Playlist: In Honor of Summer Road Trips We Celebrate Songs About… Driving/The Road

The Memorial Day weekend crept up on me this year. The Rock Chick was visiting relatives out West and I was on my own so as usual I “lost time.” While summer doesn’t officially start until June 21st, Memorial Day is the unofficial kick off to summer in the States. Well, Memorial Day is at least when the pools all open. I don’t know what it is about summer that causes my mind to always wander to the subject of road trips? Maybe it’s the memories of dad piling all of us in the car and heading out for that proud tradition of the family summer vacation. When I was real young, we usually drove down to Silver Dollar City, pretty much every summer. It couldn’t have been much of a “vacation” for my old man with my brother and I squared off in the back seat in an atmosphere more tense than the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea…my sainted mother was like some sort of special envoy from the State Department trying to “keep the peace” with snacks. “Does anybody want some peanut butter on a Ritz cracker and please keep it down back there, your father is trying to drive?” No wonder we never made any pit stops, my dad was trying to get out of the car as soon as possible before he beat us into submission. “Don’t make me pull this car over…”

I’m sure everyone has fond memories of those early family road trips, but for me, the road trip didn’t really come into it’s own until I could actually climb behind the wheel – typically all by myself – and hit the open highway…it was certainly a much better view from the driver’s seat. What a rite of passage it is, getting your drivers license and actually driving on your own. I didn’t get my license until I was 16 but I had a learner’s permit before that. Of course I was sure I’d be an ace driver as I’d learned to drive my grandmother around her local golf course in her golf cart. My wife says I still treat my car like a golf cart, even now. I did learn a valuable lesson out on the links, the hard way, “don’t drive on the putting green.” Touchy old ladies. Of course the Rock Chick grew up in the country and probably started driving her daddy’s pick up truck when she was tall enough to reach the pedals…he’d send her into town to pick up a pack of Kools and some hot dogs. The man knew how to live.

Of course when I started driving, access to a car was always difficult. I grew up in a middle class neighborhood and many of the young teen drivers had cars of their own. Many times there was a third family car, typically an old beater, that any number of the siblings had to share. I did a post last year, similar to this one, with a playlist about cars. In that post I regaled everyone with stories of my dad’s wonderful AMC Hornet…gads, I hated that car. But, it was the only car I had access to so I made it work. I had a friend whose sister drove a silver Trans Am and he had a rag top MG. I have to wonder if that family was laundering money for somebody. Anyway, when you first learn to drive, you’re eager to drive whenever and to wherever asked. If there was an errand to be run – say mom needed some eggs – my hand was up in the air volunteering. “I’ll drive to the store!” I was always looking for something to take me out of my stationary life in my parents home… I itched to move around…but that local stuff was the extent of my driving. It was all to school or to my various sketchy part time jobs. There was no real “road tripping” happening. It was all, as Hendrix sang, “crosstown traffic.” My parents knew I was a hellion and were reluctant to let me drive after dark…they would let me drive if I had a date but uh, that was a rare occurrence until later.

My first big road trip out on the open road was the summer before my senior year in high school with my friend Brewster and one of the Steve’s I hung out with. We drove all the way to Houston. It was indeed epic but alas most of the records of that trip held at the Houston Police Department have been sealed until 25 years after all the interested parties are dead. I will say that with fake IDs we got into the big country bar Gilley’s, which was made famous by the John Travolta movie Urban Cowboy. I may have been over-served and mounted the famous mechanical bull backwards. The cowboys enjoyed that… It was perhaps an inauspicious beginning to what turned into – for a long while at least – a life on the road.

I got my first car that was “mine” when I was a freshman in college. It was a dark brown Camaro…I called it the “Dirt Mobile.” The couple we bought the car from loved that car so much they took pictures of me driving away from their house. I’d wrecked it within three months. It was the Dirt Mobile that introduced me to the joys of pulling out on the highway and driving fast towards the horizon and beyond. But truth be told I was usually only burning up the highway between KC and Manhattan, KS. I would occasionally shoot over to Lawrence, KS, home of a rival college, but that always felt like I was parachuting in behind enemy lines. I can still remember wheat and corn fields flying past my side window…Truth be told after my freshman year, I usually only came back to KC from college on Labor Day (in case I forgot to pack something when I left for school in August) and Thanksgiving/Christmas. I did drive to Wichita and Dallas for concerts but those were exceptions to the rule. I learned I liked being on those drunken road trips… car full of dudes. We usually had a six pack per person in the car. Don’t drink and drive, we were morons. An entire generation before mine were inspired by the great novel On The Road by Jack Kerouac to head out on the road and see the country. We were all just inspired by the road trip scene in Animal House. “Leaving, what a good idea!”

