Music Matters

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Writer of "Hot Rod Lincoln" moves to drag race in the sky
By The Associated Press

SPOKANE — Charles Ryan, the Spokane man who co-wrote the hit song "Hot Rod Lincoln," has died at the age of 92.

Ryan died Saturday after a long battle with heart disease.

Ryan and W.S. Stevenson wrote "Hot Rod Lincoln" and Ryan recorded it in 1955. It was recorded many times since.

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen made it a hit in 1972, and it has been a mainstay of the popular culture for decades. The song passed the 1 million-play mark in the summer of 2000, according to Broadcast Music Inc.

Ryan was born in Graceville, Minn., in 1915, grew up in Montana and moved to Spokane in 1943.