Rolls-Royce is The King Of Pop Music
When it comes to pop culture music references, Rolls-Royce is king.
The stars truly prefer to park the Benz, just to ride the Wraith. Cars have been an iconic part of music for decades. Rolls Royce, in particular, have already enjoyed their fair share of exposure. Most famously, there’s the story of The Who’s iconic drummer Kieth Moon driving his Rolls Royce into a swimming pool during a fit of Rock ‘n Roll debauchery. It’s a story that’s become a legend. But it’s also a complete myth:
“Moon did not drive a Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool, but he did drive a Chrysler Wimbledon into an ornamental pond.”
– Roger Daltrey, Lead Singer, The Who.
Kieth Moon and his car collection. There’s a story behind that Ferrari Dino.
That’s not to say Moon didn’t have epic moments with Rollers. The swimming pool incident appears to be a conflation of two separate stories:
“Keith Moon driving a Rolls-Royce into a swimming pool is an erroneous conflation of two incidents. In one, he left the handbrake off, and the car rolled into a pool, which was under construction and waterless. In the other, he charged a new car to the band, who refused to foot the bill, so Moon drove into a muddy pond in his garden and called the dealer to pick it up.”
– Pete Townshend, Guitarist, The Who.
Here in 2017 and according to Bloomberg News, Rolls Royce are not just the most referenced automotive brand in popular music. They’re the most referenced of all brands. Looking at the music that made it into Billboard’s Hot 100 over the past three years, Bloomberg have put together an ordered list of brands mentioned. Seven out of eight brands on that list are automotive. In second place is Ferrari and in third is Hennessy whiskey, but after that comes Porsche, Chevrolet, Bentley, and Cadillac. Sandwiched between Jordans and Rolex is Mercedes Benz.
Historically, music has embraced the car as a symbol of freedom or excitement. Songs written about cars in general and driving specifically are legion. Generally, country music embraces the truck; hip-hop and rap love luxury, and rock stars and sports cars have always been heavily linked. Music has also bred some serious enthusiasts with money to spend. Particularly when it comes to drummers.
Nick Mason, drummer for Pink Floyd, with his Ferrari 250 GTO. He definitely hasn’t driven it into a pool.
Recently, name checking a brand has become shorthand for bragging about money or aspirations of wealth. For automotive companies, it can also be product placement when used as a shorthand for wealth. Rolls Royce certainly doesn’t mind loaning a car when it works as an advertisement. That makes good business sense when 20% of Rolls Royce sales are to entertainment A-listers.
When it comes to brands mentioned over a longer period, AutoNation Drive have already done their homework. Earlier this year, they scraped songmeanings.com for song lyrics with car-related terms. Chevrolet topped that list, and Rolls Royce didn’t make the top 10. Second place goes to Mercedes-Benz, third and fourth place are Cadillac and Jeep. They are followed by Dodge, Ford, Lincoln, Mitsubishi, Buick, and Honda.
It appears a mixture of hip-hop and rap artists are responsible for Rolls Royce’s popularity in music over recent years, but Chevrolet have crossed the styles, the decades, and the generations.
Do you have a favorite song that talks about a specific car or brand? Let us know in the comments.