It wasn’t until I left college and moved to my exile in Ft. Smith, Arkansas that I became a solo road warrior. I felt like I’d been hoodwinked into moving to the end of the earth and was not happy. I looked for any excuse to leave that town. I would drive six hours on a dare. The first full year I was there, out of a possible 52 weekends I spent exactly 2 in Ft. Smith. One was because I had had my wisdom teeth pulled. I have no idea why I stayed in Ft. Smith the other weekend but I suspect it was illness that kept me off the road. I was chasing an unrequited thing with a woman in Shreveport so that was often my destination. I also drove to Dallas or home to KC. I would go anywhere to not be in Ft. Smith. Tulsa was the closest functioning airport so I often drove there and flew to Chicago or anywhere that wasn’t the wilderness I found myself living in. In my mind, I couldn’t help but think, ” what’s a dazzling urbanite like you living in a rustic setting like” Ft. Smith. Whenever I was on a road trip, when it came time to go home, back to Arkansas, I typically left at the very last minute. I spent a lot of time driving late at night. I’d crank the radio – if there was a decent station available – or pop in cassette I’d recorded from my vinyl and just put the pedal down. I was usually driving on two-lane black top roads and it could be spooky after midnight but there was also something almost spiritual to being out there alone under the moon. I’d drive by all these warm, snug homes where folks had made a life for themselves and I was just out…putting miles on…I was “outside of society,” so to speak.

Even after I quit my job and headed home to Kansas City, that addiction to driving long distances didn’t go away. I was, as Pete Townshend sang, “just a hippy gypsy.” Perhaps that geographic restlessness was a sign of a deeper, un-moored sense of belonging…or would it be non-belonging? Most of the relationships I found myself in were “long distance” relationships. Usually someone who seeks out physical distance in a relationship is really just looking for emotional distance. I figured no one could get close to me if I kept movin’ on down the road. I used to joke that I didn’t want to own anything I couldn’t carry to the car in the middle of the night… Eventually even I grew tired of always rushing toward something ephemeral that wasn’t really there or running away from something behind me. As Jackson Browne so beautifully sang, “‘Cause I’ve been up and down this highway far as my eyes can see, No matter how fast I run I can never seem to get away from me…”

Eventually I stopped my gypsy ways and settled down. I started dating in my zip code. I was still up for an occasional road trip but those were usually connected to my job as a “traveling salesman.” But as I sit here and think about road trips my mind immediately goes to all those great songs I used to listen to on those road trips, songs about the road or about driving. There are so many great songs about heading out to the highway and driving fast. As is my wont, I started to compile a list of those songs and before I knew it I had a playlist. There’s just something about these songs I love although even I’ll admit they’re pretty dude-centric. The songs all seem to reference rolling on or rolling forward. There’s a propulsive nature to the songs that I find addictive. Unlike my playlist about Cars from last year this collection of songs is all about being on the road. I’ve taken a swipe at this “Road” playlist once before, but I was never happy with that playlist…I was still finding my voice, as they say.

Here is our epic playlist of songs from the road. You can play them in order, or randomly… season to taste. If you hear a song you don’t like, obviously, skip it. Perhaps this will inspire you to put together your own Road Trip playlist. When I compiled this playlist I had nearly 200 songs. I really had to edit it down. I will admit, I tended to go for the more high energy, fast, uptempo tracks. I would choose Jackson Browne’s “Road And The Sky” before his song “The Road,” as just one example. I love “The Road” but it doesn’t strike the mood I was looking for…And admittedly, it’s pretty obvious I’m happy to have Neil Young back on the dreaded Spotify, he’s all over this list…enjoy:

