But I've got the fastest set of wheels in town
When something comes up to me he don't even try
Cause if I had a set of wings man I know she could fly
She's my little deuce coupe
You don't know what I got
(My little deuce coupe)
(You don't know what I got)


Just a little deuce coupe with a flat head mill
But she'll walk a Thunderbird like it's standin' still
She's ported and relieved and she's stroked and bored.
She'll do a hundred and forty with the top end floored
She's my little deuce coupe
You don't know what I got
(My little deuce coupe)
(You don't know what I got)

She's got a competition clutch with the four on the floor
And she purrs like a kitten till the lake pipes roar
And if that aint enough to make you flip your lid
There's one more thing, I got the pink slip daddy

And comin' off the line when the light turns green
Well she blows 'em outta the water like you never seen
I get pushed out of shape and it's hard to steer
When I get rubber in all four gears


Now this was a hot rod of the 60's, a 1932 Ford Coupe. The flathead mill was a ford flathead motor normally with 3 deuces or sometimes referred to as 3 twos (3 two barrel carburetors).


These were times when the cars you bought off the showroom floor were quick, so a street race and/or Sunday at the drag races was a cool thing to do.

"Shut Down"
by The Beach Boys

A classic song about drag racing.

Tach it up, tach it up
Buddy gonna shut you down

It happened on the strip where the road is wide
(Oooo rev it up now)
Two cool shorts standin' side by side
(Oooo rev it up now)
Yeah, my fuel injected Stingray and a four-thirteen
(Oooo rev it up now)
Revvin' up our engines and it sounds real mean
(Oooo rev it up now)

Tach it up, tach it up, tach it up
Buddy gonna shut you down


Declinin' numbers at an even rate
(Oooo movin' out now)
At the count of one we both accelerate
(Oooo movin' out now)
My Stingray is light the slicks are startin' to spin
(Oooo movin' out now)
But the four-thirteen's really diggin' in
(Oooo movin' out now)

Gotta be cool now power shift here we go

Superstock Dodge is windin' out in low
But my fuel injected Stingray's really startin' to go
To get the traction I'm ridin' the clutch
My pressure plate's burnin' that machines too much

Pedal's to the floor hear the dual quads drink
(Oooo pump it up now)
And now the four-thirteen's lead is startin' to shrink
(Oooo pump it up now)
He's hot with ram induction but it's understood
(Oooo pump it up now)
I got a fuel injected engine sittin' under my hood
(Oooo pump it up now)

Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down
Shut it off, shut it off buddy now I shut you down



The Stingray was the Corvette, four thirteens was the gear ratio in the rear end for launching from a dead stop, slicks are tires specially for drag racing, dual quads AKA 2 fours are 2 four barrel carburetors and power shift means you hit the clutch and slam the shifter from one gear to the other fast and with force because you do not let up on the accelerator.

Too slow on the shift or miss a shift, the engine over revs and will usually sustain some sort of damage.


Both the Stingray and the Superstock Dodge were bad cars for sure. (bad meaning good)

Interestingly, since the Stingray was very expensive to buy, a lot of the ones that showed up at the drags were rental cars.

The rental car agency lots were full of muscle cars and they had no idea people were just weekend warriors and a rental car was an inexpensive way to get your kicks at the strip.



But who knows what lurks behind those garage doors?

"The Little Old Lady From Pasadena"
by Jan and Dean


Jan and Dean sang this classic single about a new red Super Stock Dodge that terrorized the streets of Pasadena, California.

It's the little old lady from Pasadena

The little old lady from Pasadena
(Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go)
Has a pretty little flower bed of white gardenias
(Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go)
But parked in a rickety old garage
Is a brand new, shiny red Super Stock Dodge


And everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner
Than the little old lady from Pasadena
(She drives real fast and she drives real hard)
She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard
It's the little old lady from Pasadena

If you see her on the street don't try to choose her
(Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go)
You might drive a goer but you'll never lose her
(Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go)
Well, she's gonna get a ticket now sooner or later
'Cause she can't keep her foot off the accelerator


And everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner
Than the little old lady from Pasadena
(She drives real fast and she drives real hard)
She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard
It's the little old lady from Pasadena

(Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go)
(Go, Granny, go, Granny, go Granny go)
The guys come to race her for miles around
But she'll give 'em a length and then she'll shut 'em down


And everybody's sayin' that there's nobody meaner
Than the little old lady from Pasadena
(She drives real fast and she drives real hard)
She's the terror of Colorado Boulevard
It's the little old lady from Pasadena


There were some hidden gems of cars out there that older people had and when they passed away the cars were a find. Usually the little old lady was selling it but it had been her husband's toy until he died.

OK that's a wrap for today!

We are back in action and this is part one of a two part story. Please return tomorrow for more of a walk back in time.