The Mercedes-Benz S-Class is the most mentioned car in music. Image credit: Mercedes-Benz
Luxury vehicles are the most popular cars mentioned in song lyrics across several musical genres, with German automaker Mercedes-Benz the most name-dropped brand.
Music and cars have been linked together since radio became a popular medium in the 1930s, so it is of little surprise that cars from Corvettes to Thunderbirds have been mentioned in songs over the decades. Gold Eagle analyzed lyrics to more than 100,00 songs to determine how many mentioned cars and automakers.
Auto's biggest hits
More than 72,000 songs by 13,000 different artists mention cars or car-related terms, according to Gold Eagle. Search terms included "cars," "coupe," "whip," "truck" and "4×4," as well as car brands and models such as "Bentley," "Ford," "Mustang," "Chevrolet" and more.
Mercedes was the most mentioned automaker with 4,746 song appearances, followed by Cadillac's 2,923 songs and Bentley's 1,400 songs. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class was also the most mentioned vehicle, beating out other popular models the Cadillac Escalade and Lincoln Navigator.
Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac and Bentley were the most mentioned automakers. Image credit: Gold Eagle
Of the top 100 musicians who mentioned cars in their lyrics, 94 percent were rappers or hip-hop artists. American rapper Lil Wayne has referenced cars 340 times in his catalog, making him music's top car lover.
Rounding out the top five are Jay-Z, Snoop Dog, Nas and Gucci Mane. Nas out-raps everyone about Mercedes, while Gucci Mane most frequently mentions Bentley.
The Cadillac Escalade was one of the more popular models in music. Image credit: Cadillac
Outside of hip-hop, Bruce Springsteen has 88 car references in his songs, with Ford being his most-mentioned automaker.
Artists from all genres analyzed — from rock, pop, country to folk — mentioned cars to an extent. Other notable musicians appearing in the top 100 include Johnny Cash, Prince, Elton John, Iggy Pop and the Beach Boys.
Automakers and artists
Luxury carmakers know that music is a central component of successful marketing efforts, often turning to classic songs to feature in advertisements.
Some brands go a step further, however, and enlist artists as ambassadors for their campaigns.
U.S. automaker Lincoln’s First Listen series has made a point of bringing together inspiring artists who are debuting new songs with the brand’s collection of cars for behind-the-scenes looks at both.
Lincoln partnered with Grammy-winning R&B singer Ne-Yo for a look at its 2018 Lincoln Navigator. For this video, Ne-Yo debuted the song “Good Man” alongside the Lincoln Navigator.
In this iteration of the campaign, Ne-Yo spoke about the inspiration for his track, why he chose to write it and what it means to him.
Additionally, the campaign’s association between the Navigator and music played up one of the main features of the car: Lincoln Play. Lincoln Play is a mobile application that controls the car’s entire entertainment system, allowing drivers to stream music and passengers in the backseat to watch movies or play games (see story).
British automaker Jaguar similarly collaborated with singer-songwriter Dua Lipa to demonstrate how its newest vehicle is pushing the boundaries of technology.
Ms. Lipa test drove the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace, and the data captured by Jaguar's software was used to create a remix of her newest song, "Want To." To further engage fans through co-creation, Jaguar is encouraging them to create their own remixes and share them on social media.
Each vehicle in Jaguar’s Pace suite is equipped with thousands of intelligent sensors that collect data designed to improve the driving experience, including driving style and speed. For Ms. Lipa's own remix, information about her acceleration and braking habits and energy consumption while driving the I-Pace influenced the track's tempo and arrangement (see story).