Good Luck finding anyone on the planet who doesn't know Brian Setzer plays guitar, but I'll bet far less know he is into cars and even less would guess that at one time Mr S owned the Pharaoh's Merc.
Not a Copy,Clone or a Tribute the Real Deal
I have read that he said it was the worst car he had ever owned. It was constantly breaking down.
Brian had a bunch of work done to the car. Ed Roth is credited for the fresh paint and stripes at the time and even the hand lettered Runaway-Boy on the quarter panel.
Stories have circulated for years that Setzer bought or sold the famous low rider to or from the lead singer of Van Halen. Years of research point to it being just that ..A Story. Diamond Dave has had his share of Merc's.. just not this one.
Fact is that Brian sold the car to a man in New York and it's still there.
If your into the Mercury you've probably also hear the "Death Merc" story. Once again "Story" Nobody died in the car!! Wrong movie....that was in Christine.
Silly side note I have over 200 posts on this site but as I was labeling this I noticed that I had never posted an article from 1985 before. Put that in the done column! Then I started looking and all I need to cover the years 1972 to present is articles from 1988 2014-15 and 16. Looks like I need to pry the door off the graffiti vault and see if I can fill in the blanks. Till then enjoy... Jeff
Fantastic article. Never read this one. Setzer is my idol when it comes to solo guitarists. Love the way he mixes old styles like Cliff Gallup, Scotty Moore, Charlie Christian and beefs them up. I knew I's made it as a decent guitar when I learned to play Stray Cat Strut all the way through including the diminished riff.
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