Just about everyone knows that the guys in ZZ Top are big car guys. It seems like every time you see them they’re not far from a classic street rod. Well, the other night my wife had the pleasure of seeing ZZ Top in concert as part of special VH1 concert that was shot here in Chicago. One of the guys she went with is a big art car guy and he mentioned to her that she had to check out the VW Ball created by ZZ Tops Billy F Gibbons. What an amazing piece of art!
Photos Coker Tire
Jim Morrison led a life of excess and mystery so it’s only fitting that he drove an extravagant car to match his superabundant personality. It’s also fitting that his Shelby GT500 disappeared in 1969, never to be seen again.
Rumor has it that Electra records bought Jim the Nightmist Blue 1967 Shelby GT500 for the work done on the self titled debut album by The Doors. One story explaining the cars disappearance had Morrison hitting a telephone pole on the way to the Whisky-A-Go-Go. Frustrated, he walked the rest of the way to the club and either never returned to the accident scene or never followed up with the towing company. Another story had him parking the car at Los Angeles International Airport where the car was left for a long period of time while Morrison traveled. Upon his return the car had been towed and sold at public auction.
What does survive is Morrison’s registration card and footage of Morrison driving his Shelby hard through the desert in an experimental film shot in 1969.
Ernie Banks is my all time favorite baseball player. I truly believe that he may be the happiest man on the face of the earth. His eternal optimism and perpetual smile to anyone who has never followed him would at first probably seem like an act. But for someone who has followed him for 40 years I can tell you that Ernie’s happiness is sincere.
Ernie played in an era where ballplayers would work during the off season to pick up a few extra bucks. Some guys worked construction, others dug graves, anything to make some money. Ernie Banks sold Plymouths and I bet he was good at it. With Ernie’s charm, I could see him turning a Valiant looker into a Fury buyer in no time.
The pictures here were taken on November 4th 1959. Ernie was working that day when he found out he was named the National League MVP for the second straight year. You can see Ernie sitting in a Valiant reading the press release about his MVP award. I’ll bet Ernie sold a few Furys that day!
It was 50 years ago today that Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as “The Big Bopper” died tragically in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. Holly only owned one car in his life, a 1958 Impala that he had his friend and agent Norman Petty purchase on December 18, 1957 from Meadors-Stewart Chevrolet in Clovis, New Mexico. Holly purchased the car so he could have safe transportation for the 100 mile commute between Holly’s home in Lubbock,Texas and the recording studio in Clovis. The car cost a total of $2627.51. It was in Clovis where Holly reportedly tossed his keys to a fellow musician telling him he could use the car until he returned from his tour.
Here is the story of Holly’s Impala that resurfaced several years ago:
