Auto Biograph by Don Taco

Auto Biograph  by Don Taco

  One of the particularly American genres of music is the 'I Love My Car' theme. In our childhood, Jan and Dean, and The Beach Boys, made the concept hugely popular. But it existed in our literature as far back as recorded music and automobile culture did. Your grandparents saw the first automobiles, and the first recorded music. We grew up with them both firmly entrenched in our lives, especially in the Southern California scene, which never bothered to develop public transportation and was difficult to exist in without an automobile, and equally difficult to get out of earshot of a radio.

The Studebaker March dates from 1899. It's a promotional jingle. On The Back Seat Of The Old Henry Ford is a classic double-entendre, a motif that will apparently never grow old, from 1916. Terraplane Blues, Red Cadillac And A Black Moustache, and Hot Rod Lincoln are early stalwarts. Maybelline, The Little Old Lady From Pasadena, Little Deuce Coupe, the list is endless.

Everyone has their favorites, of course, but in my not at all humble opinion, there is one that transcends all the others. And the irony of it is that it is by a British fellow, not an American, and about a motorcycle, not a car. If 1952 Vincent Black Lightning isn't already playing in your head, my god, man, where have you been hiding all these years? Get yourself to a listening device and treat yourself to a few minutes of the absolute best.