The Southern California band known as the Rip Chords is known by most gearheads for their famous car jam Hey Little Cobra. The group cranked out a ton of great car songs during their heyday in the middle 1960s when young men around the country cared more about their hot rods, muscle cars, who was winning on the ovals and drag strips, and horsepower than virtually anything else. Rather than go with the low hanging fruit of Hey Little Cobra (which is a GREAT song!) we decided to go one better and highlight their lesser known song Trophy Machine. We dig this one more because it calls out a few of the most famous tracks in So Cal like Riverside and San Bernardino and it takes a direct swipe at the Beach Boys with the line about beating the Little Deuce Coupe. That is fantastic stuff! Like lots of bands, the Rip Chords had a pretty short life span, breaking up in 1965 (shortly after infamously turning down the opportunity to record the Brian Wilson song Help Me Rhonda which the Beach Boys took to number one).
Press play for two minutes of great gearhead tunage!
…..ummm, are those guys standing at a urinal?
‘Nuther one I don’t know! Remember singin’ Hey Little Cobra under the shade tree in my front yard, listening to the radio (AM!) and playing guitar with a broom!