Four Wheels and Six Strings:
A celebration of the car and the guitar
Since Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats
recorded “Rocket 88” in 1951, cars and
music have had an undeniable link. As the
subjects of songs or more recently as eye
candy in music videos, there is something
about four wheels that fits perfectly with
six strings.
Throughout the summer, this connection
has been commemorated in an exhibit
at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn,
Michigan. The exhibit, Rock Stars’ Cars
& Guitars features more than 19 cars and
30 guitars that each represent a piece of
rock history.
The guitars in the exhibit span many different
decades and genres. Two guitars
commemorate Bo Diddley: his personal
“cigar box” guitar and a custom Gretsch
“Billy Bo” model custom-made for ZZ
Top’s Billy Gibbons based on Bo Diddley’s
designs. Other guitars include a 1973 ES-
335TD played and signed by Chuck Berry
and Kirk Hammett of Metallica’s “Skully,”
a black 1987 ESP Custom with skull and
crossbone inlay.
Along with the collection of guitars, the
exhibit brings some of the most iconic
vehicles of album cover and music video
fame together, from the 1932 Ford Phaeton
featured in Van Halen’s 1984 “Hot for
Teacher” video to the true “Little Deuce
Coup” – a heavily-modified 1932 Ford
called “Silver Sapphire” that graced the
cover of the Beach Boys’ classic album.
Some of the rocker-owned wheels on
display are John Lennon’s psychedelic 1965
Rolls-Royce Phantom V and a number of
cars from Billy Gibbons’ personal collection,
including his personally-designed “Cadzilla”
1949 Cadillac.
The exhibit opened to the public on June
9 and ran throughout the summer; it will
wrap up on September 30. A concert
series is also being held at the Henry
Ford Museum to accompany the exhibit.
It kicked off on July 12 with ‘80s alt-rocker
Bob Mould, and has since featured the
family-friendly Candy Band and the Gore
Gore Girls. The final installment of the
series will take place on September 13 and
will feature the Detroit band The Offramps.
The Henry Ford Museum is open seven
days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is $14 for adults, $13 for seniors
and $10 for youth; members and children
four and under are free. The museum is
part of The Henry Ford, a history attraction
that also is home to Greenfield Village, a
historical restoration of Henry Ford’s birthplace,
the Henry Ford IMAX® Theatre, the
Benson Ford Research Center and The
Ford Rougue Factory Tour.
313-982-6001
thehenryford.org