Roy Clark! Now that’s a name that I haven’t considered in a while. An icon of a rather silly TV show known as Hee-Haw, Mr. Clark was a brilliant country music ax-man regardless of the musical style he was emulating on his six-string Gibson, Fender, or something else entirely different. So, what kind of a car does the number four greatest country music guitarist (according to Ultimate Guitar) drive? How about a 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Car like this Greenwood, Arkansas domiciled example. It’s available, here on Barn Finds Classifieds for $30,000.
A good friend of mine bought a very similar Town Car back in 1986 – he needed something with a ton of torque that could pull his boat. Of course, the electric blue (looked like an Earl Schieb paint job) Lincoln was more of a boat than the one it was pulling. We took a mid-summer trip in it from D.C. to the North Carolina Outer Banks, boat in tow, and 49 MPH was as fast as it would go without overheating. Oh, and the A/C didn’t really work and some of the windows wouldn’t go down. Yeah baby, but we were stylin’!
It’s safe to say that this Lincoln is a 61K mile survivor but it would be nice to know where it has been all of these years. Wearing “Roy Clark” vanity license plates (Virginia front and Tennessee on the rear) Mr. Clark lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was a resident there as far back as ’78, finally passing away in 2018. It is mentioned that his name is still on the title. The seller describes this Lincoln by stating, “It presents beautifully with shiny white paint rear oval “opera” glass Power everything, Ice Cold Air Conditioning“. The white landau padded top, opera windows, wire wheel covers, and the stand-up hood ornament reflect the “Stayin’ Alive” era of the ’70s, probably more so than any country music era. Yes, this titanic Town Car qualifies as a “Whammer-jammer”.
Unfortunately, there is no image of the 208 net HP, 460 CI “385” series V8 engine. The seller suggests, “With only 61,000 original miles, this car runs beautifully and shifts perfectly“. Working through its silky-smooth three-speed automatic transmission, 208 HP will be adequate for moving 5,000 lbs. of mass but it’s not going to be a hot-rod Lincoln.
Up for some diamond studded pinky ring wearing steering? You could do it effortlessly in this leather-slathered mobile living room. The maroon leather upholstery is in splendid condition, showing no sign of wear. Granted, this is only a 61K mile example, but it has experienced 44 years of age and time is an avenger. Honestly, I’d be worried about nodding off when motoring across the continent in this Continental – it’s that sumptuous appearing.
Some may consider Roy Clark to be an obscure musician/actor, at least compared to the more recent or current crowd occupying those reaches of modern entertainment, people who live and die by social media marketing. And while I’m lost with who’s hot and who’s not today, I’m not exactly a marketeer’s target market for much of anything anymore. And then’s there’s the matter of the car, finding a buyer who craves an exceptionally clean 1977 Lincoln Town may be less of a task than finding one motivated by the Roy Clark connection. Talk among yourselves about the price, please.
To anyone of a certain age, Roy Clark is nothing anywhere near an obscure reference point. The man was a brilliant musician and entertainer, and I wasn’t into either forms of music (Country and Western) back then.
And as much as the price is reasonable per pound, it won’t appeal to anyone in the fart can or slammed crowds, but I do wonder if this might also been owned by John Voit.
Buck Owens:
You know this life of wine, women and song is starting to bring me down.
Roy Clark:
Me too, I think I’ll quit music.
Buck Owens:
I hope your wife don’t see this show.
If it was good enough for Roy, then it’s good enough for me.
Saw him at the Frontier hotel in Las Vegas in ’70 or ’71. And man, was he a
great guitar player too! For a young
musician like me, it was a real treat to
see him sing and play. While in highschool, I’d go out on tour with some of the prominent local bands that might
need an extra singer/guitarist. We opened up for a lot of big country acts
like Dave Dudley, Bob Luman, and many
others. In fact I got chewed out by the
band leader I was working with because
I did an imitation of Buck Owens while
he was in the audience! Shoot while all
the other kids were flippin’ burgers at
McDonald’s, I was makin’ $225 a week
playin’ music! By the time I went back to
school in the fall, I made enough money
to help my parents and buy my own stuff for school as well. BTW, Roy’s
car was the blue Nash with the trunk up!
LOL! Great times and I’ll never forget ’em.
Roy was an amazing axe man! I could see him driving to He Haw in this ride!
I had one of these on the tips of my fingers but then I let it slip right through my hands
Hee Haw was a lot of fun! It was corny, it was campy, and it’s probably the origin of half the world’s dad jokes.
Beautiful ol boat I wwould love to own and Roy was a great gent & man…IMHO
I remember the night you went hunting for possum
You said you would get one, it wouldn’t take long
That’s 10 years ago, I’m sittin’ here waiting
I can’t help but wonder if something went wrong….
OK guys, take the chorus…..WHERE OH WHERE, ARE YOU TONIGHT….
…Why did you leave me here all alone.
I searched the world over and I thought I
found true love. You met another and
brrrrrrrrrrip you were gone!
This here’s a wonderful YouTube video of Roy Clark and some guy named Glen Campbell (yes that is an electric 12-string) playing a great guitar instrumental. Crank it and enjoy.
https://youtu.be/v_kbgjsuCec
I agree, Roy is a great musician.
