George Frayne IV, better known as Commander Cody (he of The Lost Planet Airmen), has driven his hot-rod Lincoln into the sunset. He was 77.
“Hot Rod Lincoln” cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Top 100 in 1972. But my personal fave from the Commander and his Airmen was “Seeds and Stems (Again),” for some reason. Also, “Lost in the Ozone.”
George got the band’s name from an old Republic Pictures serial, but never thought he’d wind up becoming the Commander.
“I was watching the ‘Lost Planet Airmen’ movie and I saw the Commander Cody character and I thought it would be a great name for a band,” he said. “I had no idea anyone was going to have to be Commander Cody. I mean, there’s no Lynyrd Skynyrd. There’s no Steely Dan. There’s no Marshall Tucker. Why did there have to be a Commander Cody?”
But there did, and there was, and now he is no more. Smoke ’em if you got ’em. But not while you’re driving your hot-rod Lincoln, please.
Mad Blog Media 
September 29, 2021 at 3:09 pm |
Stealin’ At The Seven Eleven was my fab. RIP Comander!!
September 29, 2021 at 7:01 pm |
I grew up with Commando Cody TV reruns in the late 1950’s. Dude could fly and shit, and the re- used his rocket ship models for Flash Gordon serials. Who could forget Wang the Perverted, uh, I meant Ming The Merciless?
September 29, 2021 at 7:55 pm |
R. I. P. Commander Cody.
Bit it was Master of the Telecaster Bill Kirchen who wrote “Hot Rod Lincoln “ and whose classic Fender sound drove that band.
September 30, 2021 at 7:09 am |
Actually, it seems “Hot Rod Lincoln” began life as a 1955 rockabilly number by Charlie Ryan, then mutated a time or two before Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen got hold of it. They covered a lot of oddball music from Back in the Day®.
September 30, 2021 at 7:40 am |
i think ‘asleep at the wheel’ covered it also.
September 30, 2021 at 1:25 pm |
They did. Saw them play it in Milwackie, Wi in the late seventies. Lost Planet Airmen had more energy IMHO.
September 30, 2021 at 6:50 am |
I saw them back in the early 80’s at a festival in Orlando. We were there to see Dickie Betts. I was probably in 10th grade? Chuck Berry played but he was not that great. I think Foghat was there also. My friend’s mom drove us there and dropped us off. So long ago. I need to listen to some of CC & TLPA other than Hot Rod Lincoln.
September 30, 2021 at 7:22 am |
I saw Foghat and Jeff Beck about a thousand years ago at the old City Aud in Bibleburg, if memory serves. I recall seeing a bunch of John Laws snatch up some dudes for smoking weed and thought, “Seriously? What the hell did they think was gonna be going on at a rock concert? Tea-sipping?”
Later I figured it was probably more about the chance of a fatal and catastrophic conflagration than fear of the Demon Weed. That old shitheap was a total firetrap.
September 30, 2021 at 10:29 am |
Oh, man. They keep checking out. Talked to my old man yesterday on his finishing his 87th lap around the sun. He said at one point “how did I get this old?!” I guess it happens and then you go out the exit door at some point.
October 2, 2021 at 1:49 pm |
Pete Thought you might like to see Shady O’Grady’s eulogy for CC.
Chris
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