The Joliet-based Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 recently announced its third class of inductees, and one of them made a key impact on Route 66 itself.
That would be Nat King Cole, who was born in Alabama but spent his formative years in Chicago. He popularized “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” (written by Bobby Troup while traveling the highway) when it became a nationwide hit in 1946.
That song absolutely played a key role in cementing Route 66 in popular culture. “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” has been covered hundreds of times, including prominent versions by Bing Crosby, Rolling Stones, Manhattan Transfer and Depeche Mode. And it undoubtedly inspired many road trips on the highway itself.
Cole boasted a storied career in music, logging more than 100 hit singles before his death from cancer in 1965. His daughter, Natalie Cole, also had a distinguished career in music and covered “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” during the early 1990s. Natalie died in 2015.
The Class of 2023 Hall of Fame inductees also include Earth, Wind & Fire, The Cryan’ Shames, The Shadows of Knight and Miles Davis. The Songwriter inductee is the late John Prine. Chicago-area disc jockey Bob Sirott will be inducted in the DJ category. WLUP-FM “The Loop” will be inducted in the Radio Station category, and Alligator Records, founded in Chicago in 1971, will be inducted in the Record Label category.
The event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 17 at the Rialto Square Theatre, 102 N. Chicago St. in Joliet. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Ticket prices are $68.50, $58.50, & $48.50. Tickets for the general public are for sale at the museum’s website and TicketMaster.
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