(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66
| "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sheet music cover | ||||
| Single by the King Cole Trio | ||||
| B-side | "Everyone Is Sayin' Hello Again (Why Must We Say Goodbye)" | |||
| Released | April 22, 1946 | |||
| Recorded | March 16, 1946 | |||
| Studio | Radio Recorders, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues | |||
| Length | 2:57 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bobby Troup | |||
| The King Cole Trio singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" is a popular rhythm and blues song, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. The lyrics relate a westward roadtrip on U.S. Route 66, a highway which traversed the western two-thirds of the U.S. from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. The song became a standard, with several renditions appearing on the record charts.
Background
The song was started during the ten-day trip and finished after consulting a map in Los Angeles. The lyrics mention several cities and towns encountered along the way;
Nat King Cole original version
Nat King Cole, with the King Cole Trio, first recorded the song in 1946 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles. Capitol Records released it as a single, which reached number three on Billboard magazine's Race Records chart and number eleven on its broader singles chart.[3] Cole later re-recorded the tune for the album After Midnight (1956) and The Nat King Cole Story (1961).
Other recorded renditions
The song has become a standard and has been recorded by numerous artists:[2]
- Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters recorded a version, which reached number 14 on the Billboard chart in 1946.[4]
- In 1964, RCA Victor album Como Swings, was a source for the lyrics.[2]
- In 1982, a version by Hot 100.[5] It also earned the group a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo or Group[6] and was included on the soundtrack album for the film Sharky's Machine (1981).[7]
- Billy Bragg recorded an anglicised version of the song titled "A13 (Trunk Road to the Sea)" for a John Peel session in 1985. It uses the original music, but the landmark cities are replaced with English towns along the route of the A13, with Bragg inviting listeners to "Go motoring, on the A-thirteen". According to Bragg, he wrote the lyrics while playing with his band Riff Raff in 1977: while the band played "Route 66" as part of their set, Bragg "objected to singing about these places that (he) didn't know ... there's a tradition of driving down the A13 to the glory of Southend. Growing up in Barking, that was the promised land, in quite a Springsteenish way". The song was originally meant to be released on Bragg's 1983 debut album Life's a Riot with Spy vs Spy; however, it was ultimately not included due to problems getting permission to use the music of "Route 66". It was finally released commercially on the bonus disc of the 2003 compilation Must I Paint You a Picture? The Essential Billy Bragg.[8]
- A version by Hot 100 singles chart in May 1988.[9]
- Michael Martin Murphey recorded the song for his 1989 album Land of Enchantment. Released as a single in 1990, it peaked at number 67 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.[10]
- In 1995, Argentine blues guitarist and singer Los Ratones Paranoicos.
- The 2006 animated film Cars includes renditions by Chuck Berry and John Mayer.[11] Mayer's version was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance.[12]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-0806122915.
- ^ a b c d e Unterberger, Richie. "The Rolling Stones: 'Route 66' – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
- ^
ISBN 0-89820-068-7.
- ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955–2012. Record Research. p. 532.
- Grammy.com. 1982. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ "Original Soundtrack: Sharky's Machine – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- Theguardian.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
- Billboard.com. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Cars [Original Soundtrack] – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- Grammy.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.