Jesse Lee Shibley, known as Arkie Shibley (21 September 1914 – September 1975) was an American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

singer who recorded the original version of "

Hot Rod Race "Hot Rod Race" is a Western swing song about a fictional automobile race in San Pedro, California, between a Ford and a Mercury. Released in November 1950, it broke the ground for a series of hot rod songs recorded for the car culture of the 1950 ...

" in 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."'' Shibley was born in

Van Buren, Arkansas Van Buren ( ) is the second-largest city in the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area and the county seat of Crawford County, Arkansas, United States. The city is located directly northeast of Fort Smith at the Interstat ...

, United States. After relocating he acquired the nickname "Arkie" and, around 1948, began hosting a regular country music show on radio station KBRG in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...

. Although the writing credit for "Hot Rod Race" is given to George Wilson, this may be Shibley's pseudonym. He offered the song to

4 Star Records 4 Star Records was a record label that recorded many well-known country music acts in the 1950s. The label, founded after World War II, was home to singers such as Hank Locklin, Maddox Brothers and Rose, Rose Maddox, Webb Pierce, Cousin Ford Le ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, but was turned down, and Shibley decided to release the song on his own Mountain Dew label. The record was credited to "Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys", the line-up being Shibley on rhythm guitar, Leon Kelley on lead guitar, Jackie Hayes on bass and banjo, and Phil Fregon on fiddle. The record became popular and was reissued on 4 Star's Gilt Edge imprint. Shibley's record raced into the country charts in January 1951, peaking at No. 5, with cover versions on major labels by Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan on Capitol,

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

on Decca and

Tiny Hill Tiny may refer to: Kane Places * Tiny, Ontario, a township in Canada * Tiny, Virginia, an unincorporated community in the US * Tiny Glacier, Wyoming, US Computing * Tiny BASIC, a dialect of the computer programming language BASIC * Tiny Encrypti ...

on Mercury. The Hill version also crossed over to the pop charts (No. 29). In 1951 Shibley recorded four sequels to his hit, all performed in a Woody Guthrie-like talking blues style: "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)". He subsequently disappeared into obscurity. He died in Van Buren, Arkansas, in 1975. "Hot Rod Race" prompted the even more successful

answer song An answer song, response song or answer record, is a song (usually a recorded track) made in answer to a previous song, normally by another artist. The concept became widespread in blues and R&B recorded music in the 1930s to the 1950s. Answer son ...

"Hot Rod Lincoln", a hit for Charlie Ryan (recorded 1955 and 1959, charted 1960, No. 33 pop), Johnny Bond (1960, No. 26 pop) and Commander Cody (1972, No. 9 pop). Shibley's record also directly influenced

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

's "

Maybellene "Maybellene" is a rock and roll song. It was written and recorded in 1955 by Chuck Berry, adapted in part from the Western swing fiddle tune "Ida Red". Berry's song told the story of a hot rod race and a broken romance, the lyrics describing ...

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...

's "Race With The Devil", and the succession of hot rod records by

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

and others in the early 1960s.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shibley, Arkie Western swing performers American country singer-songwriters Four Star Records artists Apex Records artists 1914 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Arkansas Singer-songwriters from Arkansas