1. AC/DC, “Highway To Hell” – When I conceived this playlist, this was absolutely the first track that popped into my head. I’m not a big believer in heaven or hell, but I’d jump in for this ride with Bon Scott at the wheel… The entire Highway To Hell album is a great road trip soundtrack…
2. Black Crowes, “Go Faster” – Often songs about driving and the road are metaphors about sex. I’m not sure this is about a car, but it fits the vibe.
3. David Lee Roth, “Tobacco Road” – Yes, I do get literal with songs about an actual road. This track dates back to when David Lee Roth was still cool. Steve Vai plays amazing guitar.
4. Steppenwolf, “Born To Be Wild” – An essential road song. “Get your motor runnin’, head out on the highway,” indeed.
5. Deep Purple, “Highway Star” – From the amazing Machine Head. Oh and I was a “highway star.”
6. Social Distortion, “Highway 101” – Great, great track. “Listen to the boulevard, listen to the falling rain, I believe in love now, with all of its joys and pains…” There was a long time I didn’t believe in love… This track evokes road trips with the Rock Chick for me now.
7. Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Crosstown Traffic” – Jimi, the Master…”You say you just want me to take you for a drive…”
8. Eric Clapton, B.B. King, “Ridin’ With The King” – B.B. King and Clapton on a song that John Hiatt wrote? This is a car I’m jumping into.
9. Talking Heads, “Road To Nowhere” – Ah, one of my favorite Talking Heads’ tunes. And yes, I spent a lot of time on a road to nowhere.
10. Don Henley, “Drivin’ With Your Eyes Closed” – This is not something I’d recommend… from Henley’s landmark 1984 album, Building the Perfect Beast. “Women are the only works of art…”
11. Tom Petty, “Drivin’ Down To Georgia” – Great outtake from Wildflowers.
12. Blackfoot, “Highway Song” – A poor man’s “Freebird.”
13. Jerry Harrison, “Rev It Up” – First heard this song in a rental car in Atlanta.
14. Depeche Mode, “Never Let Me Down Again” – “I’m taking a ride with my best friend…” In this case the ride may be about heroin, but it’s such a great song, I had to include it.
15. ZZ Top, “Arrested For Driving While Blind” – Don’t let this happen to you… don’t drink and drive. There’s no excuse for it in the era of Uber.
16. The Band featuring Eric Clapton, “Further On Up The Road (Live)” – Here “the road” is a metaphor for meeting again after the passage of time, but with Clapton in a guitar duel with Robbie Robertson, it had to be included.
17. The Doors, “Roadhouse Blues” – I’m glad the “I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer” days are over… “Keep Your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel,” seems like pretty good advice.
18. Eagles, “Life In The Fast Lane” – Another metaphor but a great road song. “Faster, faster the light is turning red.”
19. Rod Stewart, “Hard Road” – From Rod’s oft maligned Smiler album that naturally, I like. Some of us face a hard road, some of us choose a hard road.
20. The Beatles, “Drive My Car” – This was on my Playlist: Cars, but it’s so great I had to include it.
21. Bob Seger, “Roll Me Away” – My ol’ roomie loved this song and that whole, “Took a look down a westbound road, right away I made my choice…” thing. A song about escaping your current situation. Most times you do that alone.
22. The Rolling Stones, “Down The Road Apiece” – I’m not sure if this made my Rolling Stones Deeptracks playlist, but it should have. I love that early, bluesy Stones.
23. Jackson Browne, “Runnin’ On Emtpy” – This could be a biography from my 20s.
24. The Doobie Brothers, “Rockin’ Down The Highway” – I feel like the Doobies never get the respect they deserve. Great rocker on this song.
25. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “White Line” – I’m so happy to be able to include Neil on playlists again. Following that white, center line on the highway led me down some interesting paths… “And I’m rollin’ down that open road…” From the epic Ragged Glory that just saw an extended release with 4 bonus tracks.
26. Cinderella, “Gypsy Road” – From one of my all time favorite Hair Metal bands of all time.
27. Aerosmith, “Road Runner” – I don’t know what elephant Steven Tyler is on about, but this is a nice chugging, rocking cover song.
28. Alice Cooper, “Under My Wheels” – I think I was late to the Alice Cooper party but I love this guy now.
29. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Call Me The Breeze” – The great J.J. Cale song also done eventually by Tom Petty… I think Skynyrd may have the definitive version here. And yes, there was a time I would have answered to this name.
30. The Who, “Going Mobile” – My best buddy Doug is now a mobile home owner. Or is it an RV? I guess some day he’ll takeover the mantle of “hippy gypsy.”
31. Judas Priest, “Heading Out To The Highway” – I love to tee up this song as I’m hitting the entry ramp to an Interstate.
32. Greta Van Fleet, “Highway Tune” – Lyrics are hard to follow, but I’m delighted to include these young upstart rockers. Taken from the From The Fires “double EP.”
33. The Modern Lovers, “Roadrunner” – Not to be confused with #27 above. I feel the lyric: “Going faster miles an hour, Gonna drive past the Stop ‘n’ Shop, With the radio on…” When he says “I’m in love with Massachusetts,” I’m taken back to that summer in Boston, working at the Food Center Liquor Store. Cheers Uncle Chico!
34. The Babys, “Midnight Rendevous” – “Driving faster than you want me to, can’t help myself when I’m alone with you.” Ah, we’ve all been there… “all revved up and no place to go.”
35. Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road” – An invitation to a life long journey.
36. Tom Petty, “Runnin’ Down A Dream” – Our hero is racing down the highway with Del Shannon’s “Runaway” blasting on the radio. God I miss Tom Petty.
37. Allman Brothers Band, “Ramblin’ Man” – The late Dickey Betts’ finest song.
38. Starcrawler, “Roadkill” – We needed some female energy on this playlist. Although Arrow De Wilde sounds pretty aggressive here.
39. Cream, “Crossroads” – Harrowing tale where a man goes down to the crossroads, basically an intersection, to hitchhike and meets the Devil. Written by the legendary Robert Johnson.
40. The Rolling Stones, “Route 66” – A spectacular travelogue from the Stones.
41. ZZ Top, “Drive By Lover” – I have been both this person and visited by this person…
42. Lucinda Williams, “Car Wheels On A Gravel Road” – Reminds me of a 4th of July I spent once.
43. Tom Petty, “Love Is A Long Road” – Indeed it is.
44. Bruce Springsteen, “Born To Run” – “Tramps like us, baby…”
45. Sammy Hagar, “I Can’t Drive 55” – Oh how we hated that whole 55 MPH speed limit. Sammy expressing the collective angst.
46. Bob Dylan, “Highway 61 Revisited” – This song is the only reason I know the biblical story of Abraham. “God said to Abraham, “Kill me a son,” Abe said, “Man you must be puttin’ me on…”
47. Paul McCartney & Wings, “Helen Wheels” – Another one that was also on the Songs About Cars playlist… it was a blurry line between the two subjects that is easy to cross.
48. Little Feat, “Down The Road” – Little Feat with Lowell George is amongst my favorites. Funky, bluesy, New Orleans-vibey – what’s not to love?
49. Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Truck Drivin’ Man” – I always thought the line from the chorus was “White cross and coffee,” a reference to speed. I guess it’s “White cups and coffee.” It was a different time.
50. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “U.S. 41” – Tom and his Heartbreakers taking us down an old U.S. highway. I’ve been on my share of those back roads.
51. Paul Simon, “Graceland” – I love the image of a father taking his song to Graceland. Not a trip dad would have ever taken us on…
52. Ray Charles, “Hit The Road Jack” – Everyone has been told to hit the road… eventually. Brother Ray giving us the truth.
53. Neil Young, “Spirit Road” – Obscure little nugget about driving.
54. Led Zeppelin, “Ramble On” – While no car gets mentioned, it fits the vibe…”Autumn leaves are fallin’ all around, time I was on my way.” Yeah, I’ve said something similar more than once.
55. Billy Idol, “Blue Highway” – From the great Rebel Yell. Perhaps my favorite track off the album.
56. The Doors, “L.A. Woman” – “L.A. woman Sunday afternoon, drive through your suburbs into your blues…” Man, Jim Morrison was firing on all cylinders on this track.”
57. Aerosmith, “One Way Street” – My favorite early Aerosmith track. “Cause lately it’s been so hard to make ends meet and honey, you’re headin’ down a One way street…” When you realize you may be in trouble…
58. Mudcrutch, “Six Days On The Road” – I’m so glad I got to see Mudcrutch. I’ve had business trips like this song.
59. The Rolling Stones, “Driving Too Fast” – When the Rock Chick slides behind the wheel, this is usually my reaction… I call her “Starsky” when she’s driving.
60. Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Highway Chile” – Our hero has a romance go bad and then hits the road for permanent driving exile. Sounds familiar to me?
61. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Kings Road” – Hard Promises is a perfect album.
62. Golden Earring, “Radar Love” – “I’ve been drivin’ all night, my hands wet on the wheel.” Says it all.
63. Sniff ‘N’ The Tears, “Drivers Seat” – A song it took years and numerous trips to Chicago used record stores to find.
64. Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Drive Back” – It’s always awkward when you have to tell someone to go away.
65. Pearl Jam, “Rearviewmirror” – Some people are best left behind.
66. Hole, “Pacific Coast Highway” – Hole taking on us a scenic highway.
67. Chuck Berry, “I Want To Be Your Driver” – Chuck did love his car and driving songs.
68. Eagles, “Take It Easy” – Co written by Jackson Browne, the Eagles classic driving song. “Standin’ on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…”
69. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, “Kings Highway” – Whether he’s on Kings Road or Kings Highway Tom Petty is an American Treasure.
70. The Doors, “Moonlight Drive” – I’d forgotten the Doors had so many great road tunes. I had to decide between this one and “Queen Of The Highway.” Maybe I should have sucked it up and kept both. “Lets swim to the moon…”
71. The Donnas, “Roll On Down The Highway” – Yes, I know this is a Bachman Turner Overdrive track, but I dig the Donnas take on it.
72. Bruce Springsteen, “Further On (Up The Road)” – This is actually the first track I heard off the landmark LP, The Rising. I love this rocker.
73. ZZ Top, “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” – If you’re taking a roadtrip with ZZ Top, the car will be crowded and the distance traveled will be long. But man will it be fun. But why let the Beautician drive?
74. Journey, “Dixie Highway (Live)” – A little exuberant Steve Perry led Journey. Sounds like a fun ride.
75. REO Speedwagon, “Back On The Road Again” – One of my favorite REO tracks, sung by the bass player Bruce Hall.
76. CSNY, “Drivin’ Thunder” – Neil Young and Stephen Stills throwing up some dust on this song from American Dream, from a CSNY album only I like.
77. Tom Cochrane, “Life Is A Highway” – “and I’m gonna ride it all night long…”
78. Jackson Browne, “The Road And The Sky” – Jackson, out on the highway, speeding for that place on the horizon where the road seems to meet the sky. Man, that takes me back, I can almost feel the steering wheel.
79. David Crosby, “Drive My Car” – Sometimes you just feel like getting in the car and exploring, maybe looking for trouble.
80. Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey, “Ice On The Motorway” – Drive safely out there…
81. Bruce Springsteen, “Soul Driver” – Great track from the much maligned Human Touch/Lucky Town albums.
82. Neil Young, “Roll Another Number (For The Road)” – Well I would never recommend getting high before that drive but it seems to work for Neil here. Maybe leave that for after your arrival.
83. Warren Zevon, “My Ride’s Here” – When you’re ready to go, there’s no better feeling than when your ride arrives.
84. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Road Trippin'” – Ah, and we end on a sweet, mellow note. Road trippin’ with friends can be sublime. “These smiling eyes are just a mirror for the sun…”

That’s my list, but it just represents my personal favorites down here at B&V. If I’ve missed a hard-driving road song that you think would fit on this list, please drop it in the comments. If it fits I’ll add it to the playlist…as I like to say, these are our playlists, not mine! Any song that helps jump start a summer road trip is welcome…

I like to say my road tripping days are over. But I have to admit, the Rock Chick loves a good drive. We’ve driven out to points West on a number of occasions. She drove 15 hours on Memorial Day this year to see family…and then flew back. She said the drive was better than the flight. I’m still out there on the road somewhere, “a-headed for another joint,” only now I’m not alone. Instead of rushing toward some mirage or rushing away from some bad situation behind me, I’m just enjoying the ride. Maybe they’re right, maybe it isn’t the destination and it actually is the journey…

Put this list on and put the pedal down…Cheers!