up next on a second look, hot august nights. reno's annual tribute to classic cars and classic rock & roll. we are going to introduce you to the man who first created the bat mobile, and we're going to tag along as jay leno takes his doggey board for a spin. all that is straight ahead tonight on a second look. hello everyone and welcome

to a second look. i'm frank somerville. for more than a quarter of a century classic car buffs have been gathering in nevada for an event that's called hot august nights. in fact, they're doing just that once again this weekend. but this is way more than a car show. the events also include big name entertainers and rock & roll performers from years gone by. while some events began a few days ago in south lake tahoe most still take place in reno where hot august nights began in 2006. george watson brought us this look back at the place that calls itself the little city on top of the world. >> reporter: reno has always been a place of commerce. but the under opinions of its allure has been as unorthodox

of any city in america. led into maturity by gambling, no city has ever had a saga of survivor like the biggest little city in the world. 150 years ago, miron lake was charging horse and rider the outrageous fee of 50-cents. rake wisely made a pack with charles crocker. land went to crocker and offered him 400 acres of prime land if crocker would agree to build his new new depo in the town of small lander.

but renamed it reno. the town now named reno was surprisingly would not find prosperity directly from gold or silver. the town was a hub catering for teamsters or gamblers all passing through on their way to the mines. incorporated as a city in 1893, reno was the rail center for the central pacific railroad. nobody knew prosperity was right around the corner. that was an empty promise for most of the country during the -- during the great depression.

but for reno it would come rolling in the day they legalized gambling in nevada. gambling had been in the shadows of legality for 60 years. but this new development brought jackpot tables out into the light of the day. it was a proper gate way to the new honky tonk strip of shoulder to shoulder, neon noise and all day drinking. they shook the morals and a few more a dollars from the pockets of americans. they made it even easier to get a divorce. now a prospective divorcee only had to live in nevada for eight days. >> people came with pockets

full of money and they spent it here and it improved the economy tremendously. >> reporter: divorce literally create add new nevada industry. the child of easy lucrative of disentanglement was the dude ranch mostly attended by women. finally after six short weeks of silver state residency, the newly divorce could sache out of a courthouse and into the bridge where they could toss their old wedding rings into the truckee river. all of a sudden, getting a divorce was something that intized the rest of the country. divorce and gambling had rescued reno from poverty and transported it to glittering

gaudy wealth. smith and harris started off small side by side on virginia street. that was the honky tonk start, together they would set the town for a new era in ren organize. -- reno. the rest of reno soon followed. the casino led to a touch of refinement nevada style. there were girls, entertainers, girls, movie stars, and more girls. the rest of the country eventually caught up to reno on divorce. but the biggest little city still had gambling to the never ending fascination of the automobile. 15 years ago reno started its own automotive tradition with the now nationally famous car parade known as hot august nights. reno has been tamed but a city

started on divorce, railroad and gambling can ner bejustifie and coming up, the life of taking vehicles apart and putting them back together in a creative way. >> and jay leno takes us for a ride. we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here. those kids wouldn't have lasted one day in our shoes. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles. rethink possible.

one of the biggest names in the custom car industry is george barris. for seven decades he's been taking cars and trucks, cutting them into parts and putting them back together in his imagination. he created the monsters car, the batman car and kit of

knight rider. >> reporter: the bat mobile might just be the most recognized car in the world. in the fraternity of cars, it stands out. george barris was the man who took the bat mobile from the comic books and gave it a life of its own. it was in the 1940s when he began to turn a simple hot rot into the the bat mobile. in the 1950s, the hot rod craze began to sweep the country and the movies were among the first to recognize it. everything was hot rod girls, hot rod gang. the social order seemed to be defined by the hot rod. then stars like lib era ci

came, so did clark gable. then down the road john travolta became clients. >> tv was a strong part of the cars because we were in every family of the united states. the biggest star was batman, monsters, beverly hill billies, green hornet. >> reporter: his creations were real stars. attention to detail keeps the cars in character. almost like actors. but beneath the hood reality always lurks in the like of 300 horsepower. >> we just came back from shooting. >> reporter: surely after all the cars barris has built, there must be a favorite. >> not having a favorite is the challenge. the challenge of doing something to the car that entertains and that people like, that's what makes it the

favorite. ever since the beach boy immortalized beach safari the woody was iconized. >> reporter: known for making old fashioned hard working trucks. they made seven uncommonly beautiful ones. they built seven trucks specifically for use in the national park service. and this 62-year-old woody is a survivor. it saw service in yosemite carrying passengers from the train station in el portal to the auani hotel in the park. the nature of the park's roads in those days required that any

car be a curious blend of automobile and mule. the rugged yesterday oddly elegant woodies were perfect for the job. the park service sold this woody back in 1946. when bruce calvin found it abandoned there wasn't much left. >> reporter: the really interesting part about this car is when i first got it it was, it was pretty bad. i mean it was very dilapidated. you could easily poke your window through any part of the wood which is unlike any tree i know. >> reporter: it took years to refinish this vehicle. from the inside to the outside panels that are made of philippine mohogany. so why would anyone want to spend so much time into restoring a car like this. >> it has a soul. it's meant to keep around so it can be passed to my daughter.

