"Bobby Troup was sitting behind the wheel of his '41 Buick, with his wife Cynthia, driving
from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, when an idea for a song documenting their
trip began to take shape in his mind. It was February 1946 and Troup, a singer, musician
and songwriter, was heading West to Chicago, where they picked up the 2,448 mile long US Highway, that would take them all the way to LA - on Route 66 ! "
Finally the reason behind the build up of recent 'Road Music' can be disclosed. Today marks 40 years since Route 66 was officially decertified by the Highway authorities in 1985 (nearly 60 years after it had opened). The romance surrounding the route continues to this day, if in fact following the original road, which has disappeared in parts, is less continuous. John Steinbeck in his book 'The Grapes of Wrath' called it the Mother Road and it symbolises escape, loss, freedom and hope for a new beginning.
The song by Bobby Troup '(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66' mentions the places they passed along the way - I'm sure you know the words. In March 1946 it was recorded and released a month later by Nat King Cole. His jazz inflected swing rendition was a bit hit. While 15 years later the song was reinvented for a whole new generation by Chuck Berry. I first heard the song as the opening track on the debut LP by the Rolling Stones, their version was a transformation of Berry's straight three-chord 12-bar blues 1961 recording.
So Chuck Berry is today's Star Track artist. With a great video full of nice memorabilia >>>
In case you wondered - a Shasta caravan refers to travel trailers manufactured by the Shasta Corporation that captured the imagination of lovers of 'Van Life'.
🚙 Also you may remember an early 60s TV series called 'Route 66', an American adventure crime drama. The theme to the show was by Nelson Riddle and goes like this (link).
🚙 OR Get Your Kicks On The Stones version