Arkie Shibley, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetArkie Shibley
American country singer
Date of Birth: 21-Sep-1914
Place of Birth: Van Buren, Arkansas, United States
Date of Death: 01-Jan-1975
Profession: songwriter
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Virgo 
About Arkie Shibley
- Jesse Lee Shibley, known as Arkie Shibley (21 September 1914 – September 1975) was an American country singer who recorded the original version of "Hot Rod Race" in 1950.
- The record was important because "it introduced automobile racing into popular music and underscored the car's relevance to American culture, particularly youth culture."Shibley was born in Van Buren, Arkansas.
- After relocating he acquired the nickname "Arkie" and, around 1948, began hosting a regular country music show on radio station KBRG in Bremerton, Washington. Although the writing credit for "Hot Rod Race" is given to George Wilson, this may be Shibley's pseudonym.
- He offered the song to 4 Star Records in Los Angeles, but was turned down, and Shibley decided to release the song on his own Mountain Dew label.
- The record was credited to "Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys", the line-up being Shibley on rhythm guitar, Leon Kelley on lead guitar, Jackie Hayes on bass and banjo, and Phil Fregon on fiddle. The record became popular and was reissued on 4 Star's Gilt Edge imprint.
- Shibley's record raced into the country charts in January 1951, peaking at # 5, with cover versions on major labels by Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan on Capitol, Red Foley on Decca and Tiny Hill on Mercury.
- The Hill version also crossed over to the pop charts (# 29). In 1951 Shibley recorded four sequels to his hit, all performed in a Woody Guthrie-like talking blues style: "Hot Rod Race # 2", "Arkie Meets the Judge (Hot Rod Race # 3)", "The Guy in the Mercury (Hot Rod Race # 4)" and "The Kid in the Model A (Hot Rod Race # 5)".
- He subsequently disappeared into obscurity.
- He died in Van Buren, Arkansas, in 1975. "Hot Rod Race" prompted the even more successful answer song "Hot Rod Lincoln", a hit for Charlie Ryan (recorded 1955 and 1959, charted 1960, # 33 pop), Johnny Bond (1960, # 26 pop) and Commander Cody (1972, # 9 pop).
- Shibley's record also directly influenced Chuck Berry's "Maybellene", Gene Vincent's "Race With The Devil", and the succession of hot rod records by the Beach Boys and others in the early 1960s.
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