Brand New Cadillac

In this episode, we go for a wild ride with a golden oldie that still smells factory fresh, "Brand New Cadillac" by Vince Taylor & His Playboys (1:53). Hear how this 1959 bopper is a "crossroads", deal-with-the-devil ditty, as signalled by the otherwordly opening string strumming. In 1964, The Renegades took the song to Finland, renaming it  "Cadillac" and passing it off as an original - a clearcut case of grand theft auto (1:01:04) !! This model goes from 0 to 95 in seconds,  flirting with near-silence before they put the pedal to the metal. In 1971, Mungo Jerry also performed a heist, making it to #1 in England (the song's birthplace) with a cool chop-shop job called "Baby Jump" - the very definition of a stomper  (1:27:21).  The end of our journey comes with The Clash, who put the vampy vehicle in pole position for their 1979 album, "London Calling" (2:00:57). But which tune will take the victory lap after winning the coveted Grand Prix, the Bo Diddley Award? and will the tires come off before we get there?!?!