By Marcal Eilenstein
While dialing up some Dwight Yoakam on Grooveshark the other day (don’t judge), one of his hits “Guitars, Cadillacs, & Hillbilly Music” came on. That got me to thinking about other songs about Cadillacs. Turns out, there are several good country songs about these 6-ton sleds. Here are few of my favorite.
Guitars, Cadillacs, & Hillbilly Music
[youtube width=”700″ height=”525″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtkeCC3Z27I[/youtube]
Long White Cadillac
[youtube width=”700″ height=”525″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbloyFlwQHQ[/youtube]
Keeping it country, here’s a little Chris LeDoux.
Cadillac Ranch
[youtube width=”700″ height=”525″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jp2HpuTPAbM[/youtube]
Who could forget the sweet strains of Sammy Kershaw?
Cadillac Style
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBGCsn5ZfL4[/youtube]
Lest you think this post is entirely about country music, here’s one from The Boss.
Pink Cadillac
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29_RZ82aZ6A[/youtube]
We want to hear from you. What’s your favorite Cadillac song? Who does it best?
Image source: Freepublic
Jeff Glucker
The Man in Black did it best.[youtube rWHniL8MyMM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWHniL8MyMM youtube]
I like this one too.[youtube v5R-T_YF-wU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5R-T_YF-wU youtube]
Commander Cody is racing a Caddy in his Hot Rod Lincoln.[youtube F9QpDvhshOQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9QpDvhshOQ youtube]
"She had a ragtop El Dorado, tuck and roll pleat"[youtube FAPdrHgjetM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAPdrHgjetM youtube]
Attainable, everyman , luxury and performance.
There may not have been a Porsche dealer in the middle of nowhere, but there was probably a Cadillac dealer, and you can bet he sold to the banker and crooked sheriff.
Oddly Cadillac had a little bit of stigma among the middle class. I remember my dad bought a used mid 1980s Fleetwood Broughm (Brown with the 4.1L V-8) in the early/mid 1990s, my mother didn't like riding in it to church, thought it gave the wrong impression. This from a woman that had no qualms about driving < 10 year old Buicks, Oldsmobiles, or Mercurys and now daily drives a SRX.
And the banker probably drove an Imperial
<img src="http://www.imcdb.org/i229913.jpg" width="400/">
At least Mr. Drysdale did.
My grandmother felt exactly the same way. A less-than-religious Protestant mother of five (though no more than three to four at once), she left her first abusive husband, married my quite-Jewish grandfather, and together, they worked their way solidly into the middle-class American dream. Bubbe always swore, though, that she'd never own, or ride in, a Cadillac… over the years, she had a Fiat, a Subaru, a couple of Grand Ams, a Chrysler, a Mitsubishi, and two Volvos, but never did she – or my grandfather – own a Cadillac. (Before his Subarus, he's had a streak of boring Chevrolets and Mercuries punctuated by an even more boring Oldsmobile, in my lifetime.)
Her statement held true throughout her life… and as far as I know, the first, and last, trip she took in a Cadillac was after her death. If only my grandfather had thought to suggest a Buick or Lincoln.
In my life, a hearse would similarly be my only exception… although I'd still prefer one from a less, ah, prestigious marque.
Re Hearse, see the Confederate Railroad song above.
What about a first-gen CTS? Boxy? RWD? Available with a stick? Or a Catera, just for the ducks?
Well, he's one of those high falutin' Beverly Hills types.
I remember my mom hated Cadillacs but I don't remember why. One day she just went on about how she'd never drive one, and she thought Oldsmobiles were inherently superior.
Then again, she also had similar tirades about both minivans and Dodge products, and a Caravan now sits in her garage.
Mmmm…Imperial.
I had, in 2001-2004, a white '85 Fleetwood Brougham d'Elegance, myself.
That HT4100…it was difficult to control all 135 HP!
/facepalm
It drove/rode nicely, though, and I'd been in a severe motorcycle accident very shortly after purchasing said car. I understand, now, why older folks like land yachts like this. They require almost no effort to drive, and it's akin to driving your livining room.
Don't forget Boss Hogg.
<img src="http://media.screened.com/uploads/0/5125/383325-car.jpg" width=400>
Black Cadillac's by Modest Mouse is my favorite Caddy themed tune.
