‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ singer George Frayne, aka Commander Cody, dead at 77

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — George Frayne IV, the lead singer of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airman who scored a hit in 1972 with “Hot Rod Lincoln,” died Sunday. He was 77.

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Frayne’s death was confirmed by John Tichy, a rhythm guitarist in the original band founded in 1967, according to the Albany Times Union. His wife, Sua Casanova, confirmed Frayne’s death to The Associated Press but did not immediately provide further details.

Frayne had been receiving treatment for cancer for several years, Variety reported.

“Early this morning, as I lay my head upon his shoulder, George’s soul took to flight,” Casanova posted on Frayne’s Facebook page. “I am heartbroken and weary, and I know your hearts break, too. Thank you so much for all the love you gave and the stories you shared.”

Frayne’s group was best known for a remake of Charlie Ryan’s 1955 rockabilly song “Hot Rod Lincoln,” which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on June 3, 1972.

According to Tichy, a radio disc jockey in Modesto, California, played the band’s cover of “Hot Rod Lincoln” late one night on a whim, the Times-Union reported. The phones lit up and Frayne’s high-speed narrative and rockabilly guitar lick vaulted the song into the top 10.

The band released seven albums on the Paramount and Warner Bros. labels from 1971 to 1976, Variety reported. After the original group’s breakup in 1976, Frayne continued to record and tour under the name Commander Cody until shortly before the pandemic, according to the website.

Frayne was born July 19, 1944, in Boise, Idaho, and was raised in the metro New York City area, the Times Union reported. He received a bachelor’s degree in design from the University of Michigan in 1966, a master of fine arts the following year and was on the arts faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for several years, according to the newspaper.

“The Commander I knew was a music-history buff, fine-arts scholar and one of the sharpest minds I’ve ever encountered,” David Malachowski, a guitarist who joined the band in the late 1990s, told the Times Union.

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