Rock Flashback: Get Your Kicks on Route 66

Modern interstates are fast (such as I-10 in Texas, where the speed limit is 80), but travelers miss a lot of the local color once found on highways such as Route 66. (Getty Images/Rick Scibelli)

Thanks to our system of interstate highways, it’s possible to drive from coast to coast without ever hitting a stoplight. But the speed and convenience of the interstates has a price. It’s possible to drive from coast to coast without seeing much of anything. And that’s why old Route 66, which traveled through a “real” America that’s largely vanished now, retains its hold on the imagination — just as it did for a songwriter over 60 years ago.

Before the interstates, a main east-west route across the country was U.S. Highway 66, better known as Route 66. It ran from Chicago to Los Angeles, winding through eight states along the way. Songwriter Bobby Troup took the ride in 1946 and ended up writing a song about it, featuring the iconic phrase “get your kicks on Route 66.” Nat King Cole was the first to record it, also in 1946. Many other artists have recorded “Route 66″ since then. Early rockers Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis did it; so did Them, featuring Van Morrison. It’s even been tackled by Depeche Mode and the Replacements.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers did it, too. Here’s a live performance from 1977.

Another good version is by the Rolling Stones, from their very first album in 1964. They play it with a rockin’ economy Creedence Clearwater Revival would admire.

If you don’t know much about the legend and lore of Route 66, it’s worth spending some time here.

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