5 of Our Favorite Car/Music Mashups
We love exploring the overlaps between the worlds of cars and music on this site. Want a list of songs about specific cars? We got you. Cars owned by rock stars? Here are 20. A history of obsolete in-car audio? Rob Siegel wrote a five-part series, and part one is here. Remember that one band named after a car—or was it a car part, or a crash test dummy? We dug up fourteen examples.
We polled the staff of this website for its favorite intersections of the automotive and the musical worlds. Most are songs, but there’s one band-and-race team collab that’s worth scrolling down to see. Enjoy!
Rapid Roy and His ’57 Chevrolet
I’ve been on a bit of a Jim Croce kick lately while I’m on longer trips. The tunes just bounce out of the stereo and are the definition of easy road-trip listening. One song, in particular, that I’ll never skip: Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy). You can just picture rough and tumble Roy, blasting around local dirt tracks, cleaning out the competitors for prize money. Can’t beat it!
“But every Sunday afternoon he is a dirt-track demon in his ’57 Chevrolet!” — Nate Petroelje
Sergeant O’Leary’s Cadillac-ack-ack-ack
Bit obscure, but the mention of Chevy and Cadillac in Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out”:
Sergeant O’Leary is walkin’ the beat
At night he becomes a bartender
He works at Mister Cacciatore’s down
On Sullivan Street
Across from the medical center
He’s tradin’ in his Chevy for a Cadillac (ack, ack, ack, ack, ack)
You oughta know by now
And if he can’t drive
With a broken back
At least he can polish the fenders
I just think it expresses the way cars represent “arriving” in America. Working two jobs so you can upgrade to a Cadillac sums up what that once meant for a whole generation of blue-collar people. Even if he can’t drive, he treasures the symbol of his hard work. That verse hits me every time, and I think a lot of people look at their car or cars and think about the hard work that got them there. — Eric Weiner
Car Songs from the 1960s
I couldn’t get enough of ’60s car songs when I was a kid. For some reason, many of them had “little” in their names: “Hey Little Cobra” by the Rip Chords, “Little GTO” by Ronny & The Daytonas, and “Little Deuce Coupe” by the Beach Boys. Hearing these on the oldies station seared these cars into my impressionable brain every bit as much as when I saw them at weekend car shows.— Eddy Eckart
Daft Punk X Lotus
Not so much a song, but the car/music mashup I remember the most is when, at the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, Daft Punk sponsored the Lotus F1 team with their name on the car, and donned Lotus racing suits to watch the race. As a big fan of Lotus, Kimi Räikkönen and Daft Punk, it was the perfect mix. — Andrew Newton
Jerry the Race Car Driver and His 4-4-2
This is the anti-barbershop-quartet song about a local racing driver. It’s funky, down-to-earth, and bittersweet. “With a Bocephus sticker on his 442, he’d light ’em up just for fun.” The lyrics are sparse, but enough to give a sense of Jerry’s life. He’s talented, but not enough that it will change anything for him. He “never did win no checkered flag, but never did come in last.” Also, the breakdown that starts about a minute and a half into the song captures the feeling of a mean V-8, so it’s a cool one for that alone. — Alex Sobran
Inception, Mopar-Style
I’m going with the video for Audioslave’s “Show Me How To Live.” It’s a great song on its own, but the video is so much fun because it’s just the band inserting itself into Vanishing Point (1971). Tom Morello is a Mopar fan, so of course they pick one of the most iconic Mopar muscle car chases ever and drive around in a white Challenger. The video relies on a lot of film footage, so know that no E-Types were harmed in the filming of the video. — Brandan Gillogly
Fast, Furious Flame-Thrower
Do fictional mashups count? I’m quite sure that guitars are musical instruments and that this one is mounted to a massive, four-axle rig.
