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Route 66: A Modern Standard

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An American Travelin' Cover Song

Whether you remember Nat King Cole crooning about Route 66 in the 40s and 50s, Depeche Mode rocking the way down the road in the 80s, or you first heard John Mayer or Chuck Berry singing the song in the movie Cars, this song has been moving and inspiring people for decades. Get Your Kicks on Route 66 was written in 1946 by Bobby Troup and captured the spirit of the expanding automobile culture in that age.

What you may not realize is that dozens of well-known bands (and lesser-known singers) have recorded cover versions of Route 66 over the past sixty-odd years. I've collected here as many different versions as I could find, from the well-known hits to some surprising artists. You'll find the Bing Crosby tucked in beside the Rolling Stones and The Cramps. Come and give them a listen!

Celebrate the history and tradition of Route 66. These cover songs and music videos will take you on a trip through St. Louis, down through Missouri, and all of the way down Route 66 to San Bernadino and beyond. Maybe you'll find your new favorite version, here. If you do, or if I've missed one, please let me know in the guestbook below.

  1. Listen to Versions of "Get Your Kicks on Route 66"
  2. Start with a Classic Version: Nat King Cole Singing Route 66
  3. Check Out More Versions of Get Your Kicks on Route 66
  4. Route 66 Song Lyrics
  5. Watch Videos of Bands Rockin' Route 66
  6. But wait! There are more!
  7. Guitar Tabs for Get Your Kicks on Route 66
  8. Whole Albums Dedicated to the Fabulous Route 66
  9. What Are Folks Tweeting about Route 66?
  10. What Do Bloggers Have to Say about This Song?
  11. Share Your Memories
  12. Other Standards and Cover Songs

Listen to Versions of "Get Your Kicks on Route 66"

If you've signed up at any of dozens of places where you can listen to music on-line, do a search for "Route 66" and you're likely to find ten or twenty artists, some of whom have recorded the song more than once.

To save you a little time, I've run that search in a few places. The Grooveshark playlist I created because there we so many duplicates in their archives. I tried to include only one version of Route 66 from any particular singer or band but found several under "various artists" on compilations so I kept those in case they were not duplicates. The list still includes sixty-two cover songs. Enjoy!
Last.fm
Grooveshark
Rhapsody
Yahoo! Music
The original Nelson Riddle instrumental television theme.

Start with a Classic Version: Nat King Cole Singing Route 66

Route 66

Route 66

Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 05/28/2012)Buy Now

Perhaps the smoothest version of the song ever, Nat King Cole's Route 66 will leave you clamoring for more.

Check Out More Versions of Get Your Kicks on Route 66

Who else has covered this great song?

Here was have The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Asleep at the Wheel, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and The Yardbirds offering their interpretations.
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Route 66 Song Lyrics

route 66, perspective, distance, road

If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way, take the highway that's the best.
Get your kicks on Route 66.

It winds from Chicago to LA.
More than two thousand miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route 66.

Now you go thru St. Looey, Joplin, Missouri
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty
You'll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico.
Flagstaff, Arizona, don't forget Winona,
Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.

Won't you get hip to this timely tip:
When you make that California trip.
Get your kicks on Route 66!

Watch Videos of Bands Rockin' Route 66

NAT KING COLE ROUTE 66
by anneesvinyl | video info

2,901 ratings | 1,735,503 views
automatically generated by YouTube

But wait! There are more!

If you still can't get enough, get your kicks with these versions.

Here we've got Bing Crosby with the Andrews Sisters, Nancy Sinatra, the Cheetah Girls, the Four Freshmen, and Buckwheat Zydeco giving Route 66 their own twists.
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Guitar Tabs for Get Your Kicks on Route 66

There are so many versions available that I just chose the Nat King Cole tabs as a good starting place.

Whole Albums Dedicated to the Fabulous Route 66

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What Are Folks Tweeting about Route 66?

Find Out Here!

