Your favourite musician probably has a signature thing. Slash’s top hat, James Brown’s cape, Flavor Flav’s clock, Willie Nelson’s beat-up acoustic guitar, Roy Orbison’s black clothing and glasses, Steven Tyler’s mic-stand scarves, Alice Cooper’s eye makeup…
But the truth is, these stars usually have a lot of signature things. They’re rich. They can afford the nice stuff they want. One of those things is cars — even if they don’t personally drive them.
There’s a bit in Mike Nesmith’s memoir Infinite Tuesday, where he talks about his second visit with John Lennon. The first time Nesmith had a playdate with Lennon, he was picked up in John’s 20-foot-long, black 1964 Rolls Royce Phantom V and brought to the recording session for A Day In The Life. But, the second time he visited, he was invited to John and Cynthia Lennon’s home, Kenwood. During this visit, Lennon suddenly asked if The Monkees member wanted to see his car, and led him to the garage where the Phantom V sat, freshly repainted in psychedelic colours and patterns to coincide with the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Lennon got the repainted car on May 25, 1967 and took it for its inaugural ride three days later. The car was custom-built for Lennon — one of only 518 built between 1959 and 1968. He had it modified several times after he first received it in June 1965. By December of that year, Lennon had the backseat replaced with one that could fold into a bed, a turntable and 8-track player, big ashtrays in the armrests, a Sony TV, a PA system and radio-telephone. In the spring of 1967, he had it repainted in its famous psychedelic design.
The car was donated by Lennon and Yoko Ono in late 1977, in exchange for a tax credit. Six years later it was purchased by Canadian billboard magnate Jim Pattison, who used it to promote Expo 86. He then donated it to the province of British Columbia. It is currently housed at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria.
So, I decided to put together a list of the iconic automobiles of your favourite, famous musicians.
Janis Joplin | 1965 Porsche 356 SC
Origin: Janis bought it used from a San Francisco dealership in 1968.
Features: Hand-painted History of the Universe by Big Brother & the Holding Company roadie David Richards for $500.
Where is it now: Who knows. Was stored for years at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland until sold at auction to an undisclosed buyer in 2016 for $1.75 million.
Blues Brothers | 1974 Dodge Monaco Police Intercepter aka The Bluesmobile
Origin: Part of the 1980 film The Blues Brothers. One of 13 vehicles used in the film to portray The Bluesmobile.
Features: 440 Magnum engine, painted up as a Mount Prospect police cruiser.
Where is it now: Most were destroyed, but one surviving film car is on display at Volo Museum Auto Sales in Illinois, an hour north of Chicago.
Elvis Presley | 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood Sixty Special
Origin: Elvis bought it new on July 5, 1955 to replace his pink 1954 Cadillac that burned.
Features: Originally blue with a black roof, Elvis paid his neighbour to repaint the car pink with a black roof, later a white roof. He drove the car, which he dubbed Elvis Rose, for a year and gave it to his mother.
Where is it now: Graceland Museum, Memphis.
John Bonham | 1915 Custom Ford Model T C-Cab Panel Truck
Origin: Bonham bought it in 1971 or 1972, while on tour with Led Zeppelin in California.
Features: Rebuilt, designed and painted as a hot rod by Andy Brizio in 1971, dubbed Andy’s Instant T. Bonham spent the current equivalent of $25K to ship it home to the U.K. and drove it in the 1976 film The Song Remains The Same.
Where is it now: Sold at auction for around $350,000 in 2017, it is back in the U.S. with a private owner.
The Monkees | Modified 1966 Pontiac GTO Cconvertible
Origin: Designed and built for The Monkees TV show by Dean Jeffries from two 1966 Pontiac GTO 389 four-barrel convertibles.
Features: Had a custom split windshield, canopy top, parachute, modified fenders, quarter panels and taillights, and special bucket seats. Two cars were built — one for the show and one for promotions. The show vehicle was nearly impossible to drive because it had a 6-71 supercharger and no rear springs so it could pop wheelies. It was too powerful. The second car was built from Major Nelson’s I Dream Of Jeannie GTO.
Where is it now: The TV car was left in Australia while The Monkees were on tour in 1968. It turned up in Puerto Rico where it was being used as a hotel courtesy car. The car was sold at a government auction for $5 in 1992 when the hotel went under. It is now with a private collector in New Jersey. The promotional show car was purchased by custom car designing legend, George Barris who sold it in 2008 to a private collector in Michigan for $360,000.
Neil Young | 1948 Buick Roadmaster Hearse & 1953 Pontiac Chieftain Hearse
Origin: Neil acquired his first hearse in the early ’60s when he was still playing with The Mynah Birds and gave it the nickname Mortimer Hearseburg, aka Mort (get it?). It broke down in 1965 and was replaced with Mort II, a 1953 Pontiac, which he and Bruce Palmer drove to California
Features: Large rear door and coffin rollers for easy loading of amps and gear
Where is it now: Mort Sr. broke down in Blind River as Neil was trying to either get on or off the Manitoulin Island ferry. The Pontiac broke down not long after arriving in California, and was abandoned on Sunset Boulevard in 1966. Young paid tribute to it in his song Long May You Run, as that was the hearse he was spotted in by Stephen Stills, who then invited him and Bruce Palmer to join Buffalo Springfield. The original Mort was sold at auction to a collector in 2017. It was refurbished with rear fender skirts, gold and blue velvet curtains, and a Shit Happens bumper sticker.
Keith Moon | 1972 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS
Origin: The Who drummer and his mechanic buddy Dougall Butler split the cost of the sports car. Just a few weeks after getting it, Moon took it to his local pub The Golden Grove. There he decided it would be a perfectly fine idea to let a group of bikers take it for a spin. They crashed it into a road construction ditch and fled.
Features: Considered one of the best sports cars of the 1970s, it was the first car to be mass-produced by Ferrari. There were just under 1300 of the GTS models made.
Where is it now: There was no owner registered to the car after 1972, so it likely got scrapped.
Nick Mason | 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO
Origin: One of only 36 ever made, Mason bought the purpose-built race car for £37,000 in 1978. Officially it is #3757GT, and practically its every movement can be traced. Mason’s 3757GT made its competition debut at the June 1962 LeMans 24 Hours event. It finished third overall in the hands of Jean Blaton and Léon Dernier. It also finished third in the Tour de France later that same year. It was sold in 1963 and raced in Belgian hillclimbs, and then to a Brit who retired it from competition in 1966.
Features: 2953cc V12 engine. Five-speed manual transmission. Top speed 170 mph — zero to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds.
Where is it now: In Mason’s collection, along with several other Ferraris like an F40, a GTB/4 Daytona, the 312 T3 in which Gilles Villeneuve won the 1978 Canadian Grand Prix, and the same 512S racer from the 1971 Steve McQueen film LeMans. Mason still runs the cars in events and loans it out for showcases. It’s worth upwards of £50 million.
Bruce Springsteen | 1960 Corvette C1
Origin: The Boss used his Born To Run earnings to splurge on the car — buying it from an ice cream stand attendant for $6,000 in 1977. You can see it on the cover of his memoir Born To Run.
Features: 4.6 litre V8 engine boasting 230 hp and the ability to go from 0-60 mph in 7.6 seconds. Curved windshield, convertible.
Where is it now: Bruce still owns it, but has loaned it to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
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Area Resident is an Ottawa-based journalist, recording artist, music collector and re-seller. Hear (and buy) his music on Bandcamp, email him HERE, follow him on Instagram and check him out on Discogs.
