A timeless hit
Written on a rhytm and blues rhythm by Bobby Troup in 1946, Get your Kiks on Route 66 was quickly covered by the greatest: Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters, the Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode and many others.
Born in 1918 in Pennsylvania, Bobby Troup died in 1999 in California. Primarily a composer, pianist and jazz singer, he also became known as an actor for his roles in M.A.S.H . (1970) and Emergency (1972).
According to Troup, the song's lyrics came to him while he was driving along Route 66 on his way to Los Angeles. According to one version of the story, it was Cynthia Hare, his wife at the time who accompanied him on his trip, who suggested the title.
In Bobby Troup's hit, the phrase "Get your kicks" is simply an invitation to have fun, to "get your kicks" on Route 66.
Get your kicks on Route 66
Get your kicks on Route 66
If you ever plan to motor west ;
If you ever plan to motor west
Travel my way, the highway that's the best.
Follow my way, the highway that's the best
Get your kicks on Route 66 !
Get your kicks on Route 66
It winds from Chicago to L.A.,
The wind blows from Chicago to Los Angeles
More than 2 000 miles all the way, Get your kicks on Route 66 !
Over 2,000 miles all the way, Get your kicks on Route 66
Now you go thru St. Looey, Joplin, Missouri!
Now you go through St. Louis, Joplin, Missouri
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty.
And Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty
You'll see Amarillo... Gallup, New Mexico.
You'll see Amarillo and Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona: don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernardino.
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 hip to this timely tip: when you make that California trip
Get your kicks on Route 66 !
Get your kicks on Route 66
The blues on Route 66
Route 66 crosses two major cities in the history of the blues: Chicago and Saint Louis. The segregationist laws of the South of the United States put in place after the Civil War (Jim Crow laws) and the economic crisis of 1929 triggered in the 20th century a great movement of the African-American working population from the agricultural centers of the South of the United States to the industrialized cities of the North. This was the Great Migration, which lasted from 1910 to the 1970s. Among the six million African-Americans who followed this immense wave of migration, many musicians exported their talents and the notes of the original blues to St. Louis and Chicago, creating in particular in the 1950s the Chicago Blues. This particular blues saw the addition of electric guitar, bass, drums and piano to the traditional elements of the blues which are the acoustic guitar and the harmonica. The blues led to the creation of many other musical styles such as rock'n roll, British blues and pop music. Linked to the traditional music of 19th century European immigrants (mainly Irish), it is also at the origin of folk and country music.
Among the great blues musicians who settled in Chicago during their career, we can mention: Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf or Buddy Guy.
In Chicago, several clubs are known for their excellent music, blues that goes without saying, including: Buddy Guy's Legends (https://buddyguy.com) and House of the Blues Chicago (www.houseofblues.com), the first south of Grant Park, the second downtown, next to the Chicago River. In St. Louis, be sure to check out BB's Jazz, Blues and Soups (www.bbsjazzbluessoups.com) or the Broadway Oyster Bar (www.broadwayoysterbar.com), both south of the St. Louis Arch, between I-55 and the Soulard neighborhood.
The blues was also transported to California notably through Texas blues, creating in the 1940s the west coast blues, with sounds dominated by the piano and guitar solos, but also through country music, brought by the Okies during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is this country music of the West (honky tonk) which is at the origin of the Barkersfield Sound of the 50's and 60's, a music which makes more use of electric instruments than the country music of Nashville, and which was going to integrate several elements born from rock'n'roll, of which the backbeat (a particular form of counter-time). Buck Owens and Merl Haggard were among its first promoters. However, one should not forget the Hispanic origins of the region, whose rhythms and instruments combined with the music that gradually came from east of the Mississippi.
From the West Coast blues of the 1940's (Percy Mayflield, Charles Brown...) to the alternative metal (Faith No More, Gemeni Syndrome...) of today, passing by the surf rock (Dick Dale, Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys...) and the psychedelic rock (Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Greatful Dead...) of the 60's and 70's, the West Coast rap (Ice Cube, N.W.A....) and hardcore punk (Black Flag, Social Distortion, Green Day...) of the 80s and 90s, today's music owes a lot to California... and to the blues.
On Route 66 in music
To get started on Route 66 with music and stay in the mood for such a trip, there's nothing like listening to local stations. Each state has a wide range of radio stations. To help you make your choice, you can already make a first listening by going to https://onlineradiobox.com/us - This website will allow you to select, state by state, genre by genre, the channel that suits you. The application for your smartphone is called Online Radio Box. Other websites and applications exist and are easily found with a search engine.
