By request, this morning’s CarTune is Marc Cohn’s 1991 tribute to fathers and their automobiles, “Silver Thunderbird.”
Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn broke onto the national music scene in 1991 with a powerful debut album, the eponymous Marc Cohn, and a monster breakout single, “Walking to Memphis,” that seemed to be playing on every radio station at once that year. But lest we forget, the album also featured one finely crafted car song:
Great big fins and painted steel
Man it looked just like the bat mobile
With my old man behind the wheel
In “Silver Thunderbird,” Cohn perfectly captures the time when the identity of a man and his car could be perfectly intertwined: Here was a Thunderbird man, make no mistake. Thank you to Mac’s Motor City Garage reader Harlan Butler for the suggestion—much appreciated. Here’s the artist’s official 1991 video.
I’ve never been much of a fan of a Thunderbirds or Corvettes which are featured prominently in this video. Having said that, I’m a huge fan of the Saturday Morning Car Tune! Thanks for sharing.
Wasn’t going to listen to it, but glad I did. Mr. Cohn has a nice voice, the song is neat, and the video of the little boy and his dad is great. Thanks!
I have to wonder why a song about a silver Thunderbird features a silver ‘57 Corvette, but you’re right Mac, this is a great song, and a worthy addition to Saturday Morning Cartunes.
When I was in High School, my parents had a 1957 silver T-bird, my Mom’s car actually. I couldn’t wait to drive it. I remember that I turned 16 on a Tuesday, got my licence the next Saturday. I came home from school on Monday and they had sold the car. I was devastated.