Summer’s
here – finally –
and the time is right for drivin’ in the streets.
So then,
with tops down and volumes all the way UP, make a way for…..
1. " I GET AROUND" by THE BEACH BOYS (1964)
Instrumentally (the arrangement and production effectively
trounced all
comers that summer), lyrically (though one can safely interpret "I'm
gettin' bugged drivin' up and down the same old strip, I gotta find a new place
where the kids are hip" as B. Wilson's hint at the non-sun, non-hit, B.Boy phase to come), and
atmospherically THE hands-down, Number One car tune Of All Time. And, backed as
it was on its original seven inches with "Don't Worry Baby," just
maybe the greatest single single of all time.
2. "CRUISIN'
MUSIC" by (THE) RASPBERRIES (1974)
The not-lately
great Eric Carmen's definitive Brian Wilson tribute; the logical descendant of
"I Get Around" (by way of "Do It Again"), and quite
possibly the finest car/radio tune of its decade.
3. "I
WANT TO BE YOUR DRIVER" by CHUCK BERRY
(1965)
The Great
Chuck could arguably be said to have invented not only the duck-walk and the
ding-a-ling (not to mention certain stomach-curdling after-show water-sports),
but the Car Tune too (eg: "Maybellene," "You Can't Catch
Me," et all!) Yet this little-heard wonder was cruelly
denied hit status – even after Lennon and McCartney gamely re-wrote it as
"Drive My Car."
4. "CYCLE
ANNIE" by THE
BEACHNUTS (1965)
Another
rockin' li’l undiscovered gem that deserves to go Top Ten even more now than it
did four decades ago. Odd to ponder the author of this masterpiece, against
which all other
sickle-songs pale greatly, later went on to foist such wheel-less wonders as
"Heroin," "I Wanna Be Black" and "My Red Joy
Stick" onto the airwaves.
5. "SCHLOCK
ROD, Parts One and
Two" by JAN
& DEAN (1964)
The last – and
funniest – word
in 1960's hot rod songs: As
always, give the self-styled "Laurel and Hardy of the surf crowd" a
fad and they'll wickedly yet oh-so-skillfully deflate it quicker than you can
say “Dead Man’s Curve.”
6. "DODGE
VEG-O-MATIC"
by JONATHAN RICHMAN (1977)
"Schlock
Rod, Part Three."
(Honorable
Mention: Jonathan's immortal and
much-covered "Roadrunner")
7. "LAST
KISS" by J.
FRANK WILSON & THE CAVALIERS (1964)
The
automobile looms large in the annals of Death Rock ("Teen Angel," the
above-mentioned "Dead Man's Curve," “Can You Please Crawl Out Your
Window”...) But J. Frank’s morbidly moody number
contains all the necessary ingredients (a railroad crossing, a stalled car, an
on-coming train, and your fiancée) – and then some! (ie: cheesy “Runaway” organ, sounding appropriately ominous
herein). Sounds Good Even On CD, such is the magnitude of this timeless tone poem.
8. "HITCHIN'
A RIDE" by VANITY
FARE (1970)
Lack of
one's own wheels at the turn of that ‘70s decade did little to dissuade the restless masses
from spending their summers alongside the nation's thoroughfares, thumbs erect,
trouble afoot. As a result, a spate of hitch-hikin' ditties suddenly
materialized, of which this remains my personal fave. Sure fit perfectly
amongst "Yellow River," "Going Up The Country" and, yes,
"Sweet Hitch-Hiker" back in Grade Ten, I'll tell ya fer shure.
9. "HIGHWAY
STAR" by DEEP
PURPLE (1971)
I know, I
know: it's hard to believe these
machine heads made a decent record after they last raided the Neil Diamond
songbook. But this here "molten slab of heavy-duty RAWK," as
terrestrial DJ's still refer to it, picks up nicely where "Born To Be
Wild" left off, helping motorvate Car Tunes confidently into the dreaded
Seventies.
10. "THERE'S
NO ROOM TO RHUMBA IN A SPORTS CAR" by ELVIS
PRESLEY (1963)
As always,
the last word on the subject goes to The King.