Remembering Route 66…

Get Your Kicks on Route 66!

Capitol Records released the iconic single by the King Cole Trio on April 22, 1946.

This legendary song was composed in 1946 by the late songwriter and actor Bobby Troup. The lyrics relate to a westward road trip on the iconic highway, with several renditions appearing on the record charts. Bobby got the idea for the song on a cross-country drive from Pennsylvania to California. He wanted to try his hand as a Hollywood songwriter, so he and his wife, Cynthia, packed up their 1941 Buick and headed west. The trip began on U.S. 40 and continued along U.S. 66 to the California coast. Bobby initially considered writing a tune about U.S. 40, but Cynthia suggested the title "Get Your Kicks on Route 66". The lyrics famously mention several cities and towns encountered along the way. The late Nat King Cole, with the King Cole Trio, first recorded the song in 1946 at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles. Capitol Records released it as a single on this date in 1946, which reached number three on the Billboard Race Records chart and number eleven on its broader singles chart. Ten years later, Cole later re-recorded the tune for the album After Midnight (1956).

Source: Wikipedia.org

The Mother Road

Route 66 (U.S. 66) was established one hundred years ago (November 11, 1926). The highway ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles. U.S. 66 was a primary route for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and it supported the economies of the communities through which it passed. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck depicts the Joad family traveling to California on U.S. 66 (the “mother road”) after being evicted from their small farm in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl.

“66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.” - Grapes of Wrath

People doing business along the route became prosperous and they later fought to keep it alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the Interstate Highway System in the 1960s and 1970s. The 2006 animated film Cars had the working title Route 66 and described the decline of the fictional Radiator Springs, nearly a ghost town once its mother road, U.S. 66, was bypassed by Interstate 40. The title was eventually changed to simply Cars to avoid confusion with the 1960s television series.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Cars Land at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California

Photo Credit: Anthony Woodard

U.S. 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but it was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985 after it was entirely replaced by segments of the Interstate Highway System, namely I-40. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California have been communally designated a National Scenic Byway by the name Historic Route 66, returning the name to some maps.

Source: Wikipedia.org

I have traveled along I-40 on multiple occasions and visited some truly great places on Historic Route 66. To celebrate the history and nostalgia of the Mother Road, these road trips always involved lots of Country and Rock n’ Roll tunes playing on our radio, including the iconic single by the King Cole Trio. I’ve had the opportunity to stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona under a bright sunny sky. While in Tucumcari, New Mexico, I enjoyed some tasty brisket enchiladas at Del’s Restaurant and had a restful night’s sleep at the Blue Swallow Motel. If you are craving some homemade biscuits & gravy or apple pie, be sure to visit the MidPoint Cafe in Adrian, Texas. Neon light fans will enjoy the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Oklahoma. And, looking back, Cars Land was my kids’ favorite attraction at Disneyland (Disney California Adventure Park).