Keith Moon’s Real “Bucket T”

Found her in a barn in Tennessee
I paid five bucks for my Bucket T
Took me three years of sweat and blood
To clean off all that Tennessee mud

OK, the lyrics are kind of dopey and I probably like The Who’s version of Jan and Dean’s “Bucket T” the least of the three groups I’ve heard that recorded it. But, to my knowledge, only one member of any of the groups that recorded this tune could lay claim to actually owning a T-Bucket: the late, legendary Keith Moon, drummer for The Who.
Keith Moon Mickey Bray Bucket T
And to strengthen his T-Bucket, or shall we say Bucket-T, credibility Keith Moon took a rare turn singing lead on this song.
Keith Moon T-Bucket
Although he was no longer in possession of a valid drivers license, Moon added this T-Bucket, built by legendary British hot rodder Mickey Bray, to his stable of vehicles.
Keith Moon Bucket T
And stable of vehicles it was.
Keith Moon Bucket T
Bray, who later became a founder of the U.K.’s National Street Rod Association, originally built this fiberglass bodied T-Bucket with a small Daimler Hemi V8, which was later swapped for a 273 cubic inch Mopar, given a psychedelic paint job and then sold to Moon.
Mickey Bray Keith Moon T-Bucket Mickey Bray Bucket TMickey Bray T-Bucket
So, not all T-Buckets of historical significance were necessarily built in the U.S.A. Surprisingly, the T-Bucket “Fad” exploded almost simultaneously in the U.S. and Canada, the U.K. and Australia/New Zealand — thanks in no small part to the international popularity of such magazines as Hot Rod, Car Craft and Rod & Custom.

John Morehead
Follow me
Latest posts by John Morehead (see all)

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.