God May Have a Silver Thunderbird, But Sally Has a Mustang

ford thunderbird On June 16 in 1903, Henry Ford signed the papers incorporating Ford Motor Company. A month later, the first Ford car was manufactured in Detroit. But it would not be until later when the company really began doing well, following the 1908 introduction of the Model T and the 1913 creation of an assembly line allowing mass production.

The automobile is intertwined with American history as well as with popular culture, as there are numerous songs about the highway and cars. Some popular songs are specific about the vehicles, such as Janis Joplin’s desire for a Mercedes Benz, Don McLean’s Chevy at the levy, and Prince’s Little Red Corvette.

Ford Motor Company products appear in songs too. In the video below, Marc Cohn sings about Ford’s Thunderbird car in “Silver Thunderbird.”

The title of the song “Silver Thunderbird” focuses on the car, which began manufacturing in 1955 and ended its run in 2005. But the lyrics of the song address Cohn’s childhood memories of how his father loved his car. “Great big fins and painted steel;/ Man it looked just like the batmobile,/ With my old man behind the wheel.”

“Silver Thunderbird” captures what a car can mean to a family. And I can relate, having grown up with parents who for some reason thought it was important to be loyal to one car company.

“Silver Thunderbird” is from Marc Cohn’s self-titled album from 1991 that also included the hit, “Walking in Memphis.” “Silver Thunderbird” later was covered by Jo Dee Mesina.

The most famous song about a Ford car is also one of the greatest car songs ever. “Mustang Sally” was written by Mack Rice and immortalized by Wilson Pickett in 1966.

The song, which asks Sally to slow her Mustang down, is not quite as wholesome as Cohn’s song about the Thunderbird. But the difference in song themes matches the different reputations of the two cars. Check out this amazing live Wilson Pickett performance.

Although nobody can surpass Pickett’s version, there are a number of good covers of “Mustang Sally.” For example, in the excellent rise-and-fall-of-an-Irish-soul-band movie The Commitments (1991), the band’s performance of the song is one of the highlights of the film, which came out the same year as Cohn’s song about the Thunderbird.

The movie scene with The Commitments performing the song is no longer available on YouTube. But here is one of the group’s live performances, featuring lead singer Andrew Strong.

“Mustang Sally” has been performed by a wide range of artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Hootie and the Blowfish, and Sam & Dave. But it is impossible to surpass Pickett’s version.

In the interest of full disclosure, although I have owned other cars, following my parents, I drive a Ford today.

What are your favorite songs about cars? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The Day the Music Died & American Pie

    day the music died buddy holly book On this date of February 3 in 1959, a small plane crashed in a cornfield near Clear Lake, Iowa, killing the pilot Roger Peterson along with his famous passengers: Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. The three were on “The Winter Dance Party” tour throughout the Midwest, a tour that also included Dion and a young bass player named Waylon Jennings. The tour traveled by bus, but for the trip to Moorhead, Minnesota, the three performers chartered a plane.

    In the future, Chimesfreedom plans to revisit more of the story, but for today check out this cool video that someone put together for Don McLean‘s song, “American Pie.” The song is celebrating its fortieth anniversary, as around this time in 1972 following the song’s release a few months earlier on Nov. 27, 1971, the song had climbed the charts so you could not turn on the radio without hearing “American Pie.”

    Through the years, McLean has been notoriously vague about specific meanings of the imagery in the song, but it is widely accepted that the opening and refrain of the song centers on his memories of hearing about the death of the three singers in the plane crash. In his memory, he wondered what would happen to rock and roll after such a great loss, which led to an era of Pat Boone and Fabian songs. Of course, now we know, unfortunately, that rock an roll has survived many such losses since then, but these were the early days. Anyway, the video does a good job of explaining some of the imagery, and even if it is not 100% correct about the images, it provides an interesting interpretation to much of the song. Check it out.

    What do you think “American Pie” means? What is your favorite song by Buddy Holly or the others? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (4 Dec. 2011 Edition)

    Tommy movie film In case you have been preoccupied having seizures from watching The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 — or you have been preparing to suspend you campaign for president — or if you were busy writing a speech for a governor apologizing to a teenager, here are some of the pop culture stories you might have missed.


    —— Music ——

    Don McLean revealed where he wrote and first performed “American Pie,” refuting a local legend.

    In Grammy news, Adele, Kanye West, Bruno Mars, and Foo Fighters led the Grammy nominations. In other Grammy news, some pondered whether or not the Beach Boys will reunite at the Grammys. Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane was nominated for two Grammys and will compete with Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand. Finally, Sugarland joined Lady Gaga for a rousing performance of “You and I” at the Grammy Nominations Concert this week.

    In another cool collaboration, Bruce Springsteen appeared on stage with Bob Seger last week for some old time rock and roll. Blogness has the story and video.

    John Lennon’s to-do list went up for auction. All you need is . . . more marmalade.

    Andrea True, singer of “More More More (How Do You Like It?),” passed away earlier this month.

    You may listen to the new CD from the Roots, “undun,” on NPR’s website.

    Hanson (i.e., The Hanson Brothers) are developing a beer named. . . “MMMHop.” I’m guessing the beer will stay with you for a long time in the same way the catchy song does.

    The Los Angeles Times reviewed Willie Nelson’s new CD, “Remember Me, Vol. 1.”

    In touring news, George Michael cancelled the remaining dates of his tour to recover from pneumonia. Meanwhile, The Red Hot Chili Peppers announced their first U.S. tour in nearly five years, starting Jan. 25.

    It’s “either a misprint or a satire.” — Elvis Costello, commenting on $339.98 box set of a Costello performance.

    The New York Times
    reviewed a new biography of Ahmet Ertegun, the great founder and president of Atlantic Records.

    Watch the ten films for the ten songs on Bon Iver’s self-titled album, released this week in a deluxe edition.

    —— Movies ——

    The Sound of Music has found a new life in movie theaters as a sing-a-long event.

    Planet of the Apes

    This week, Retraunaut posted some cool behind-the-scenes photos from Planet of the Apes (1967) of the “apes” hanging out.

    Firstshowing.net reviewed Cameron Crowe’s new movie We Bought a Zoo.

    In honor of the director’s latest film, Salon featured a slide show of Martin Scorsese’s greatest films.

    A new book recounts how actress Hedy Lamarr contributed to the cell phone technology we use today.

    The New York Times
    reviewed the new DVD and Blu-ray of the classic and controversial film, Birth of a Nation.

    Ken Russell, the director of Tommy, The Devils, and Altered States passed away. Watching each of those films in the movie theater were memorable events for me. RIP Mr. Russell.

    New pictures were released of the fictional Mars in the upcoming John Carter.

    Fans discussed how the possible Before Sunrise/Before Sunset sequel should go.

    I was sorry to hear that Roger Ebert’s recent incarnation of At the Movies is going on hiatus. I enjoyed the show.


    —— Other Pop Culture News ——

    The Waltons reunited on The Today Show for their 40th Anniversary.

    In The Office news, now you may buy Dunder Mifflin copy paper. Also, Stanley from The Office (Leslie David Baker) made a music video. In sadder Office-related news, comedian Patrice O’Neal, who also appeared periodically on The Office, passed away last week from complications of a stroke. RIP.


    The Fantastic Four
    are turning 50.

    The inventor of the Jenos pizza roll and Chun King canned Chinese food, Jeno Paulucci, died on Thanksgiving. Chun King was the only time I encountered Chinese food as a kid, and, well, I have enjoyed several meals of nothing but pizza rolls. RIP Mr. Paulucci.

    What were your thoughts on the pop culture stories of the week? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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