<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/7e85c48e25eaf101f5c54a8aebefaf92/tumblr_mgafk7KSQq1r11lhoo1_500.jpg">
Geeze, mention a good song and don't post it so that I have to go look it up myself? The nerve of some people.
[youtube WmqlI5rSuws http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmqlI5rSuws youtube]
The one and only, Aretha Franklin…………"riding on the freeway of love in my pink Cadillac."
<img src="http://www.soulmusicdigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/ArethaCaddy0011.jpg"width="500"/>
Paris Hilton sang about a Pink Cadillac, and apparently 600,000 people cared enough to click on the link.
[youtube 1riiDGBdZWg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1riiDGBdZWg youtube]
You can set my Volvo on fire, and roll it down a hill, and I still wouldn't trade it for a Coupe de Ville.
[youtube eGs-T5FNAyc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGs-T5FNAyc youtube]
However, in fairness, the Blasters do a wonderful cover of Yoakam's 'Long White Cadillac'. I once followed a white '90s DeVille several miles while listening to it… just because.
[youtube 8zDkMfhSteE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zDkMfhSteE youtube]
Cadillacs make great songs because nobody's daddy ever had a Caddy he wasn't immensely proud of.
[Unless you're a songwriter who's currently about 40 years old, and your pops had a Cimarron. But in that case, you're probably in a deathpunk band and still apt to write some sort of ironicynical song about it anyway.]
I'm not a songwriter, but I am about 40, and my dad had a 1980s brown Fleetwood Broghm with the HT4100, that has to come a close second to the Cimarron. I still remember the squishy deteriorated leather on the steering wheel and complete lack of acceleration.
Mmmm…Imperial.
If that were a two door, I'd be bothering the owner, daily, about when he's going to sell it to me.
From my screen name, you can guess I like this marque.
I've owned more of these than anything else, 3.
1973 Coupe deVille, that one got me hooked on yachting.
The '85 RWD Fleetwood.
My current '05 STS with the Northstar…and almost bald rear tires.
I still very much want a couple of others, besides the obvious ones. A '95 Fleetwood, and a '73 Eldorado.
Neil Young once sang "My love's bigger than a Cadillac"
As an 80s kid from Europe: Because it's bigger than a Honda [Honda] and it's bigger than a Subaru [that too]!
[youtube admyAPe93ds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=admyAPe93ds youtube]
Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac,
I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back.
[youtube 96K6Fvpbk3Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96K6Fvpbk3Q youtube]
"…saw a deadhead sticker on a Cadillac. Little voice inside my head said,'Don't look back…'"
Err…
…I CAN SEEEE YOUUUUU. YOUR BROWN SKIN SHINING IN THE SUN….
Black coat white shoes, black hat, Cadillac…yeah, the boy's a time bomb.
[youtube MC2lhGgbJiU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC2lhGgbJiU youtube]
Cadillac is also synonymous with luxury. Just ask Kid Rock and Hank.
[youtube ScgPe0s806Q http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScgPe0s806Q youtube]
Drinkin' Smokin' from Kid Rock also talks Fleetwood. And hockey. So Detroit.
"I'm a pimp, you can check my stats
An' rollin' a Fleetwood, that's how I Mac
I rock all the tracks so the World knows
I love all the girls, smack all the Ho's
Show love to those who come real with it
Life's a bitch but I deal with it
I'm in it to win it like Yzerman
Can drink about fifteen Heinekens"
Even though it's not mentioned in the song, a black Caddy is the baddies' ride in the video for If I Survive.
[youtube lbbQ8RrZe-U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbbQ8RrZe-U youtube]
Hello from Finlandistan.
[youtube VXvydYjlDe0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXvydYjlDe0 youtube]
Bitchin old tune. "Brand New Cadillac," by The Clash.
[youtube SYVLxLvdhpY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYVLxLvdhpY youtube]
The original version ain't so bad either.
[youtube Dc2pTC0D0j0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc2pTC0D0j0 youtube]
Dang. Always sorta figure they'd covered the song but never went looking for the original.
This's fantastic. Gracias.