If you need proof that the allure of Route 66 extends well beyond those of us nostalgic for cars with fins, take a peek at what people all over the world (in many languages) are tweeting about the road and the song. I've often seen links to folks who have performed or recorded the song so you can find more versions of Route 66 here than I could ever hunt down on my own--at least if you're patient. I can't guarantee a neat link every few minutes, of course.
  • RT @TwitFAKTA: film Cars awalnya akan dberi judul Route 66 #TwitFakta
  • Route 66 Shield License Plates plate tag tags auto vehicle car front: Each item is individually shrink wrapped a... http://t.co/T5MY1f6z
  • RT @TwitFAKTA: film Cars awalnya akan dberi judul Route 66 #TwitFakta
  • Thanks Route 66 RVs for a great Yellowstone camper Following
  • BOOM TV CHARACTER OF THE DAY: Tod Stiles (Martin Milner) from "Route 66"... http://t.co/ZIyKbE6X
  • Get your kicks off Route 66 in #Middletown's Highlawn Forest with pine groves that stretch to infinity and beyond. http://t.co/psklJfOn
  • Seen From Route 66 Driving ... - http://t.co/4OPl53Wk
  • America's Highway Historic Route 66 Mens T-shirt, Bald Eagle Rte 66 Highway Sign Mens Shirt: Our Mens T-shirts a... http://t.co/mWdoevIC
  • @DJ_Rod or route 66
  • Route 66 Spring: The lives of four young Missourians are changed when a bottle comes to the surface of one of th... http://t.co/EagkmKCF
  • RT @TwitFAKTA: film Cars awalnya akan dberi judul Route 66 #TwitFakta
  • RT @TwitFAKTA: film Cars awalnya akan dberi judul Route 66 #TwitFakta
  • Women's NAVY Route 66 Symbol Shirt XL - Made using the popular cities along the legendary highway: Created using... http://t.co/e1jmX397
  • Route 66 Maps + Navigation: GPS с дополненной реальностью ! http://t.co/ZBdqQKlp
  • RT @TwitFAKTA: film Cars awalnya akan dberi judul Route 66 #TwitFakta

What Do Bloggers Have to Say about This Song?

DVD Extra: 'Route 66: The Complete Series'
By Steve Jones, USA TODAY The complete series of 'Route 66,' starring Martin Milner and George Maharis, is now available on DVD. (Credit: Shout! Factory) For nearly 60 years, US Route 66 was America's Mother Road, a highway stretching from Chicago to ...
'Route 66': George Maharis recalls the rough road of shooting
"Route 66" also boasted a silky jazzy theme song from Nelson Riddle that hit the charts. The series, said Bob Emmer, the co-founder and chief operating officer of Shout! Factory, which is releasing a DVD set of all four seasons on Tuesday, recalled the ...
Glenn Frey changes the tempo
The 63-year-old Detroit native chuckled at the fading final notes of the "Route 66" redux of "The Heat Is On" (a No. 2 hit on Billboard Hot 100 off of the 1984 soundtrack to "Beverly Hills Cop"), which in this new form sounds a bit like a stripped-down ...
Route 66 has come a long way
"Route 66 was the first all-weather road to the Southwest but it's been reborn as a tourist destination," he said. Opening in 1926, Route 66 is the two-lane road that, as the song says, "winds between Chicago and LA," running through states like ...
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Share Your Memories

How did you of Get Your Kicks on Route 66?

Who's your favorite performer of this timeless classic? Who have I missed?

  • fugeecat Mar 30, 2012 @ 9:29 pm | delete
    I love this song an if I won the megamillions I'd take a roadtrip on route 66.
  • hughgrissettsr Oct 27, 2011 @ 8:56 am | delete
    luv your lens1 although there are many great versions of 66, i prefer chuck berry's. visit ne at my lenses or st www.hgssite.com for more music talk. thank you.
  • cbessa Sep 11, 2011 @ 5:47 pm | delete
    Stone and Depeche Mode are my prefered versions!
  • wordstock Aug 10, 2011 @ 12:49 pm | delete
    Added this as a featured lens to my "Attractions on Route 66" lens. Great job. Angel blessed.
  • Ramkitten Oct 20, 2010 @ 8:35 pm | delete
    I live right on Route 66, in Flagstaff, Arizona. So it's a song I know well in several of of its versions. I'll lensroll this to my Route 66 lens.
  • reasonablerobinson Oct 3, 2010 @ 12:52 pm | delete
    Yahayyy I went on route 66 during a visit to Flagstaff, as a Brit I felt very 'American' :) I don't think we have a road as an icon in the UK except perhaps the Fosse Way an old roman road. Its designated the A46...."you gets your kicks on the A 46"....hmmmmmmm not quite the same!
  • Sami4u Sep 12, 2010 @ 5:42 pm | delete
    Hi,

    I traveled Rt66 it was so fun to see America. What a travesty the interstates has caused all you is is the same thing at every exit. The song give a piece of Americana and takes us back to a simpler time.
  • Oosquid Sep 30, 2009 @ 2:31 pm | delete
    "Who's your favorite performer of this timeless classic?" The Stones. I too did not know there were so many versions. Great lens about a great song. 5 stars.
  • Sojourn Jul 16, 2009 @ 12:58 pm | delete
    I had no idea there were so many versions or artists who had done this song! Great choices here and lots of good information. Nicely done!
  • KimGiancaterino Jan 20, 2009 @ 10:25 pm | delete
    Great song... I've featured this on my Eagle Rock lens.
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