Cruisin’ Gratiot Eastpoint Event Celebrates 25 Years

Summer might not officially be on the calendar yet. But doesn't stop folks from Cruisin' Gratiot this time of year. America's pastime has always had a love for the automobile. Cruisin' Gratiot, Woodward Ave, or Telegraph Road continues for enthusiasts to this day.

25 years of hot rods, fuzzy dice, classic rides, and laying down some rubber tracks.

Eastpointe Cruisin’ Gratiot 2024 is set for June 15, but the festivities will kick off a few days earlier with car shows at local hot spots around town.

The Eastpoint Cruise started in 1999 when gas was a whoppin $1.17 a gallon. The idea for the cruise was simple: help local charities and an event for the whole family.

Gratiot goes pretty far for the average cruiser, but this cruise is confined to an 8 mile to 10 mile road. Also, back again this year, there is a special "cruise lane" on the far left side of the road.

You can't miss out on all the events planned for this year, including car shows at Villa Restaurant, First State Bank, Cloverleaf Pizza, and Eastpoint High School.

A Special Cruiser Raffle will also be held each day you bring your vintage car to a Classic Car Show. You will receive one raffle form to fill out.
On Cruise Day at the 4:00 pm Awards Presentation, we will hold drawings for gas cards.

Trophies will be awarded on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 pm and at 4 pm on Saturday.

Find complete details of this year's 2024 25th Annual Eastpointe Cruisin’ Gratiot Website.

Rock and roll fan will be happy to know this year's Grand Marshal is a radio legend here in Detroit. JJ. Jim Johnson who rose to fame in Detroit as a morning show host on WWWW-FM and then as a longtime morning host on "JJ and The Morning Crew," at WRIF, WLLZ-FM and WCSX-FM and recently retired from WOMC. Jim is planning to be at the cruise all four days.

Throughout rock history car sounds effects have ended up on many of Rock's Greatest Songs. Many of the effects set the mood of the song. To paint a picture of what the artist was trying to convey in the music. Car effects were used a lot in the 50s & 60s when there was a fad called Tragedy Songs in which someone ended up dying.  Even novelty songs used a lot of sound effects in general. Lindley Armstrong "Spike" Jones was an American musician and bandleader specializing in spoof arrangements of popular songs and classical music. Ballads receiving the Jones treatment were punctuated with gunshots, whistles, cowbells, hiccups, burps, and outlandish and comedic vocals. Laughing so hard I would lose my breath sometimes.

There are lists of songs about cars over the years, songs talk about engines but how many actually have the sound of engines in them as a sound effect?  Here are the ones that I could think of off the top of my head.  The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean there were plenty of songs that had sound effects of cars revved up supercars, screeching tires, busting glass, and car drag racing. From Kiss's Detroit Rock City to Some of rock and roll's great instrumentals

The Motor City Music Connection

How can you forget the Motor City? The place where they built the cars and played guitars. Lots of the music culture was cars and bars. Artists like Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, The MC5, Iggy Pop, Mitch Ryder, and the Detroit Wheels. WCSX's Donielle Flynn has Detroit Artists and cars here

Enjoy the list of car sounds in rock songs. Some you know some you might have forgotten over the years. Any that I have missed feel free to contact me by clicking here

Suggested by a WCSX listener as I was making this list. You can't have a list without Jeff Beck. I agree totally on this pick is a favorite of his fans. " You Had It Coming," was the eighth studio album by guitarist Jeff Beck, released in December 2000.

"Detroit Rock City," released on their 1976 album Destroyer. The song was written by Paul Stanley. Stanley recalls, "But I didn't know what the song was about except it was about Detroit. And then I remembered on the previous tour, I think it was in Charlotte, somebody had gotten hit by a car and killed outside the arena. I remember thinking how weird it is that people's lives end so quickly.

Johnny Fortune was a Session performer, bassist, and guitarist Johnny Fortune has been in the music business a long time. In the early years, he did session work for big names like Sam Cooke, Barbara George, Glen Campbell, and he even toured with the Beach Boys.

The Van Halen Famous intro is all the band members' own car horns.  The horns were taken from the band's own cars, including Alex's Opel, Eddie's Volvo, a Mercedes Benz and a Volkswagen. The horns were mounted in a box and powered by two car batteries, with a foot switch to turn them on and off.

"Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" is a song by American rock band Primus. The song tells the stories of two characters, Jerry, an ill-fated race car driver who collides with a telephone pole while driving intoxicated (hence the use of "was", in the title), and Captain Pearce, a retired fireman.

"409, "  Its title refers to an automobile fitted with Chevrolet's 409-cubic-inch-displacement "big block" V-8 engine. Nothing can catch her
Nothing can touch my 409 Giddy up 409 Giddy up 409. Can't wait to hear the first song about an electric car. 

If you remember MTV music television this song used to play all the time from the band Madness.  They're hit song was called," Our House." this song is about a car. Madness is a perfect musical representation of British humor. It's dry, it's a bit menacing, but it's so so so good. Check out Madness on Facebook: http://bit.ly/29eYRxw

In 1977 Billy Joel's hit song Movin Out ( Anthony's Song) came out. The lyrics refer to the New York immigrant, middle class, work ethic: taking pride in working long hours to afford the outward signs of having "made it" in America. It's called "Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) at 2:45 in the song it takes off in a classic car squealing tires and going through all 4 gears. 

"I Can't Drive 55" is the lead single and first track from Sammy Hagar's eighth studio album VOA in 1984. Hagar wrote the song in response to receiving a speeding ticket in New York State, for driving 62 mph on a road with a 55 mph speed limit, "Two o'clock in the morning, I'm driving a rental car to Albany, from Albany to Lake Placid. Four-lane Highway, not a soul, I'm going about 62 miles an hour exactly. Cop pulls me, a little wet I didn't even know while I was going the speed limit changed. I'm sitting there, I was so burnt, I was just exhausted. I just handed him my driver's license, handed the Rent-A-Car stuff. He starts to write it up and the guy said how fast is 62. I said like 'I thought it was 65', you know, We give tickets around here for 62!'. You know like ‘Where have you been?’. I went 55, get to my house, wrote the song. Oh man, I mean, four o'clock in the morning. I picked up my guitar. I just wrote that damn song. It came that quick."

"Expressway to Your Heart" by the Soul Survivors appeared on their 1967 album, "When the Whistle Blows Anything Goes."

Transfusion", was a top-ten hit in May 1956, reaching number 8 on the Billboard 

The lyrics in "Transfusion" concern a reckless driver who repeatedly gets seriously injured in car accidents by disregarding traffic laws (speeding, unsafe lane changes, and disregarding stop signs); he vows to never speed again after each accident, but quickly goes back to his dangerous driving habits after asking for (and receiving) a blood transfusion each time. This novelty song features the sound effects of a vehicle collision. The song was banned on many radio stations in the 1950s.