>> reporter: part of the car's legacy is the way it was built. the plate is by muller. it has three door, there's no rear driver's side door because that accommodates the outside spare tire. and windows roll up and down, just the way they were designed. >> you can tell by the noise in the motor it was never built to be a luxury vehicle. it was built to run a long time and do a gentleman's job. >> and after years, this woody is still in service. and one of jay leno's favorite car is the duzenburg. the host of the speed channel show my classic car, dennis gauge took a ride with leno in

his duzenburg. >> reporter: what would turn out to be the ride and drive of a lifetime. >> this is how it felt in the 20s. by the 30s everybody else is catching up pretty quick. to do the things that they had to do differently. they had to have recessed lighting and dash. what it had was a great engine and great chassis. >> when did your fascination with the stein begin with you? >> since i was a kid. this is known as the greatest car. i mean we're doing 70. >> yeah. >> reporter: i thought i was hearing things when jay asked me if i wanted to drive the doozey. believe me he didn't have to

twist my arm too much. >> look out holly. when we come back on a second look. we're going to visit with the righteous brothers and hear them sing some of the hits that made them them famous. >> and a bit later, chubby checker is going to talk about the hit that made his famous. the twist.

tonight on a second look we're celebrating reno's annual extravaganza called hot august nights. a big part of that event is the musical stars that come to perform. among them the righteous brothers. here's joe fonzi he first brought us this report back in 2000. >> ♪ lost that loving feeling ♪ >> reporter: there's no more recognized song in american pop

music. in fact, according to time magazine, the righteous brothers 1965 hit you've lost that loving feeling is the most played song in radio music history. that means fans that span several generations. >> in the old days it was like people whod had their kids had to have them in handcuff, they didn't want to do our shows. and we look out there and there's a lot of parents that bring their children. and you see the parents mouthing the songs and the kids singing. and a lot of times parents it was their wedding song and now it's the kids wedding song. >> lost that loving feeling? >> well, unchained melody was

the wedding song, the wedding song. >> ♪ >> reporter: after their recording hay day in the 60s, the two went their separate ways. but the demand for their combined writing style led to a reunion and now they're touring again. >> he's worth a lot of money and i got him. it certainly gets easier the older you get and we do like each other. >> and possibly have a good time. what could be better than getting paid to have a great time. we realize how blessed we have to be in this position. >> what's better than going on stage with your friends and singing rock & roll. there's nothing in the world better. well, one thing better.

>> ♪

when we come back on a second look, music stars of years gone by reminisce about growing up with rock & roll.

in reno this weekend it's time for the annual hot august nights celebration. every year big name musical performers are part of the show. in 1996 a couple of them shared their memories of what it was like growing up with rock & roll. >> and i remember in 1956 i went to i believe it was my first rock & roll movie concert

and my girlfriend and i wore stockings for the first time - - for the first time. >> ♪ >> i knew when i heard little richard the first time and chuck barry that i would love this music for the rest of my life. no doubt. i knew that. if you love something you love it for the rest of your life. i can understand that.

>> ♪ ♪ earlier this year, the library of congress added chubby checkers the twist to its library. bob mackenzie brought us this profile of chubby checker who was performing in reno that year. >> hottest dance sensation in the last four years a thing

called the twist. ladies and gentlemen here's chubby checkers. elvis >> reporter: great as it may seem today, chubby checkers was considered on the risque. of course elvis danced too, but nobody tried to dance like elvis. everybody tried to dance like chubby. with a towel to the beat of the music. 're >> the twist is where you twist both and your wiping off your bottom coming out of the shower to the beat of the music. if you were wiping off your bottom, you could not touch

your partner. >> reporter: soon everybody was doing it. and debutants were doing it. chubby checkers plugged other dances, the monkey, the alligator, the holiboli. the kind of things that i choose for my show is things people already know. >> do you wish you were doing a more contemporary style. >> it is. people don't know that.

chubby checkers music is contemporary. because young kids know that too. >> that is it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week. look at 'em. eless receiver. you see in my day, when my mom was repainting the house, you couldn't just set up a tv in the basement. i mean, come on! nope. we could only watch tv in the rooms that had a tv outlet. yeah if we wanted to watch tv someplace else, we'd have to go to my aunt sally's. have you ever sat on a plastic covered couch? [ kids cheering ] you're missing a good game over here. those kids wouldn't have lasted one day in our shoes. [ male announcer ] add a wireless receiver. call to get u-verse tv for just $19 a month with qualifying bundles. rethink possible.

>> record high water levels for the red river have now fallen and the water keeps rising. >> i gave one very direct order, grab as many sand bags as you can. >> this is history. this is the highest it's been on record. >> major water can do amazing things. >> oh, my god! >> i'm freaking out. >> people are calling and saying what are you doing? why aren't you leaving? >> all i remember is my dad saying the dike broke. >> it sounded like a gunshot. >> water everywhere inside. >> my mom and my dad kind of knew.