I’m afraid that Glen shows him up a bit in this video – finger picking a 12 string – what!
I’m not much into this genre, but Roy can really play! I love the tempo change halfway through this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XUqey6OWTk
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When Roy Clark made a guest appearance on The Odd Couple and played Malagueña…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xssnp7R51A
These four door town cars were awful looking however , strange at it may seem , the two door ” Town Coup’ “was and is absolutely gorgeous.
It absolutely is! I have a 78 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe with only 38,700 original miles! I have people offering me all kinds of money for it, but for now, she’s my girl!
All this said, it is still a river boat of a car…
Nice huge classic looks well taken care of. I used to watch Hee-Haw every Saturday evening on channel 11 WPIX New York City.
All this being said , it is still a Lincoln and a River Boat
I always liked that car!
A true American Icon and a great all around person. People like Roy are hard to find these days. These Lincolns were great vehicles comfortable and quiet with plenty of room for six.
This was a tremendous presence in the Disco Era of NYC, and LA, moonroof was a necessity, but hey, Hee Haw 8 tracks aside, in with Barry White, and it’s 1977 again
I almost have the same beautiful Lincoln. Mine’s a 78 Continental Town Coupe with only 38,700 original miles. Also, everything works, all power, including power moonroof. If I were to sell it today, it would be around 16k. Maybe that seems cheap to some, but it wasn’t owned by some hick on Hee Haw LOL!!
Did you say, Finally passing in 2018??? Kinda harsh wasn’t it? Hope no one says that, you Finally passed. May the legends live forever.
????
Beautiful car.
So is the only determining factor that this is Roy’s car a couple of stickers and a magazine cover?
You have to wonder if Roy would roll this boat with the stickers in it. Seems out of sorts to me and I’d love to have something more tangible to confirm the claim.
I don’t know about this car but Roy Clark was a world class guitarist who could have held his own with Jimi Hendrix
We had this exact same car in 1985 when I was a 10 year old. Not the most logical car to have in Montana, but it felt like a big improvement from the Granada (Dad wasn’t the best at picking reliable cars). I remember we’d take this to our cabin, stop in Big Timber to gas up, then have to wait 10-15 minutes before the Town Car would start up. Can’t recall why that was maybe vapor lock? Anyway, it was a comfy ride, I remember being impressed with the little lights in the opera windows, but ultimately Dad found that it wasn’t the best or most reliable vehicle to have, so he traded it on a new type of vehicle that had just come out in 1986: some weird new thing called a Dodge Caravan. We don’t speak of the Caravan in our family, but do fondly remember the Town Car.
How cheap can you buy your own gas station for?
You’ll need your own gas station to feed this beauty..
Wow, all of the great comments about Roy! All you had to do was see his solo work on Hee Haw to know the man was a genius. He’s up there in Heaven right now saying ‘thank you’, while pickin and a grinin
the overspray paint on the rubber around the door handle does not say much for condition. if the whole car looks that bad it will need to be stripped and repainted. looks like a cheap back yard paint job .Anyone that does not take parts off to paint is a hacker .
Grew up watching Hee Haw every Saturday night, it really was a hoot to my young mind. Back then I didn’t realize how competent Roy was on the guitar, since he mostly played banjo on Hee Haw. He was a world-class musician.
And that gorgeous Lincoln is a world-class land yacht.
I would love to own this for what it is, but also for the Roy Clark bragging rights… But only a few of my friends would even be familiar with him. buncha damn losers…
https://www.google.com/search?q=yesterday+when+i+was+young&sxsrf=AOaemvLIvmrdUCbp4JUeuS5GQMww1F70CQ%3A1633211797859&source=hp&ei=ldVYYeGuMszM_AaSz4vYDA&iflsig=ALs-wAMAAAAAYVjjpf5XY1DuWWX7a7i67vjwvW446Mk3&gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zcsNM1KS861qDJg9JKqTC0uSS1KSaxUKM9IzVPIVChPLFaozC_NSwcAKpYOjA&oq=yesterday+when+i+was+young&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYBzILCC4QgAQQsQMQkwIyCAgAEIAEELEDMgUILhCABDIICC4QgAQQsQMyCAgAEIAEELEDMgUILhCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQguEIAEMgUIABCABDILCAAQgAQQsQMQyQM6BAgjECc6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBENEDOhEILhCABBCxAxCDARDHARDRAzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6CwguEIAEELEDEIMBOg4ILhCxAxCDARDHARCvAToLCC4QgAQQxwEQrwE6EQguELEDEIMBEMcBEK8BEJMCOggIABCxAxCDAToECAAQAzoHCAAQsQMQCjoNCC4QgAQQxwEQ0QMQCjoECAAQCjoKCC4QxwEQrwEQCjoHCAAQyQMQCjoKCAAQsQMQgwEQCjoECC4QCjoKCC4QsQMQChCTAjoHCC4QsQMQClDeDVjvfmDr1wFoBHAAeAKAAcYOiAGBLJIBDTAuNC41LjMuMi44LTGYAQCgAQE&sclient=gws-wiz
370 , that is one of his best . Shows his great voice an range .
Nice car, but with 61K miles, it is a $15K car. The majority of collectors will not care that Roy owned it. As much as I LOVE these land yachts, they just don’t bring a lot of money.