Having thought about cars we now turn our attention to the roads on which they travel. A Road is a wide way leading from one place to another, especially one with a specially prepared surface which vehicles can use. Roads consist of one or two carriageways, each with one or more lanes and any associated pavements and verges. A cycle path – a road for use by bicycles – may or may not run in parallel with other roads.
“(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” is a popular R&B song, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. The lyrics follow the path of U.S. Route 66, 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. In 1964, the Roling Stones included a version on their debut album. In a song review, critic Richie Unterberger called it “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”.
“Highway 61 Revisited” is the title track of Bob Dylan’s 1965 album. It was also released as the B-side to the single “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” later the same year. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song as number 364 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Highway 61 runs from Duluth, Minnesota, where Bob Dylan grew up in the 1940s and 1950s down to New Orleans, Louisiana. The junction of highway 61 and highway 49 in Mississippi is said to be the infamous “crossroads” where bluesman Robert Johnson allegedly sold his soul to the devil in exchange for talent and fame.
“On the Road Again” is a song recorded by Canned Heat in 1967. A driving blues-rock boogie, it was adapted from earlier blues songs and includes mid-1960s psychedelic rock elements. Unlike most of Canned Heat’s songs from the period which were sung by Bob Hite, second guitarist and harmonica player Alan Wilson provides the distinctive falsetto vocal. “On the Road Again” first appeared on their second album, Boogie With Canned Heat, in January 1968; when an edited version was released as a single in April 1968, “On the Road Again” became Canned Heat’s first record chart hit and one of their best-known songs.
“Thunder Road” is a 1975 song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, that became the opening track on his breakthrough album Born to Run. While never released as a single, “Thunder Road” is ranked as one of Springsteen’s greatest songs and one of the top rock songs in history. It is No. 86 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and also the 103rd best ranked song on critics’ all-time lists according to Acclaimed Music.
“Highway to Hell” is a song by Australian rock band AC/DC. It is the opening track of their 1979 album Highway to Hell. It was initially released as a single in 1979. The song was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott, with Angus Young credited for writing the guitar riff which became an instant classic. AC/DC had made several studio albums before and were constantly promoting them via a grueling tour schedule, referred to by Angus Young as being on a highway to hell, hence the name. The song is used as the official theme for WWE Friday Night Smackdown.
“A13 Turnk Road To The Sea” is a track taken from Life’s a Riot with Spy vs Spy Billy Bragg’s first album, released in 1983. It is a parody or homage to Route 66 and Bobby Troup is credited with writing the music. All songs on the original album consisted of Bragg singing to his electric guitar accompaniment. The original album played at 45 rpm rather than the more usual 33⅓ rpm, contained only seven songs and lasted for only 15 minutes and 57 seconds. However, rather than being classified as an EP, it qualified for the UK Albums Chart and reached number 30 in January 1984
“Road to Nowhere” is a rock song written by David Byrne for the 1985 Talking Heads album Little Creatures. The song was released as a single in 1985 and reached No. 25 on the Billboard chart and No. 6 in the British, German and South African singles charts. It also made No. 8 on the Dutch Top 40. The video for the song was directed by Byrne and Stephen R. Jonhson and features the band and various objects revolving, as if in their own “road to nowhere”. It was nominated for “Best Video of the Year” at the MTV Awards 1986.
“The Road to Hell” is a two-part song written by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea and released on the album of the same name. It was released as a single, with only part 2 on the A-side of the 7″. The single was his biggest success in the UK, peaking at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was inspired by the frustrations of M25 and M4 motorway rush hour traffic.
“The English Motorway System” is a track taken from The Facts of Life, the second studio album by English indie rock Black Box Recorder, released in May 2000. They debuted in 1998 with England Made Me and followed this up with The Facts of Life, which gave them their first hit with the single of the same name in April 2000.
