The 5 Best Rock ‘n’ Roll Songs Inspired by Chevrolet
For more than a century, the Chevrolet brand has been nearly synonymous with American mass culture, filling the streets with innovative yet affordable vehicles for everyday people. This cultural dominance extends to the musical world, too — especially rock ‘n’ roll. Out of the hundreds of rock songs inspired by Chevy, here are five of the best.
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ZZ Top, “Chevrolet”
“Hallelujah, hallelujah, ride my Chevrolet.” This heavily bearded Texas band hadn’t reached superstardom yet in 1972, so they had plenty of time to celebrate the simple pleasures of driving in this earthy, blues-soaked tune. As the first verse puts it, “the best of motor cruisin’s just the joy to get there.”
Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”
A list of Chevy songs wouldn’t be complete without a tune by The Boss. Here’s an epic rocker from 1975, featuring these evocative lines: “There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away/They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets.”
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Prince, “Little Red Corvette”
The Purple One definitely had more on his mind than cars in this smash hit from 1983, in which the narrator compares the woman he’s hooking up with to a Corvette that’s “much too fast.”
Ramones, “Go Lil’ Camaro Go”
“Girls cars sun fun/Good times for everyone.” This 1987 tune by the Ramones is so simple and silly, yet so catchy — exactly what you’d expect from a band that specialized in stripping rock down to its primitive basics. As an added bonus, the song features Debbie Harry of Blondie on backing vocals.
Elizabeth Cook, “El Camino”
“I know this guy, he’s all wrong for me,” and the fact that he drives a 1972 refurb El Camino is just the beginning of the narrator’s problems. This 2010 song is a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s loads of fun no matter how you categorize it.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.