Hot Rod Heart

Background

“Hot Rod Heart” is the second track on Blue Moon Swamp, the fifth solo album of John Fogerty. It came out in May 1997. The cut was written, produced and arranged by John Fogerty, engineered by John Lowson and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The album peaked at #37 in the USA, #1 in Sweden, #1 in Finland and #8 in Australia. It also won Best Rock Album at the 40th Grammy Awards in 1998.

It took years for Fogerty to get "Hot Rod Heart" right as he reflected to Michael Goldberg a couple of weeks before the release of the album in May 1997: "I had the working title of "Hot Rod Heart" for probably eight or nine years, believe it or not. One day I was in my little music room going through different chord changes because that's how I usually write, with a guitar. I get a chord progression or a riff or guitar lick to shake the song around. And I was going pretty well with it. I could hear the sound and a bunch of titles went through my head. I said, how about "Hot Rod Heart?" Because I tried and failed a bunch of times with that. I started the thing going. And when I got to the line "We could put the top down/ Listen to the radio," I went, "Yeah, okay," because that described everything for me. I knew the picture or image I had in my mind would work with the music. The song is describing what to me is a ride down a long two-lane highway in the middle of the desert but at night. The moon's out or the stars...it's clear. It's not a hurricane. But you got the top down. I don't even know if you're with somebody but you're listening to the radio and you're cruisin', you're groovin' (Michael Goldberg, Addicted to Noise, May 3rd, 1997).

Personnel

Guitars, vocals: John Fogerty

Bass: Bob Glaub

Drums: Kenny Aronoff

Handclaps: Ryan Freeland & John Fogerty

Drummer Kenny Aronoff came to Blue Moon Swamp sessions in 1995. "Hot Rod Heart" is one of the five cuts on the album where he contributed with a drum track (John Fogerty, Fortunate Son, 2015).  

Collector's notes

“Hot Rod Heart” was also released as a promotional CD single (WB PRO CD 9057) in the USA (Peter Koers, Green River, 1999). 

Live versions

"Hot Rod Heart" is one of the most regular numbers in John Fogerty concerts. He added the song to his set list on the Blue Moon Swamp World Tour in 1997, starting at the Fillmore in San Francisco on May 18th, 1997.

After recording a new version of the song for Wrote a Song or Everyone with Brad Paisley in 2013, he changed the arrangement on the North American Tour in autumn 2013 so that it's closer to the remake than the original take. 

Fogerty has performed "Hot Rod Heart" live in several TV shows, including:

• Concert at Lollipop Festival in Stockholm, Sweden (Swedish TV), summer 1997

• Hard Rock Live (VH1, USA), August 3rd, 1997

• Late Show with David Letterman (CBS, USA), September 11th and November 12th, 1997

• Farm Aid (USA), October 4th, 1997

• Concert of the Century - Motown Live (USA), October 23rd, 1998

• Austin City Limits (PBS, USA), October 8th, 2004

• Concert at the Legendary Buffalo Chip in Sturgis, SD, USA (AXS-TV, USA), August 11th, 2011.

• John Fogerty Birthday Bash Concert at El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles (AXS-TV, USA), May 28th, 2013. 

• Concert at New Orleans Jazz Festival (AXS-TV, USA), May 4th, 2014

He has also deliered  "Hot Rod Heart" live in a couple of radio shows:

• Roskilde Festival in Denmark on June 26th, 1997. The show was recorded by Radio Denmark and broadcast partially in Nordic countries in the same summer. 

• Beacon Theatre in New York in the first Cosmo's Factory and Green River album concerts broadcast live by Sirius XM satellite radio in the USA on November 17th and 18th, 2011. 

• Live at WAXQ/Q104.3 in New York on May 23rd, 2013. 

"Hot Rod Heart" is also included in two John Fogerty concert DVDs:  Premonition (1998) and The Long Road Home (2006). 

Soundboard recordings of the John Fogerty concerts as per autumn 2013 were officially made available for the public as files.    

An extraordinary live versions of "Hot Rod Heart" was heard at the Brad Paisley concert in Mountain View in California on August 23rd, 2013, when John Fogerty joined the stage for the duet. Fogerty also played the song live with Sound City Players in Austin, Texas, on March 16th, 2013. 

Critical reception

"Fogerty has  become so  much a  part of  history that  he can't  see the  clichés for the hype, and so, to the melody of "California Sun," he writes of driving on "wheels on fire" as he blazes down the desert road in a convertible at midnight ---." -Robert Wilonsky, The Dallas Observer, June 5th, 1997. 

"'Hot Rod Heart,' for example, is a formulaic boogie. Mind you, it's a good formula and well-executed, but there's nothing special about it." -Grant Alden, The Rolling Stone, June 12th, 1997. 

Fans' views

"Great construction of the intro and transition to the driving rhythme. I enjoy it sooo much to sing along. Everytime I hear that song I see my self sitting in a BIG car driving in the moonlight with alot of goodlooking girls. When the guitar solos are coming I see the car driving on curvy roads. Absolutely the top."

"Reminds me of how much fun my Chevy Corvette always is!!"

"This is just classic R&R at it's ultimate best. The best car song just above Hot Rod Lincoln. HRH is a classic crank it up in your car rock & roll song. It flat out rocks, crank it up and play it loud in the car, baby!!"

The 2013 remake

John Fogerty recorded a remake of "Hot Rod Heart" with country artist Brad Paisley in 2012. It was released on Fogerty's collaboration album Wrote a Song for Everyone which came out in May 2013. It was Paisley's idea to to have a     "[guitar] shoot-out on Main Street" on this version (Thom Duffy, Interview with John Fogerty, The Billboard, February 14th, 2013).