Old Car Made in '52

Most sources believe that Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher basically took over vocal duties for almost all of the recordings by the Rip Chords after Hey Little Cobra and Other Hot Rod Hits.  Allmusic claims that Phil Stewart (who has a distinctive bass/baritone voice) was the vocalist on only two songs on Three Window Coupe, the band’s second album – “Bonneville Bonnie” and “Old Car Made in ’52” – and that Ernie Bringas didn’t perform at all on the album.  However, Bringas insists that all four vocalists collaborated as to who would handle the singing, and that the hit song “Hey Little Cobra” is about the only song where neither he nor Stewart sang at all.  

 

(July 2011)