The Perfect Playlist for Cruising in Your Mustang

1. Wilson Pickett: Mustang Sally

We looked for a cooler version of Mustang Sally and there wasn't one, that says a lot about the bar set by Wilson Pickett's original. According to the lyrics, he bought Sally a brand new 1965 Mustang, and all she wanted to do was run around. That tells us one of two things: either you can't buy love, or it takes a least a Shelby H-car to rent it.

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The Chesterfield Kings: Shelby GT 356

Is this a song about a Mustang or a Porsche 356? Is it a song about an inline-6-swapped Shelby? Is it a song about a bored-out 351? Maybe they didn't want to get sued by Shelby Inc. Whatever the explanation, Shelby GT356 off of the 1994 album Surfin' Rampage, could easily pass for Jan and Dean Era surf rock, so we'll give The Chesterfield Kings a pass. They sing about beating a 409, and going "zero to a hundred in a quarter mile." Where's that put their E.T? In the 14s, depending on the rear end gears?

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3. The Fantastic Baggys/Rally Packs: Move Out Little Mustang

Nineteen Sixties surf rockers The Fantastic Baggys, known as the Rally Packs when they recorded Move Out Little Mustang, bring us this pleasant little story about their Mustang getting beat by a woman driving a '57 T-Bird. "When a chick shuts you down it makes you look bad," they complain. But since she was attractive they decided it was totally cool to chase her down and try to put the moves on her— the stuff of '60s songs... and modern-day police blotters.

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4. The Zip Codes: Run Little Mustang

Another Mustang stars in The Zip Codes' 1964 song Run Little Mustang, but this time it's a "pretty blonde" behind the wheel and her Cobra-powered car dusts our narrator's Model A. The Zip Codes were Ford fanatics—not only did they call their album Mustang!, but other Ford-themed songs include: Super Fine 289, Wild Wild Mustang, Dear Henry Ford, and Mustang Rumble.

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5. Keith Urban: Sweet Thing

Next, we journey from surfer country out to the barns and backroads of America's heartland, in Keith Urban's Sweet Thing. Though the lyrics mention our favorite car by name, Urban's video makes it clear he's talking about a 1969 fastback. We prefer the song because it sticks to kissing under trees, while the video veers into more serious territory when the Mustang gets sold to pay for baby-related expenses. Oops, spoiler alert.

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6. George Fox: Mustang Heart

Mustang Heart, by George Fox Body, doesn't explicitly mention Pony Cars, though it does mention six packs and ripped jeans. We'll call it a relative to the FoMoCo creation because both car and song conjure the free spirit of wild horses. Also, it's not called Pinto Heart.

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7. Jack Ingram: Mustang Burn

Jack Ingram either has a cold heart or just knows how to mind his own business. When he sings, "Well I don't give a damn that your car's on fire/It ain't none of my concern," in Mustang Burn, he's literally singing about a burning Mustang. Even set to an uptempo 12 bar blues-style ditty, the words "What'd you expect me to do?/I ain't got no ties to you/And it ain't none of my concern/Cause I'm watchin' your mustang burn," still sting. This guy's never getting a job with the fire department if we can help it.

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8. Serge Gainsbourg: Ford Mustang

This entry comes from France, which explains it being sung mostly in French. Mustang is the same in any language, however, in this tune, it's sometimes pronounced as two words—Mus and Tang—and followed by Bang, also by Coca-Cola, Marilyn, Superman, and other stalwarts of American culture. A quick translation doesn't really help suss out the meaning of Gainsbourg's prose, so if you are fluent in French, and have a background in poetry, have at it and let us know what you come up with.

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9. Dick Dale: Wild Wild Mustang

Horse hoof sound effects make sure we don't miss the pony association in Dick Dale's Wild Wild Mustang. They really drive the connection home with "giddy up", "pony express", and "comes from the stable of the FoMoCo." Guitar pioneer Dale is scarcely recognizable in this by-the-numbers hot rod genre exercise, and the song commits the further sin of listing GM's "Positraction" in the list of options on their particular 289 car. We'll give them points for trying.

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10. Chuck Berry: My Mustang Ford

Chuck Berry, never one to phone it in, dishes out plenty of his signature guitar playing on 1966's My Mustang Ford, along with a solid vocal effort. His Mustang is a cherry red '66 with 385 hp, and he decides it's too powerful for the street, so he takes it to the airstrip for some horsing around. If you want to know what happens next, you'll have to check this number out for yourself, we're no spoilers.

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11. Sheryl Crow: Steve McQueen

Playlists, like racing, sometimes attract a little rule... bending. Though not mentioned by name, a Mustang street racing—against Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s '69 Camaro—in the video for Sheryl Crow's Steve McQueen easily earns it the anchor spot on our list. The director must have thought, 'why not throw in some road course action too?' Because that's just what they did. Crow and Dale Jr. race their Ford GT and GT40 against vintage Vettes and Porsches. You know who wins? We do.

>>Join the conversation about the Perfect Playlist for Cruising here in The Mustang Source.

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