Arkie Shibley

Arkie Shibley
Birth name	Jesse Lee Shibley
Also known as	Arkie Shibley
Born	21 Sept 1915 Van Buren, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	7 Sept 1975 Van Buren, Arkansas, U.S.
Genres	Early Rockabilly and Western Swing
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	mid-1940s - 1959
Labels	4 Star (Gilt-Edge) Mae-Mae Records, Mt Dew Records
Website	https://www.facebook.com/ArkieShibley

Jesse Lee "Arkie" Shibley

Jesse Lee "Arkie" Shibley

The Originals - Prequel of the Hits; a list of songs tracing back to Arkie Shibley and the Mountain Dew Boy's 1950 "Hot Rod Race." Arkie's musical coattails were obviously far-reaching and immense.

Jesse Lee Shibley, known as Arkie Shibley was an American country singer who recorded the original version of "Hot Rod Race" in the fall of 1950. The record was important because "it introduced automobile racing into popular music and underscored the car's relevance to American culture, particularly youth culture."

Arkie Shibley was born on September 21, 1915, in Van Buren, Crawford County, Arkansas to David Monta Shibley (1888-1923) and Prudence "Prudie" Shibley nee Finch (1893-1969), both farmers. Arkie was a cattle farmer himself and, on November 22, 1935, married Evelyn Marie Breeden; they had four children: sons Jesse Frederick "Fred" (1937-2005); Calvin Gene (1940-2001); and daughters Dixie Sue (1942-2000); and Bonnie LyRaine (1953-2016).

In 1936, the family moved to Bremerton, Washington. In Bremerton, Jesse acquired the nickname "Arkie" and, around 1948, began hosting a regular country music show on radio station KBRG in Bremerton.

In 1950, Arkie was offered a song by George Erwin Wilson Jr. (1907-1988) called “Hot Rod Race,” written by George's son, Ronald George "Ron" Wilson (1930-living in Port Orchard, Washington, May 2024), who was 17-years-old at the time, and could not sign a legal and binding contract. Ron never received a dime for his efforts. His father, George sold the rights for $500 as if he was the writer. He offered the song to William Asbury "Bill" McCall (1900-1978), owner of 4 Star Records in Pasadena, California, who turned him down.

Arkie decided to release the song on his own Mt Dew Record label. The record was credited to "Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys," the line-up being Arkie on rhythm guitar, Leon Kelly on lead guitar, Jack Hays on bass and banjo, and Phil Fregon on fiddle.

The experience of being snubbed by McCall was later reiterated in “Arkie’s Talking Blues" --- "So I went to 4 Star with a smile on my face / I had a little tune called-a "Hot Rod Race" / Bill McCall, He said it was no good / I'd be better off a-cuttin' hard wood / It hurt my feelings / He slammed the door / I went up the street talkin' to myself / but we recorded it though..."

"Hot Rod Race" became a major hit and was reissued on 4 Star's Gilt Edge imprint. Arkie's record sold more than 1,000,000 copies and the it raced up the Billboard Country music chart in January 1951, peaking at #5 for seven consecutive weeks. In 1951, Arkie and his Mountain Dew Boys recorded "Hot Rod Race #2," "Arkie Meets the Judge (Hot Rod Race #3)," "The Guy in the Mercury (Hot Rod Race #4)" and "The Kid in the Model A (Hot Rod Race #5)."

"Hot Rod Race" prompted the even more successful answer song "Hot Rod Lincoln," a hit for Charlie Ryan (recorded 1955 and 1959, charted 1960, #33 pop), Johnny Bond (1960, #26 pop) and Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (1972, No. #9 pop). This lively tune celebrated the youthful fascination with fast cars, tapping into the burgeoning teen culture that would later fuel rock and roll's fire.

The songs influenced "Navy Hot Rod" by Jack Rivers (born "Rivers Lewis" (1952), “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry (1955), "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Charlie Ryan (1955), “Race With the Devil” by Gene Vincent (1956) and "Hot Rod Lincoln" by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (1972).

Arkie died in Van Buren, Arkansas, on September 7, 1975. He is buried, along side of his wife Evelyn, at Macedonia Cemetery in Uniontown, Crawford County, Arkansas.