"Rusty Chevrolet" is a song by American

novelty music A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wi ...

band Da Yoopers. The song was released in 1986 and can be found on the band's second album ''Culture Shock''. It is a novelty Christmas song set to the melody of "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont. It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as "Jingle Bells". It ...

History

Da Yoopers released "Rusty Chevrolet" in late 1986 following their first album ''Yoopanese''. Band members Jim DeCaire and Joe Potila wrote and produced the song. It was issued as a single with "Smeltin' USA" on the B-side, and later appeared on the band's second album ''Culture Shock''. At the time of its release, the band sold copies of the single for two dollars, with half of that amount being donated to the local

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

. After its release, the song became popular on stations in the

Upper Peninsula of Michigan The Upper Peninsula of Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P. or Yoop—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula of ...

and in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, with WIFC of

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

alone ordering over 200 copies due to listener demand. In late 2024, the song regained popularity on social medias such as Instagram and YouTube, accompanied by videos made in driving simulator BeamNG. The band later used profits from the song to build their own recording studio in their hometown of

Ishpeming, Michigan Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Located in the Upper Peninsula, the population was 6,140 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the Iron ore mines employ ...

. "Rusty Chevrolet" is about a man's struggles with his old Chevrolet car, which seems to be a fifth generation

Chevrolet Impala The Chevrolet Impala () is a full-size car that was built by Chevrolet for model years 1958 to 1985, 1994 to 1996, and 2000 to 2020. The Impala was Chevrolet's popular flagship passenger car and was among the better-selling American-made auto ...

, and its lyrics are set to the melody of the Christmas song "

References

{{Reflist 1986 songs American Christmas songs Songs about cars Songs about Michigan Christmas novelty songs Musical parodies