I am writing this column shortly after the conclusion of the 6th Biennial Automotive History Conference, held at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana. It was a most successful conference, the details of which are described elsewhere in this issue of the Journal. Twenty different papers were presented at the SAH-sponsored sessions, with speakers from such diverse locales as Alabama, California, Texas, and South Africa. Two of these sessions especially caught my eye, or rather my ear.

In a paper devoted to the evolution of the eight-cylinder engine, Bud Gardner provided two "musical interludes" as he described them. In the first, he compared the sound of an in-line, eight-cylinder engine to the Big Band sound of the 1930s and 1940s. In the second, the more robust sound of the V-8 was compared to one of Chuck Berry's songs of the 1950s. In both cases, Gardner cleverly overlaid the actual music and the sounds of the engine to form a type of duet.

Then, in a session devoted to the automotive psychology present in Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 film Vertigo, Dave Duricy noted how that legendary British director matched an appropriate car to each of the movie's main characters, and how he used engine sounds to advance the storyline. As an example of the latter, the sound of Midge's (Barbara Bel Geddes) Karmann Ghia's exhaust pipe expresses her disapproval of the behavior of Scotty (James Stewart) as she exits the scene after seeing him with her nemesis, Madeleine (Kim Novak).

While obviously not the key element of either paper, the inclusion of automotive sounds in both presentations reminded me of an aspect of automotive history that has been comparatively understudied: the sounds and music associated with cars and motoring.

Even in an area where you would expect such study, that of the automobile's influence on, and portrayal in, popular music, there has been relatively little written. While I believe there have been related articles in mass-circulation magazines and auto enthusiast publications, there has been no book-length, scholarly treatment of the subject. In fact, I know of only three books that devote attention to it. Jan Jennings' Roadside America, contains a chapter by E.L. Widmer entitled "Crossroads: The Automobile, Rock and Roll, and Democracy," in which the author maintains that "the automobile has exerted a hypnotic hold on the imaginations of popular songwriters" and traces that development from 1900 to the 1950s music of Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley. The Popular Culture Reader, edited by Jack Nachbar et al., includes a chapter entitled "Croonin' and Cruisin'", in which John L. Wright shows how the automobile from its inception was a "vehicle of musical inspiration" for popular songs, including blues, rock, and country music, and how that expression changed to mirror the times. In many respects, that brief chapter could serve as the outline for a full-blown monograph. Finally, The Automobile and American Culture, edited by former SAH president David L. Lewis and Laurence Goldstein, contains a chapter entitled "Motivatin' with Chuck Berry and Frederick Jackson Turner," in which Warren Belasco draws parallels between the freedom and escape provided by the open road, as epitomized in the lyrics of Berry's songs (especially "Maybellene), and Turner's thesis that the existence of the frontier West up to the 1890s provided a safety valve for the pressures of civilization.

This paucity of material on the subject is somewhat surprising, given the long association between motoring and musical composition. For instance, shortly after the turn of the century, songs such as " In My Merry Oldsmobile" received national exposure. Later, tunes like Bobby Troup's 1940's classic ballad urged us to "get your kicks on route 66" and, when popularized by Nat King Cole, added another dimension to the transformation of that highway into a piece of American folklore. Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88," referring naturally to the Oldsmobile model of the 1950s and 1960s, was a song destined to reach first place on the rhythm and blues charts and to make a contribution to the birth of rock and roll. These songs were joined by such other popular hits as "Little Nash Rambler" and "Hot Rod Lincoln." Recognizing the influence of cars on popular music, the Ford Motor Company donated $250,000 to the creation of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

The automobile has even found its way into the world of classical music. For instance, Robert Moran, an avant-garde composer, has written a composition entitled "39 Minutes for 39 Autos," which, among other objects, calls for the use of thirty-nine auto horns and the autos themselves, and another piece called "Titus," which requires an "amplified automobile and players." Similarly, one John Adams has composed "A Short Ride in a Fast Machine," a brief orchestral work. Others no doubt exist.

Like most inanimate objects, the motorcar can appeal to many of our human senses. We can talk and write a great deal about the look of a classic car, discuss the feel of driving a particular marque, and enjoy the smell of a new car. Therefore, why can't we seriously study how we hear automobiles, both in terms of the sounds they make and the popular and classical music that echoes and influences our experience with them?

- Mike Berger, SAH President