For those who haven’t seen the movie, a bit of background: If you let your brainwashed henchmen have a flamethrowing guitar, he’s gonna want a giant set of speakers to play through, and if you give him a giant set of speakers, he’s gonna want to take them on rampages through the desert with his buddies, which means he needs a custom truck, and probably some backup drummers, too. — Grace Houghton
Continental Tastes
These days I’ve become someone who generally worships studio musicians and the jazz-fusion albums that feature them, so I must go a bit farther back to a music video that both appealed to my personality and my specific taste in cars. Depeche Mode’s “Dream On” had a deeply dark theme with a 1973 Continental Mark IV with animated lights that further enhanced the story. I am not gonna say it made me like Lincolns even more than I already do, but it absolutely ensured I’d go bananas for one particular 1972 Continental Mark IV.
This video and the iconic “Ironic” music video for Alanis Morrisette has the same producer, Stéphane Sednaoui. The Ironic video pre-dates it by five years, but its clear that Stéphane has a thing for 1970s Lincolns. And you didn’t need to see Stéphane on some program on MTV back in the day to know that, but it didn’t hurt since he arrived to a video shoot in the same Mark IV used in the Depeche Mode video.
Yes I know I have a problem, but I am fine with it. — Sajeev Mehta
Never seen any of these.
I just saw ZZ Top last week and their car Videos are second to none. Be it Legs to I Gotsta get Paid
Depeche Mode Give me a break!
I Can’t Drive 55 Sammy Hagar
Here I Go Again White Snake.
Panama Van Hale. Yes it was about a car 49 Merc and even has the sound from Eddies Miura in the song.
Cars from Gary Neumann or Fear Factory.
Stroker Ace Charlie Daniels.
Sunday Money Brooks and Dunn
Alan Jackson Mercury Blues
I will never give you a break 😀
No Commander Cody Hot Rod Lincoln from you? Shocking.
Some where Henry Leland weeps 😉
Its a cool song, but growing up in the suburbs in the 1980s with immigrant parents meant Rockabilly was never on my radar. Stuff on the radio was, however.
Just be glad. The only song that mentions a Fiero I can think of is “I’m A Low Life. LOL
You just have to keep a sense of Humor.
Ain’t that the truth!
Wonder if that Fiero is still broken-down out on the Interstate?
And yes, the singer was definitely describing a low-life.
poor excuse
Riding a Stutz Bearcat, Jim
Those were different times
The poets studied the rules of verse
While the ladies they rolled their eyes
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Or… He’s the kind of guy who goes to drive a Maserati
Puts the key inside the wrong little hole…
And then, you ignore all the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean titles.
My Mom drove Super Stock 413 Dart… But we lived in Brentwood…
and she wasn’t all that old, then.
All that good stuff was done before there were videos, and we all listened to AM radio.
I wrote a short American History paper on Hot Rod Lincoln, about 50 years ago. Doctor Chen gave me an extra + on the A+. I believe he may have been a Lincoln man.
Chen was a cataract man.
No Dr. Chen drove “Rincoln Continental”
The most famous of all – Beach Boys 409 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsmO4IhuvyQ
The engine revving up in the opening isn’t a 409. It’s a neighbor of one of the band members 348.
Actually, the most popular one was “Duce Coupe” (Bela Lewitisky choreographed a modern dance performance to it). Probably followed by “Shut Down”. Oh, let’s not forget “Don’t Worry Baby”.
Agreed….deprche mode… ?
How bout “Nobody” with Pat Benetar
HeartBreaker and the white Challenger
More research !!
Definitely Depeche Mode’s Dream On.
Little Red Corvette by Prince.
How about ” A-Bone ” by the Trashmen or a Truck one, Leader of the Laudremat by the Detergents LOL,
Dang it!
Yes, you listed some great car songs that were skipped over and the best Hemmings could find was something like number 4? It’s an insult to even call that music.
Jesus Built My Hotrod ~ Ministry
(… and a huge fan of Primus, too)
Second on the Ministry song! Also loved Primus and De Mode selections!
