Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen--Hot Rod Lincoln (1972)

     Commander Cody is the brainchild of George Frayne who put the group together in 1967. Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, the group moved to San Francisco over the course of a couple of years. This path was similar to the group Asleep at the Wheel, (who moved from West Virginia to San Fran) and who's sound is similar. Whereas however, "the Wheel" has cultivated a more purist approach to western swing, both groups have more than a passing link to the music of Bob Wills and Earnest Tubb.
      After signing with Paramount Records, they released "Hot Rod Lincoln" in 1972. The song's life began in 1955 as an answer song to a 1951 hit called, "Hod Rod Race". The writers, Charlie Ryan and W.S. Stevenson had the song recorded several times, with the most popular version being done by Johnny Bond in 1960. Cody took elements of Bond's altered version along with the original to make their hit, which reached number 9 in early 1972.
     The group had several other hits in the early 70's, mostly with covers of late 1940's/early 1950's songs. Although they stopped charting after 1977, the group now known as The Commander Cody Band, continues to record and tour.  http://www.commandercody.com/thecover.cfm

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Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen--Hot Rod Lincoln (1972)

     George Frayne (Commander Cody) celebrates his 67th birthday today....

     There are two things that distinguish Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. One was George Frayne's distinctive boogie woogie piano, and the other was their brand of straightforward rock and roll, rockabilly, jazz, country and western swing. Many rock groups were forming around country. The Eagles, Poco among others, but Cody and the band has a harder edge to them, which gave them the look and feel of a really hot bar band. It's a title which suited them well and their legendary marathon concerts confirmed. Interestingly enough, Frayne has a Masters in education, and taught part of a year at Wisconsin State University while co-founder John Tichy received his PhD in engineering at Georgia State.  

     "Hot Rod Lincoln" was written by Charlie Ryan in 1955 as an answer song to "Hot Rod Race" which was recorded by Arkie Shibley and this Mountain Dew Boys. Ryan himself recorded the song twice, once in 1955 under the name "Charlie Ryan and the Livingston Brothers, and the better known version in 1959 under, "Charlie Ryan and the Timberline Riders". Of course, Cody's version was the most popular reaching No. 9 on the charts in 1972.

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