On 9 August 1973, country singer and guitarist Jerry Reed scored his second US country No. 1 with "Lord, Mr. Ford", a satirical song poking fun at the automobile industry and its unintended consequences. Reed, best known to wider audiences for co-starring alongside Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit, built his music career on witty, down-to-earth songwriting and skilled guitar playing across a five-decade run that earned him two Country Music Association awards and three Grammys.

Written by Deena Kaye Rose, the song mockingly addresses Henry Ford over the fallout from his "horseless carriage" invention, spending one week atop the Billboard Hot Country singles chart and reaching number two in Canada. It followed Reed's first chart-topper, 1971's Grammy-winning "When You're Hot, You're Hot", and preceded his third and final No. 1, "She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft)", in 1982. Rose, who had also written for Tex Williams and Johnny Cash, later collaborated with Reed on the Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack, including the hit "East Bound and Down".