The original was by Vince Taylor…as featured on Tricks Synthetic Podcast's, "a Caddy for Daddy" in January.
Here's the whole play list:
Caddy For Daddy
January 2013
I Want My Fleetwood Back – Tony Joe White
Cadillac – The Firm
Pink Cadillac – Lynn August
Black Cadillac – Sonny Wallace
White Cadillac – The Band
Pink Cadillac – The Band From TV
Brand New Cadillac B2B with Vince Taylor and Procol Harum
Welfare Cadillac – Gary B.B. Coleman
Blue Cadillac – Chainsaw Dupont
Lilly's Daddy's Cadillac – Mink DeVille
Cadillac Woman – Bill Wyman's Rythmn Kings
Cadillac Jack – Andre Williams
VooDoo Cadillac – Southern Culture On The Skids
Cadillac Walk (fade out) – The Hamsters
Perhaps not originally written as a song about Cadillacs, but a great song that eventually became Cadillac's signature.
[youtube gpD7f8gWgDg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpD7f8gWgDg youtube]
[youtube E7ktEYvzRqQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ktEYvzRqQ youtube]
Awesome choices.
Even Denis Leary was in on the act:
[youtube UrgpZ0fUixs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrgpZ0fUixs youtube]
"You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna get myself a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, hot pink, with whale skin hubcaps and all leather cow interior and big brown baby seal eyes for headlights. Yeah! And I'm gonna drive around in that baby at 115 miles an hour, getting 1 mile per gallon, sucking down quarter pounder cheeseburgers from McDonald's in the old-fashioned non- biodegradable Styrofoam containers! And when I'm done suckin' down those grease ball burgers I'm gonna wipe my mouth on the American flag and then toss the Styrofoam containers right out the side, and there ain't a God-damned thing anybody can do about it. You know why? Because we got the bombs, that's why!"
I've always loved the Stray Cats doing "Look at that Cadillac". They also did a couple of other Cadillac songs too.
[youtube BDuNM2rbYfU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDuNM2rbYfU youtube]
Here's another' Two Black cadilliacs buy Carrie underwood. Though Im not fond of her music the video is a play on Stephen Kings Christine, which is one of my favorite cheesy movies. Also I would not kick her outa bed. I guess now that by laptop is fully fuctioning again I should learn how to embed pics and vids…….
I cant figure out the embed video link. I'll try again later when I dont want to huck this thing into a wall…
I believe the only videos that'll embed easily are YouTube videos, and even then you have to get rid of the 's' in https if they're https instead of http.
Ask this guy. After all, he owns 6 dealerships.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/jPztKx4.jpg">
I sometimes wonder if Adam Reed's ever read Hooniverse.
I also really hope that the line about an "El Camino full of rampage" was a deliberate car guy play on words.
Wow, I didn't catch that myself… That's awesome! I do love the cars in Archer. Well, I love the whole show, but the cars, along with the purposefully ambiguous timeline, really make it awesome.
Hmmm, that could make an interesting idea for an article for Sumission Thursdays. The Cars of Archer…
"I know you're looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks
But there ain't no Coupe deVille hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box"
[youtube jAsM6KP3kis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAsM6KP3kis youtube]
Austin Lounge Lizards – The Car Hank Died In
[youtube nFfM0oLgzwA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFfM0oLgzwA youtube]
"I want to ride in, the car Hank died in…" Pretty well sums it up.
[youtube NDRA-4ITtFU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDRA-4ITtFU youtube]
Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Cadillacs
More importantly, what is it about Cadillac that makes for really stupid tattoos? (I know, tattoos aren't stupid, people are stupid.)
<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AxTkUnqBSRc/TIOZcmoL2sI/AAAAAAAADs0/s8gG4yu94pg/s400/pauly+d+tattoo+and+travis+barker+tattoolah.jpg">
http://gummysoul.bandcamp.com/track/wish-i-had-a-…
Another performer from Nashville, but the other side of the tracks. This is a hip-hop song by an emcee named Petty. I would post the cover art which features a Cadillac, but it's a bit nsfw.
He calls out a number of his favorite Cadillac models and pines for "something sweet and smooth that you don't see today, like a Series 62" A bit of a surprise choice for a 20-something rapper, I would say.