Draggin’ The Strip…
Drag Racing Songs
Rev up those engines and prepare to burn some rubber as we dedicate an entire Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast to songs about drag racin’. I’ve left out some of the ol’ standbys since you can still hear those all over the radio in favor of some of the lesser heard draggin’ tunes. Of course Jan & Dean and the Beach Boys will make an appearance, but we’ll also hear from Wally George, Leon Smith and The Hubcaps as well.
You’ll get a chance to vote for your favorite version of the ultimate drag racing song, “Hot Rod Lincoln”. So fire up those hopped up motors and get ready to burn your ears for that quarter mile on The Friday Night Cat Fight Show.
Click HERE To HEAR The Friday Night Cat Fight Podcast
Les Paul, a true, undisputed musical genius passed away at 94 after complications from pneumonia in White Plains, NY. Paul will forever be remembered as a technological pioneer in the realm of electric guitar development and sound recording as well as a great pop artist in his own right. Les Paul’s contribution to the foundation of rock n’ roll can hardly be fully measured. He developed the first solid-bodied electric guitar in the mid-1940s, that would become a rock standard in the mid-1950s. He pioneered multi-track recording as well, which gave artists the ability to experiment on recordings. Imagine how limited The Beatles or Pink Floyd would have been without the freedom of overdubs and multi-tracking? They and countless others owe a bit of gratitude to Mr. Paul.
This past November, my wife Kelly surprised me with a birthday trip to Cleveland, OH, The Rock n’ Roll Hall Of Fame AND the American Music Masters concert tribute to Les Paul. Guitar gods from Billy Gibbons to James Burton showed up to pay tribute to the “Wizard Of Waukesha, WI”. Les closed down the show with presence, humor and some great guitar playing. It was a night that I’ll never forget. I never got to see Les’ weekly live gig in Manhattan, so I am very fortunate that my wife made sure I got to see and hear the great Les Paul before he died.
On Sunday Morning, August 3rd, 2009 rockabilly and Sun Records legend Billy Lee Riley passed away from cancer of the colon. He was 75 years old and the epitome of what it means to be a rock n’ roller. Born into a large, poor family in Pocahontas, Arkansas on October 5, 1933, Billy Riley spent his whole life working hard to make that dollar. He began playing in various country bands after being discharged from the Military in 1954. He was a part of the famed Dixie Ramblers which also included future Sun Records engineer, producer and artist Jack Clement.
In 1956, Riley found himself on Sun Records as owner Sam Phillips reissued a song Riley had cut for the legendary Fernwood label, “Trouble Bound”. Sam placed “Rock With Me Baby” on the flip side and Sun Records 245 was issued in May of 1956. Sam then released the immortal “Flying Saucers Rock n’ Roll”, which will still burn your ears when you hear it today. By this time, Billy Riley and his band had evolved into the Sun Records house band, playing on records by Jerry Lee Lewis (including “Great Balls Of Fire”) and Sonny Burgess And The Pacers’ “Thunderbird” and “Itchy”.
Billy Lee Riley and His Little Green Men cut the definitive version of Billy “The Kid” Emerson’s “Red Hot”, but Sam Phillips failed to put any money behind it and opted to promote “Great Balls Of Fire” instead. “Red Hot” is definitely one of the greatest rock n’ roll songs of all-time as it defines the rockabilly sub-genre with all of it’s wild and crazy, guitar-driven stomp. It’s no wonder that Billy Riley felt shafted that Sam refused to promote what would become a Sun Records classic. 52 years later, we all know who laid that sound down and I have no doubt that Billy Lee Riley will be remembered FOREVER for his contributions to rock n’ roll.
Billy Riley was laid to rest in Newport, AR on Tuesday, August 4th, 2009. His longtime friends and fellow rockabilly legends Sonny Burgess, James Van Eaton and Roland Janes attended the small ceremony.
Many of Billy Riley’s contemporaries will pay tribute to him with a benefit concert for his family on August 30th at 1pm at The Silver Moon Club in Newport, AR. Performing at the show will be: Sonny Burgess and Pacers, WS Holland and band, Carl Mann, Ace Cannon and band, Dale Hawkins, Teddy Riedel, Larry Donn, Travis Wammack, Smoochy Smith, JM Vaneaton and many more. If you would live to make a donation to Billy’s widow, please click HERE for more information.
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This blog is dedicated to the preservation of the world's greatest music: 1940s-70s Rhythm & Blues and Rock n' Roll. When I'm not collecting records, I'm listening to them.
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