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Crown Victoria Custom '51

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"Crown Victoria Custom '51"
Single by Jerry Lee Lewis
from the album Young Blood
A-side"Goosebumps"
Released1995 (1995)
GenreRock
Length3:05
LabelSire Records
Songwriter(s)Jerry Lee Lewis
James Burton
Andy Paley
Kenny Lovelace
Producer(s)Andy Paley

"Crown Victoria Custom '51" is a song co-written by Jerry Lee Lewis and released as a B side single by Lewis in the U.S. in 1995 on Sire Records. The song was from the Young Blood album released that same year.

Background

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"Crown Victoria Custom '51" was recorded for Sire Records in the U.S. and was released as a 7" 45 B side single backed with "Goosebumps" in 1995 as 7-64423.[1] The recording was produced by Andy Paley. The music and lyrics were written by Jerry Lee Lewis, James Burton, Andy Paley, and Kenny Lovelace.[2] The song was published by Twilite Tunes, Warner Chappell, DeCapo Music Inc., James Burton Music, and Ken Lovelace Music. The song originally appeared on the Young Blood album.[3] The recording was included on the 2006 3 disc career retrospective Half a Century of Hits as part of the Legends of American Music series by Time-Life Music.[4]

The theme of the song is a 1951 Ford Victoria V8 coupe, a model based on the 1949 Ford. The Victoria hardtop had a "dual-bullet" grille and heavy chrome bumpers. A new "turn-key" ignition and front suspension featuring independent coil springs were also added. The head room was 36.1 inches. It was a new, post-war streamlined car model which could be customized into a hot rod. The Ford Crown Victoria model was produced in 1955. The opening and closing verse emphasizes the continuing popularity of the 1951 model: "Born in Detroit City back in '51 / She still looks pretty and she's loads of fun / Through thick and thin she's been my only one / It's my Crown Victoria Custom '51".[5]

Jerry Lee Lewis performs a piano solo followed by an electric guitar solo by James Burton.

The recording is featured in the 1999 film A Texas Funeral starring Martin Sheen and Robert Patrick.[6]

The song was favorably reviewed in Rolling Stone: "Whether reclaiming Hank Williams' wry 'I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive' or bragging about his hot rod — or is it his woman? — on 'Crown Victoria Custom '51,' Lewis is in high gear. He revels in the signatures of his fine madness, tossing random glissandi from his piano and shouting lyrics in a voice scuffed yet steel tipped."[7]

Album appearances

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"Crown Victoria Custom '51" appeared on the following albums:

  • Young Blood, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sire Records, 1995
  • Grooves,[8] Volume Ten, Various Artists, Time-Life Music/BMG, 1996
  • Legends of American Music. Half a Century of Hits, Jerry Lee Lewis, Time-Life Music, 2006

Sources

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  • Bonomo, Joe (2009). Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found. New York: Continuum Books.
  • Tosches, Nick (1982). Hellfire. New York: Grove Press.
  • Gutterman, Jimmy (1991). Rockin' My Life Away: Listening to Jerry Lee Lewis. Nashville: Rutledge Hill Press.
  • Gutterman, Jimmy (1993). The Jerry Lee Lewis Anthology: All Killer, No Filler. Rhino Records.
  • Lewis, Myra; Silver, Murray (1981). Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis. William Morrow/Quill/St. Martin's Press.
  • Legends of American Music. Half a Century of Hits. Jerry Lee Lewis. Time-Life Music. 2006.

References

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