BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY
credit: Getty Images
You would be forgiven for not knowing who Bobby Troup was or that Saturday would have been his 107th birthday. Even so, the American songwriter wrote one of the most quintessentially American rhythm and blues songs ever.
Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” this week’s reason to smile, is a song about a westward road trip along the iconic U.S. Route 66, which stretches for 2,500 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica.
He got the idea for the song when he and his wife drove across the country in their 1941 Buick. They started on U.S. 40 in Pennsylvania and eventually met up with U.S. 66 in Illinois. Troup considered writing a song just about U.S. 40, but his wife convinced him to change to Route 66 after she came up with the catchy title, “Get Your Kicks on Route 66.”
The song has been covered by everyone from Nat King Cole to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Even the Rolling Stones lent their signature style to the song. Chuck Berry and John Mayer recorded a version for the animated movie “Cars.” While I am sure all of those renditions are great, I am partial to this recording by Asleep at the Wheel, a Western swing band based here in Austin, Texas.
NYA Thanks Dan Rather and Team Steady!