Charlie Ryan Died

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Charles Ryan, the musician and songwriter who co-wrote the hit song "Hot Rod Lincoln," died in February 2008 after a long battle with heart disease. He was 92.
Ryan and W.S. Stevenson wrote "Hot Rod Lincoln" and Ryan first recorded it in 1955.

Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen made it a hit in 1972, and it has been a mainstay of 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., on Dec. 19, 1915, grew up in Polson, Mont., and moved to Spokane in 1943. He served in the Army in World War II.
He worked as a musician and songwriter, touring with Jim Reeves, Johnny Horton and others.
The song was inspired by Ryan's commutes in his 1941 Lincoln from Spokane to play gigs at the Paradise Club in Lewiston, Idaho.



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