The Historic Tucumcari page on Facebook posted this 15-minute home movie, circa 1960, from the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M. Locations in the film include the Tri-Angle Café, Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery, Harry's Cafe, and the train station. Does anyone know whether Harry's or the Tri-Angle were on 66? https://youtu.be/C0nJ6d6KInA Regardless, the film is … Continue reading Home movies of Tucumcari, circa 1960
Category: Music
“King of the Road” on a Route 66 cigar box guitar
A YouTube poster with the intriguing name of Thirstn How1 uploaded this clip of him rocking out on a four-string cigar-box slide guitar with a Route 66 paint job. He covers Roger Miller's 1965 hit "King of the Road," with a few licks from Bobby Troup's "Route 66" thrown into the mix. https://youtu.be/uQXDfR35Zks Miller, incidentally, … Continue reading “King of the Road” on a Route 66 cigar box guitar
Blue Swallow Motel gets its own song
Musician Stephen Conrad apparently likes the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., so much, he wrote a song about it for this slide-show video: https://youtu.be/gSDV8rDF8Yo Conrad created another slide-show video for the Blue Swallow and New Mexico in general, called "In the Sunshine Glow." https://youtu.be/e2967LQGT30
“The Mother Road”
Here's one of our all-time favorite songs about Route 66 -- starring Alan Rhody and a lot of nice country guitar licks. https://youtu.be/7CFPqjw5KVM The song was included in the "Songs of Route 66" compilation album, which apparently is available only in CD form here. An acoustic version of Rhody's song can be downloaded for 99 … Continue reading “The Mother Road”
A Route 66 video postcard of Oklahoma
This well-done video about Route 66 in Oklahoma was posted a few days ago by Richard Cox of Oklahoma City-based Cimarron Photography and Design. The description says it's a "very small preview" of what Cox called a Route 66 Video Postcard. I emailed Cox at Cimarron for more details, but received no response. So your … Continue reading A Route 66 video postcard of Oklahoma
Vince Gill video showcases Rialto Square Theater
I didn't know this until a few days ago -- country singer Vince Gill's official video for his 1992 hit, "I Still Believe In You," was shot entirely at the Rialto Square Theater in Joliet, Ill. Music videos are meant to showcase the artist and the song. But this one shows off that historic theater … Continue reading Vince Gill video showcases Rialto Square Theater
Patti Page, famed singer and Route 66 native, dies at 85
https://youtu.be/_Ek3eCbfqp0 Patti Page, an Oklahoma-born singer whose greatest claim to fame was her massively popular "Tennessee Waltz" song from 1950, died Tuesday in California at age 85, reported the Tulsa World and many other media outlets. I'll let other obituaries detail Page's amazing music career, which included more than 100 million records sold. But it … Continue reading Patti Page, famed singer and Route 66 native, dies at 85
Cruising with Earl Grant
This performance by Earl Grant has become one of my favorite performances of Bobby Troup's most famous song. I like the easy groove of this tune. https://youtu.be/OS0yjQNTJZo This recording came out in 1966 on a tribute album to Nat King Cole, who'd died of cancer the previous year. Cole popularized Troup's "Route 66" in 1946 … Continue reading Cruising with Earl Grant
Fun with mounted cameras
As the quality and portability of high-definition video have gotten better, we're seeing more of such clips show up on the Internet from the Mother Road. This video, which included mounted angles, comes from Poland: Route 66 clip from meedia.pl on Vimeo. The song is "Route 66 Revisited," by Jimmy LaFave. The song can be … Continue reading Fun with mounted cameras
Seligman Sundries’ Year in Review
The good folks at Historic Seligman Sundries in Seligman, Ariz., put together this "Year in Review" video of some of the tourists who visited. Disclosure: I make an appearance in the film. Think tie-dye. https://youtu.be/5N1e7q4DypA Music is The Road Crew, doing their version of Bobby Troup's "Route 66." You can download the song here for … Continue reading Seligman Sundries’ Year in Review