Cars and Guitars: The Best Rock Anthems About Cars
High gains with high rpms!
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Cars and Guitars: The Best Rock Anthems About Cars · Source: Karol Kozlowski Premium RM Collection / Alamy Stock Foto
Cars and guitars can easily go hand in hand. There’s nothing better than a song with fast cars and loud guitars. Let’s check out some cool examples!
Cars and Guitars:
Cars and Guitars
Fast cars and loud guitars. For me, at least, there is nothing more exciting. However, rock history would suggest that I’m not alone in this desire for riffs and racing. I’m not sure what it is, but there’s something so thrilling about driving along to the sound of a killer riff.
So, let’s take a look at some cool tracks that we know and love. All of which have been inspired by the special bond between man and machine.
Maybellene – Chuck Berry
Our first look at cars and guitars comes from the Father of Rock and Roll. Here, Chuck Berry is trying to make a move on a potential lady friend who is ahead of him on the ‘open road’.
Typical car enthusiast, he believes that nothing will ‘outrun’ his ‘V8 Ford’. Despite this, the considerably newer and more powerful Cadillac Coupé De Ville is ‘doin’ ’bout 95′. After a glorified car chase, Chuck Berry manages to catch the Cadillac that was ‘lookin’ like it’s sittin’ still‘.
Helping to capture the American Dream, lyrics referring to two American-made cars on the open road as boy chases girl, it captures the vibe of the time. And although chasing a girl, he was really focusing on the cars.
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Little Deuce Coupe – The Beach Boys
Next up, we’re jumping to the early ’60s with The Beach Boys. The family band from California have written their fair share of tracks in this genre, such as with Shut Down and 409, highlighting the joys of drag racing.
When not surfing, these young lads were focusing on cars and guitars. Overall, this is a I, IV, V blues progression that goes into real depths about a little 1932 Ford, the ultimate hot rod of the time. Afterall, it is ‘the fastest set of wheels in town’.
Where this track differs from others is the detail with which it goes into about the car in question. Divulging into mechanical jargon: ‘she’s got a competition clutch with the four on the floor’. If the personification isn’t enough to get fellow petrol heads on board, the extra detail of his manual gearbox must be. We get it, you love cars!
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Highway Star – Deep Purple
Our third look at cars and guitars comes from ’70s powerhouse, Deep Purple. With the thundering bass intro and high octane tempo, Highway Star is enough to give you a speeding ticket standing still.
Although not as specific as The Beach Boys, Ian Gillan still says that ‘nobody gonna beat my car, it’s gonna break the speed of sound’. This reflects the overall feel of the track, and sets us up for an incredible harmonised guitar solo.
With the pairing of Jon Lord’s organ playing and Ritchie Blackmore’s fast fingers, this is a song that has to make its way onto your driving playlist.
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Panama – Van Halen
Similarly, another track that is a compulsory member of any good driving playlist. Van Halen’s 1984 track, Panama, is about a car that David Lee Roth saw race in Las Vegas.
Accompanied by Eddie Van Halen’s effortless guitar work, this also goes down as having one of the best riffs of all time. Again, we’ve got detailed motoring imagery of a ‘hot shoe, burning down the avenue’ and we know we’ll ‘lose her in the turn’.
Unlike our other songs about cars and guitars, in the bridge breakdown of Panema, we actually hear the sound of a revving engine. Whether you’re into cars or not, any rock fan has to admit this is pretty cool! It is the sound of Eddie’s Lamborghini Miura S.
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Born To Be Wild – Steppenwolf
Back to the 1960s for our final look at cars and guitars. Realistically, this is a song about the freedom of the open road. But, as the opening lyric says, ‘get your motor runnin’…’.
Often associated with motorcycles, this E blues has a great riff that repeats throughout the song. Taking the 12-bar blues pattern, and playing it over an E chord on the 7th fret of the A string. Incorporating the lower octave E for the biggest sound possible.
We’ve also got the lyric, ‘heavy metal thunder’, which doesn’t refer to the genre that we’d see in a few years, but the motorcycle that the song associates with. Okay, so it’s not entirely about cars, but it has the same vibe about it!
Honourable Mentions
Of course, there are plenty of other tracks that have cool guitar riffs and talk about cars. Here are my extra picks, but did we miss any?
- Fuel – Metallica
- Radar Love – Golden Earing
- The Passenger – Iggy Pop
- Kickstart My Heart – Motley Crüe
- Drive My Car -The Beatles
Cars and Guitars: Rev Up Your Engines
Well, in a world of hybrids and Teslas, it’s nice to reminisce about rock music that highlights our love for fossil fuel-filled beasts. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and it looks like the car is a great place to start!
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3 responses to “Cars and Guitars: The Best Rock Anthems About Cars”
I wrote a car song.
https://youtu.be/Hi7U8TgI2Eg
You forgot “Hot Rod Lincoln” by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen (Bill Kirchen on guitar).
Down in his barn,
My uncle preserved for me an old machine –
For fifty-odd years.
To keep it as new has been his dearest dream…
Hello? You forgot…
Red Barcetta!!!!!!