Thursday Tuning: "455 Rocket" By Kathy Mattea

Not every song written about our favorite make has been a fan favorite, in fact there are just as many haters of the Bowtie world as there are supporters. Perhaps it’s because they’ve been beaten by a Chevy and now they’re bitter, or maybe it’s just that some are intimidated or even insulted by the pursuit of perfection.

Either way, if you’re a fan of ’90s Country then one of two things will be true of our featured entry: either you’ll celebrate it because it’s a testament to the decade’s Country Western scene or you’ll loathe it because it’s a stone-throwing party in which one of our favorite GM muscle classics has become the central target.

Contemporary Country artist, Kathy Mattea had no problems casting a stone or two at Chevy’s beloved A-body, the car that Mattea’s speaker describes as a “junk pile piece of shhh-velle,” and apparently the sled that dared to get in a stoplight brawl with the likes of “Mr. Smith’s baby blue Oldsmobile.”

Mattea’s 1997 single, “455 Rocket” was featured on her album, Love Travels and for as much of a Chevelle bash as it may have been, the song actually made it to #21 on Billboard’s “Hot Country Singles & Tracks” chart for that year, probably because Billboard has a panel made of up Bowtie enthusiasts or else someone just had enough common sense to know better.

Mr. Smith’s baby blue Olds may have been big in Kathy Mattea’s “winner’s circle,” but as far as the Bowtie world is concerned the “leaking oil” and “airplane” noises of the “455 Rocket” may just have been the Chevelle gods’ way of putting karma into action!