Andrea Sachs, a Washington Post reporter who’s driven Route 66 and written about it several times, recently posited an interesting mental exercise.
If Bobby Troup were writing “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” in 2017, what cities would he include instead?
Troup wrote the song in 1946 during a trip on U.S. 66 traveling to California with his wife. In case you’ve forgotten, the towns he included are:
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- St. Louis
- Joplin
- Oklahoma City
- Amarillo
- Gallup
- Flagstaff
- Winona
- Kingman
- Barstow
- San Bernardino
Troup’s song soon became a national hit in the hands of Nat King Cole. Covers by the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Depeche Mode, Manhattan Transfer, Asleep At the Wheel, Brian Setzer, John Mayer, Glenn Frey and hundreds of other music artists have cemented the song in the American songbook.
“(Get Your Kicks) on Route 66” — often titled “Route 66” — remains one of the key reasons why Route 66 endures in the popular culture and the public’s collective memory.
Sachs decided to replace those “Route 66” cities with other municipalities “that better capture the spirit of the Mother Road.” (Never mind whether she can get hers to rhyme.) Here’s her list:
- Pontiac, Illinois
- Springfield, Missouri
- Galena, Kansas
- Tulsa
- Adrian, Texas
- Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Holbrook, Arizona
- Winslow, Arizona
- Williams, Arizona
- Santa Monica
You can read her reasoning here.
Here are mine. I picked 12, because that’s how many towns are in the song “Route 66”:
- Pontiac, Illinois
- Atlanta, Illinois
- Cuba, Missouri
- Carthage, Missouri
- Galena, Kansas
- Stroud, Oklahoma
- Shamrock, Texas
- Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Flagstaff, Arizona
- Seligman, Arizona
- Oatman, Arizona
- Pasadena, California
You’ll note almost all are small towns. That’s because for whatever reason — benign neglect or flexible, forward-thinking leaders — small towns have preserved more of their historic structures and captured the spirit of Route 66 better than large or even medium-size cities.
That’s my opinion. What towns would be included in your “Route 66” song? Please make your case in the comments section below.
(Image of Seligman, Arizona, by Amy via Flickr)
Joliet, IL – Cuba, MO – Galena, KS – Tulsa, OK – Amarillo, TX – Tucumcari, NM – Williams, AZ – Seligman, AZ – Kingman, AZ – Oatman, AZ – Barstow, CA – Santa Monica, CA
There are many more, but this are the main stops during our Route 66 tours…
How many people who live in or pass through Winslow AZ know that the original Winslow is a small country town in Buckinghamshire, southern England?
My wife was born there in 1939, at 33 Sheep Street. Just coal fires for heating, a tin bath for a once a week soak and scrub!
Go on to Google maps and put in Winslow UK, and find Sheep Street. As a child she had the job of going to the Nag’s Head pub with the jug to be filled with beer for her father.
Winslow UK is on the route of the A413. And no one has written a song about that road!
I found No. 33 on that street on Google Street View, and the Nags Head is just a couple of doors down the street.
Thanks, Ron! The present owners need to do some work on the house front. When my wife’s father was still living at No 33 – in the 1980s – I put in central heating and made one of the three bedrooms into a bathroom for her dad. 1980s in the UK and no bath or shower!
I have Googled Winslow AZ – what a difference! How busy is the railway yard these days?
Pretty busy. Amtrak and the BNSF goes through that town regularly, right by La Posada Hotel.
As a citizen of Cuba, MO, I appreciate the inclusion of Cuba in your list, Ron. We truly do try to preserve and share our historic legacy. We welcome travelers from around the world. Maybe Joe Loesch and the Road Crew will write a version with new towns although I take nothing away from the “originals.”
1- Joliet IL for the Blue Brothers
2-Devils Elbow MO for the bridge and Elbow Inn
3-Lebanon MO for Munger Moss Motel
4-Galena KS for Tow Tater
5-Tulsa OK Meadow Gold sign and Avery Plaza
6-Shamrock TX for Cononco Tower Station and Water Tower
7-Glenrio TX & NM for being a 2 state town
8-Tucuncari NM or Blue Swallow Motel
9-Holbrook AZ to sleep in a TeePee
10-Seligman AZ to get haircut by Angel
11- Oatman AZ to pet a burro
12- Santa MOnica CA to see the blue Pacific
Thanks again, Ron. Winslow UK’s station closed to passengers effectively in the 1950s, with the line still used for freight. There are plans to re-open the line to passengers and build a new station.
It would be interesting to have a song for each state. Example, It would be “Get Your Kick’s on Arizona Rote 66 and include Holbrook, Winslow, Winona, Flagstaff, Williams, Ashfork, Seligman, Peach Springs, Kingman, Oatman, Topock. However, Kansas might have a shorter song.
I think we have the winning idea right there! Good thinking Frank.
How about Rancho Cucamonga? Although it might be hard to rhyme.
I’ll go with Jim Urban’s list, except replacing Catoosa and the Big Blue Whale with Tulsa…Also tempted to add Winslow just because I’m a die-hard Eagles fan.
1- Joliet IL for the Blue Brothers
2-Devils Elbow MO for the bridge and Elbow Inn
3-Lebanon MO for Munger Moss Motel
4-Galena KS for Tow Mater
5-Catoosa OK The Big Blue Whale
6-Shamrock TX for Cononco Tower Station and Water Tower
7-Glenrio TX & NM for being a 2 state town
8-Tucumcari NM or Blue Swallow Motel
9-Holbrook AZ to sleep in a TeePee
10-Seligman AZ to get haircut by Angel
11- Oatman AZ to pet a burro
12- Santa Monica CA to see the blue Pacific