Songs That Were Covers: (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Bill Price, and in this episode of Songs That Were Covers, I will feature the story behind the song titled “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, which has been covered many times by several artists. The song, and the actual US Route 66, has an interesting history. Additionally it also has a special significance for me, as I will discuss in this episode.

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Transcript

In this episode of Songs That Were Covers, I will feature the story behind the song titled “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”, which has been covered many times by several artists. The song, and the actual US Route 66, has an interesting history. Additionally it also has a special significance for me, as I will discuss in this episode.

The history of Route 66 begins in 1926, when the US constructed the road that began in Chicago, Illinois and terminated at the Santa Monica pier in Southern California, which is just west of Los Angeles. US Route 66 was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System, that covered 2,448 miles.  It was established on November 11th, 1926, with road signs erected the following year.

Initially many parts were not even paved, but by 1938 the entire length was finally paved. The highway proved to be instrumental, first in the dust bowl of` the 1930's when there was a migration of people from the plains states to California and then during world war II, when it was used to transport war material and troops. After the war ended, Route 66 became a popular way for people to travel from Los Angeles to Chicago. Beginning in the late 1940's the highway helped many small towns along the route to thrive by offering lodging, restaurants, and tourist attractions. However by 1956, the Interstate Highway Act was signed that eventually resulted in Route 66 being decommissioned in 1984. With the construction of the Interstate highways, lodging, restaurants and tourist attractions were bypassed, and many became abandoned and Route 66 essentially disappeared except for a few sections. 

Beginning in 1987, Arizona established the first Route 66 association followed by Missouri and Illinois. In 1999 the National Route 66 Preservation Bill was signed that provided funding for preserving and restoring the many historical sites on the route.

Route 66 has experienced a revival and has become a tourist attraction once again, not only in the US but also for foreign visitors who come to the US to travel on the famous highway.

"Route 66" was written by Bobby Troupe in 1946.  The inspiration for the song came about when Bobby and his wife Cynthia decided to head west from Pennsylvania to California, to become a Hollywood songwriter. The trip started on US 40 and then continued on US 66. Bobby initially intended to write the song about Route US 40 however, Cynthia suggested the title “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”. The song’s lyrics   began during the ten day journey and were finished after reviewing the map of the Los Angeles area. The lyrics mention several cities and towns that are encountered along the highway. However Cynthia would later comment that she couldn’t believe that Albuquerque was not included in the lyrics.

The song was first recorded in 1946 by Nat King Cole and the King Cole Trio, at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles and released on Capitol Records. The song reached #3 on Billboard magazine’s Race Records chart and #11 on the broader singles chart. Cole would later re record the song for the albums titled “After Midnight” in 1956 and The Nat King Cole Story” in 1961. In the ensuing years the song became a standard, which was covered by numerous artists.

Here is the original version by Nat King Cole.

1946 is also the year when the first cover version appeared. Bing Crosby along with the Andrews Sisters recorded their version, which reached #14 on the Billboard chart.

Here is an excerpt of the Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters cover.

In 1959 Perry Como recorded his version, which appeared on his RCA album titled “Como Swings”. Chuck Berry recorded a swing version that appeared on his 1961 album titled “New Juke Box Hits”. 

Here is an excerpt of Chuck Berry’s version.

As was mentioned earlier, there were several recorded cover versions of the song.  Additional covers include the UK band Them in 1965, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Manhattan Transfer, John Mayer whose version was nominated for a Grammy award for the Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance, and Michael Martin Murphy who recorded his version for the 1989 album titled “Land of Enchantment”. The single was released in 1990, where it peaked at #67 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Here is an excerpt of the version by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

San Bernardino is my hometown where I grew up. I lived at four locations in the general area, with three locations typically 100 to 300 feet from Route 66. In the mid 1950's, I got the opportunity to travel the entire length of Route 66 more than once, and got to see the sights as they existed back then. From the mid 1960's to early 1971, Route 66 was the main road that was used to get around, so I spent a lot of time on it.

In 1964, The Rolling Stones recorded “Route 66”, that appeared on their self titled debut album. Critic Ritchie Unterberger referred to the Stones’ version as quote “The most famous rock version of the song… one of the best songs on the Rolling Stones’ debut album, and one of their most popular in concert numbers on their early tours” end quote.  Ironically on June 5th, 1964, the Stones made their first US concert appearance at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California, the last city that is mentioned in the song’s lyrics. I was one of the 5000 fans that attended the concert. When the Stones played “Route 66”, the place went wild, especially when San Bernardino was mentioned.  The Rolling Stones returned to the Swing Auditorium for two more concerts on October 31st, 1964 and on May 15th, 1965.

Here is the Rolling Stones version of “Route 66”.

This has been a look back at the history of Route 66, the inspiration for the song “ Get Your Kicks on Route 66” and some of the cover versions. And until next time, I’m your host Bill Price.