Rascal Flatts sings Cochrane s words without alteration; in LeDoux s cowboy version they become from Tennessee to those L.A. nights/San Antone to the Vegas lights.
Americans do like their cars and highways; Nashville s Music Row favors songs about cars and highways. Country music’s dominance of the genre is clear when you read through the neat list of road songs compiled by Richard F. Weingroff of Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on the
Country road songs often become cross-over hits: for example, Willie Nelson’s “ On the Road Again,” Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobbie McGee” (best known through Janis Joplin s gritty rendition, but also covered by Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, and the Grateful Dead, among others) and Elvis Presley s “Kentucky Rain” (written by Eddie Rabbit and Dick Heard).
Nearly every country singer of any prominence has recorded a road song (sometimes several), from George Strait ( Amarillo By Morning, Carry Your Love With Me, I Can Still Make Cheyenne ) to Trisha Yearwood ( You Can Sleep While I Drive ) to Suzy Bogguss ( Drive South ) to Hank Williams ( Lost Highway ).
One of the classic road songs, Roger Miller’s “King of the Road,” is actually a train song ( I know every engineer on every train/ All of their children, and all of their names ), and includes one of the more memorable, and sweetly ironic, refrains in country music: I m a man of means by no means/ King of the Road.
For whatever reason, rock, soul, R B, jazz, and other American musical traditions haven t been as road obsessed.
Country-rockers, like the Allman Brothers (“Ramblin Man”) and The Eagles (“Take it Easy”) do pay allegiance to the highway, and two legendary rock musicians with numerous highway/road songs are Bob Dylan (who has his Nashville Skyline country side) and Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen’s “ ” is you can argue perhaps the most popular road song ever recorded (and, for what it is worth, sits at #21 on the of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).
What s behind the enduring attraction of the road, and the songs about it?
The open road conjures up freedom. Escape. Steppenwolf captures that in its hit Born to be Wild : Head out on the highway/ Lookin for adventure/ And whatever comes our way.
The highway represents a new start. It beckons to the restless, and the rebellious and those, usually young men, looking to find themselves (think Easy Rider and and ). In a country founded by pioneers, men and women on the move, the road always seems an option.
And American drivers, especially in the West, are blessed with wide open spaces and a vast highway network (thank you, Dwight David Eisenhower).
The secret of road songs is that they don t have to be profound. Life may or may not be a highway, but it s hard to resist Tom Cochrane s song like the other great road songs and not put the pedal to the metal.
News RSS