History

He's been making music and delighting fans for over six decades. This is the story of Charlie Ryan - Mr. "Hot Rod Lincoln".

Born on December 19, 1915, Charlie brought his first band to Spokane Washington in 1935 and it wasn't long before he started tinkering with hot rods. Charlie was building hot rods and writing songs in the 1930's and 40's. In the early 1950's Charlie had been driving his 1941 Lincoln between his home in Spokane and the Paradise Club in Lewiston Idaho where his band played nightly engagements.

One night his Lincoln chased a friend's Cadillac over the Clearwater river bridge and up the Lewiston grade. The telephone poles were whizzing by so fast they looked like picket fences as Charlie later referred to in his hit song, "Hot Rod Lincoln". Charlie wrote the song "Hot Rod Lincoln" in 1950, recorded it first in 1955 and the song was released in 1957. The song hit the Billboard top 100 charts in 1960 and stayed there for six months. It was the number one song in many parts of the country. While the song tells of a race between a Lincoln and a Cadillac on the Grapevine grade in California, the actual location was on the Lewiston grade in Idaho. The mythical Hot Rod Lincoln was really a Model "A" coupe body set on the original 1941 Lincoln frame Charlie had been driving in the early 50's with a hopped up Lincoln engine.

As Charlie put the finishing touches on the song, he bought a 1930 Model "A" Ford coupe and a wrecked 1948 Lincoln. The frame had to be shortened by two feet and the center cross-member was removed so that the body would fit. The driveline and the torque tube were also shortened by 24 inches. A reserve tank was added to the bottom of the radiator that was moved forward to clear the impressive twelve cylinder engine. Numerous other modifications were made including the stretching of the hood and fitting of the Lincoln instrument panel into the Model "A". As the song continued to ride the charts Charlie added a new 1939 Lincoln motor with shaved heads, a four barrel carb and a 1948 transmission with overdrive.

With the success of the "Hot Rod Lincoln", both the song AND the car, Charlie and his wife Ruthie toured with other well known artists including Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, and Ferlin Huskey, just to name a few. The song was so popular that it was also recorded and charted by Johnny Bond simultaneously with Charlie's hit - a feat unheard of in today's pop chart world. In 1972 "Commander Cody" hit the charts with "Hot Rod Lincoln" and Charlie completely restored the car. Ray Benson and "Asleep at the Wheel" recorded the song again in 1988 and the song was also featured on their 1999 "live" CD. "Hot Rod Lincoln" has also been featured in films including the "Beverley Hillbillies" and MTV's "Beavis and Butthead".

Charlie shows no signs of slowing down. Charlie and Ruthie have now been on tour off and on now for over 40 years with the "Hot Rod Lincoln" and several other songs hitting the charts including "Side Car Cycle" and "The Burlington Chase".

Charlie has been an icon of Country music and "Hot Rod" enthusiasts for over six decades and continues to perform regularly with the release of his newest CD. You can say a lot about Charlie but perhaps Charlie said it best....

"Son, you're gonna drive me to drinkin' if you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln!"