http://www.allmusic.com/album/r591137http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASCAR:_Crank_It_Uphttp://www.discogs.com/Various-NASCAR-On-Fox-Crank-It-Up/release/3081743NASCAR: Crank It Up (also known as NASCAR on Fox: Crank It Up) is a compilation album released in 2002, fol-
lowing the release of NASCAR Full Throttle a year earlier.
Packed with artists appealing to that advertiser-salivating demographic of males 12-34, NASCAR ON FOX: CRANK
IT UP has enough heavy riffs and testosterone to whip any race car aficionado into an understandable lather.
Keeping the familiarity needle in the red are covers delivered by (hed) p.e. (a by-the-numbers version of Jimi
Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic"), Buckcherry (their chugging take on the Willie Nelson perennial "On The Road Ag-
ain"), and Fenix TX (a raggedy pop-punk transformation of the Billy Ocean hit "Get Out Of My Dreams (Get Into
My Car)"). Sprinkled throughout is a small degree of original material by the likes of Static-X (the industrial
rock shuffle "Speedway"), Rob Zombie (a jackhammer-fierce "Demon Speeding"), and Gov't Mule with special guests
James Hetfield and Les Claypool (the blues-rock stomper "Drivin' Rain").
Without a doubt, the covers-with-a-twist approach tends to be the most fun. Check out Fear Factory injecting
heavy-duty guitars into the normally all-synth Gary Numan smash "Cars," Darwin's Waiting Room wailing through
Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car," Slayer thrashing up Steppenwolf's "Born To Be Wild," and a bass-slapping ride thro-
ugh the nugget "Hot Rod Lincoln" courtesy of the aforementioned Claypool.
Are many typical NASCAR fans also fans of in-yer-face metal/hard rock/punk rock crossover? That seems to be
the assumption behind this compilation of driving songs, most though not all in the blustery macho vein. That's
a suitable soundtrack, perhaps, for images of cars whooshing over the road in undue haste, though it doesn't ma-
ke for the greatest music. Rob Zombie, Slayer, and Slipknot are some of the biggest names on this collection,
whose liner notes are dotted with quotes by many (though, again, not all) of the artists extolling the relation-
ship between, as Tantric puts it, "fast cars and fast music." Extreme liberties are taken with some vintage cla-
ssics like Jimi Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic" (by (hed) pe), Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" (by Buckcherry),
Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" (by Slayer), "Hot Rod Lincoln" (by Les Claypool, who's less prone to overdoing
the histrionics than most of the other artists). Of course, subtlety is not the hallmark of either NASCAR or
hard rock, but some cuts are plagued with the worst sort of retching grindcore vocals. Others, like Fenix TX's
"Get out of My Dreams (Get Into My Car)," are in a more tuneful and slightly rootsier good-time cruising vibe,
though aggressive let-nothing-stand-in-my-path energy is the prevalent mood.
~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
===================================================================================================================
"Hot Rod Lincoln" was recorded in 1955, as an answer song to "Hot Rod Race", a 1951 hit for Arkie Shibley and
his Mountain Dew Boys. Hot Rod Race tells the story of a late-model Ford and Mercury who end up racing along the
highway, neither driver gaining an advantage, and staying "neck and neck" until they are both overtaken (to the-
ir amazement) by a kid in "a hopped-up Model A".
Hot Rod Lincoln was written by Charlie Ryan, who had also recorded a version of Hot Rod Race, and W. S. Stev-
enson. It begins with a direct reference to Shibley's earlier ballad, stating "You heard the story of the hot
rod race that fatal day, when the Ford and the Mercury went out to play. Well, this is the inside story and I'm
here to say, I'm the kid that was a-drivin' that Model A."
Ryan owned a real hot rod that was built from a 1948 12-cylinder Lincoln chassis shortened two feet and with
a 1930 Ford Model A body fitted to it. Thus the song explains how in "Hot Rod Race" a kid in a Model A could ha-
ve outrun late-model Ford and Mercury sedans. Ryan actually raced his hot rod against a Cadillac sedan driven by
a friend in Lewiston, Idaho, driving up the Spiral Highway (former U.S. 95) to the top of Lewiston Hill. His
song, however, keeps the same location as "Hot Rod Race", namely the Grapevine Hill, which is an old-time local
southern California nickname for the Tejon Pass near the town of Gorman, California, just south of Bakersfield.
The first, 1955, release of Hot Rod Lincoln was recorded by co-writer Ryan, recording as Charlie Ryan and The
Livingston Brothers. Ryan's 1959 version, on 4 Star, as Charlie Ryan and The Timberline Riders, is probably bet-
ter known.
The 1960 version by Johnny Bond was a hit for Republic Records. Bond's Lincoln has eight cylinders ("and uses
them all"), rather than the 12 cylinders pulling Ryan's Model A.
The 1972 release by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen went to #9 on the Billboard charts and #7 in
Canada. Cody's version is largely true to the original with changes that most people don't notice. However, the
first line "You've heard the story of the hot rod race when the Fords and the Lincolns were setting the pace ..."
completely misses telling the listener that this song is the story of the kid and his Model A that outran the
fellows in the late-model Ford and Mercury in the earlier song.
Hot Rod Lincoln and Hot Rod Race are defining anthems of the hot rod community.
Arkie Shibley, who recorded a series of Hot Rod Race songs, died in 1975. Charlie Ryan died in Spokane, Wash-
ington, on February 16, 2008, at age 92. He was a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Other covers
Many different versions exist, with the words slightly altered by each new group.
"Hot Rod Lincoln" is also a signature song of Texas-based Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel.
Roger Miller also recorded the song, with a few words changed.
In his live show Bill Kirchen (original guitarist on the Commander Cody recording of "Hot Rod Lincoln") per-
forms an extended version of the song, in which he solos in the styles of many famous rock, blues, power pop,
punk, and country guitarists.
Hot Rod Lincoln was covered by Pat Travers on his debut rock album titled Pat Travers released in 1976 on
Polydor Records.
On their 1989 album Allroy's Revenge, U.S. pop-punk band ALL recorded a cover of "Hot Rod Lincoln". Their ve-
rsion, like Commander Cody's, places the story in the setting of San Pedro, California.
Jim Varney recorded a version that appeared in the film version of The Beverly Hillbillies in which Varney
starred as Jed Clampett.
The song "Five-O Ford" off the 1994 album Liquor in the Front by the Reverend Horton Heat is very similar to
the song, describing a similar race scene and using the same chord progression.
In 2002 Les Claypool recorded a version of "Hot Rod Lincoln" for the NASCAR on Fox album Crank It Up.
Lawrence Ramsay released a version of "Hot Rod Lincoln", March 2010, on the album "Blowin' Cash", featuring
the guitar works of Dauwynn Cyncore.