Eapecially the Redline/Whiteline version.
Finding 60s/70s car song is like shooting fish in a barrel…
I was wondering if Primus was going to make the list
Cake – The Distance
No Red Barchetta?
Ice Ice Baby… but along those lines – No Sleep Till Brooklyn
A little more downtempo and maybe more obscure…
Tracy Chapman – fast car
Yes – Man in a White Car
Yes – Shoot High Aim Low
Duran Duran – The Chauffer
That’s all for now but I’ll probably think of some more
Obscure of the obscure… and meets the criteria of having “little” in the title. The little Nash Rambler.
Loved that song as a kid!
The title was “Beep Beep”. I can still sing the whole thing.
My daughter’s Rambler American had a license plate that read “BEP BEP” had to work around a 7 letter limit in IL.
I’m an old guy. I’m a product of the ’50s and ’60s. The music Eddy Eckart preaches above was right there in the same time frame as I was getting interested in cars. Some of the other examples are fine, but my heart (and my tapping right foot) lies with Car Songs from the 1960s.
Some several good ones already mentioned. For Mercury Blues, one of my favorites, though I prefer Steve Miller’s version. I’ve bought my Mercuries and took one for a cruise up and down the road today.
Some others I don’t see.
I’m in love with my car – Queen
Autobahn – Kraftwerk
Dune Buggy – Presidents of the United States of America
Hot Rod Lincoln – Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen is my favorite.
One Piece at a Time – Johnny Cash
Chevy Van – The Sammy Johns version
My Hooptie – Sir Mix-A-Lot
Fun, Fun, Fun – The Beach Boys
Yep Scottdude, QUEEN- I’M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR is the first song that came to my mind. Then, of course, Little GTO!!!
One Break coming up! 😁
Red Barchetta Rush
Thank you, David Lee Roth.
The Eagles Ol 55 is a favorite of mine
Forgot that one. Might add James Dean too.
Try the original Tom Waits version!
I call my 65 Mustang “My Ol 65” as a takeoff from this Eagles song.
So many good ones listed already but also Low Rider – War, Maybelline – Chuck Berry, Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett, GTO – Ronny & Daytonas, Hey Little Cobra – Rip Chords, Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin, Jan & Dean’s Dead Man’s Curve & Drag City, also Beach Boys 409 & Little Deuce Coupe us many more I play in my garage while working on my rod.
That’s a great list there!
3-Window Coupe by the Rip Chords?
That is the flip-side to “Hey Little Cobra” if you’ve got the 45 version !
East Bound and Down by Jerry Reed, Little Red Corvette by Prince, and Speed by Montgomery Gentry
My little Nash rambler beap beap
My brother’s and I wore that 45 out, we’d play it so much. Laughing and giggling and singing to it.
About 20 years ago, I was in the Santa Parade with my red ’55 Cad. Eldorado convertible. There was a Nash Metropolitan behind me playing the ‘Beep Beep’ song from loud speakers!
This one’s close but doesn’t specify a car. And it’s a great hard driving song:
RADAR LOVE…..
Brenda Lee’s comin’ on strong….
You nailed it;Wendell
used to play that one on high in my ’69 GTO going to work!
…(kinda funny side note:… some people think it’s “brand of leaves coming on strong)…..
I have been hearing that song for 50 years, and NEVER had any idea that Brenda Lee was mentioned. I just never understood the lyrics at that point in the song.
You left out “Hot Rod Lincoln”.
1974’s tune by Golden Earring -‘Radar Love’. While passing a cop car and still within the speed limit lol.
Awesome read, watch and listen! I always listen to music in my shop and vehicles but, I don’t watch a t.v. much so a lot of these videos were new to me. Very cool read and comments. I can feel my next speeding ticket coming soon. LOL. Thank you Hagerty for this great article.
Thx for the ride down Memory Lane. I’ll add just one….Little Old Lady from Pasadena (go granny, go granny, go granny go!)