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Every Billboard Hot 100 Single 1970: #45: “Welfare Cadillac”- Guy Drake. January 31, 1970.
- Single: “Welfare Cadillac”- Guy Drake
- Record Company- Royal American
- Genre: Novelty- Country
- Written by Guy Drake
- Time: 3:07
- B-side:”Keep Off My Grass”
- Album
- Grade: F
- Peaked at #63 spent 14 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100.
This novelty- country single was the only Hot 100 appearance for Guy Drake who was born in Weir, Kentucky in 1904- and died in 1984 at the age of 79. Drake was a country singer- comedian. This was Drake’s only appearance on the Country Singles Chart also-where it peaked at #6.
I had only heard of this song -from reading a story about how when the great Johnny Cash was at The White House – The Tricky One asked him to play this song- which was popular at the time and he didn’t. Instead of playing “Okie From Muskogee” another song Nixon requested or “Welfare Cadillac” -he played one of his own- “What Is Truth?” a song about youth and freedom which had an anti-war second verse. Take that Milhous. Below an article on Johnny sticking it to Nixon.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30142/when-johnny-cash-met-richard-nixon
slicethelife 
As if Johnny Cash wasn’t already at the top of my charts, the history of his meeting with Tricky Dicky jacks him up into the clouds. So glad you posted this, Hans.
When I read that story years ago- I just shook my head- like Cash would have known that stupid song anyway? Nixon was really out of touch.
Yes, Nixon insulted Johnny by his requests 😦
and Johnny wasn’t going to sing a song that insulted disadvantaged people. You would have thought Nixon would have at least had someone research Johnny beforehand.