I see Van Halen was back on tour, with David Lee Roth in tow. Here's the band's motorcycle hit, just before Roth left the band: https://youtu.be/w-NshzYK9y0 The recent story about guitarist Eddie Van Halen in Esquire magazine is excellent. Read it. The song comes from Van Halen's now-classic "1984" album (Amazon download here).
Category: Music
“Broke Down”
Slaid Cleaves took an old phrase and turned it into a country-music classic and an unexpected regional hit in 2000. At one point that summer, you couldn't drive around south Texas without hearing it on the radio. https://youtu.be/O8u7CVVmybU The "Broke Down" album can be downloaded from Amazon here.
Get your motor running
I really like this video about a couple of pals on motorcycles touring Arizona, California, and Nevada, including Route 66: https://vimeo.com/42322087 Music is by Mumford & Sons.
“Born to Be Wild”
This swell remake of the Steppenwolf motorcycle classic is by The Cult, circa 1987: https://youtu.be/ZswHjqKGqFo The song comes from The Cult's "Electric" album, where producer Rick Rubin wanted largely an AC/DC sound. (Amazon download of the album is here.)
“Ten Second News”
This song from Son Volt, circa 1995, was inspired by the now-abandoned Route 66 town of Times Beach, Mo., and the flood and resulting dioxin contamination that killed it. https://youtu.be/gqdMTkrFN7s The entire album, "Trace," was inspired by a lot of road trips in the St. Louis region, and remains the best the band's ever done. … Continue reading “Ten Second News”
“The Back of Your Hand”
Check out the very beginning of the background of this Dwight Yoakam video from about 10 years ago. Anyone know where this is? https://youtu.be/N41CTsj2iN0 This is a very underrated song by Dwight, by the way.
One from the BBC vault
This is a version of Bobby Troup's "Route 66" by an apparently long-gone band called Freak UK. The video was broadcast by the BBC in 1991. I suspect this was influenced by Depeche Mode's version from 1987. https://youtu.be/fLgS9_GTumg Freak UK's frontman was Mik Scarlet, who found later fame as a TV and radio broadcaster, journalist, and actor. … Continue reading One from the BBC vault
“We’re Going West”
Here's a new video from the good folks at The Road Crew, a country-rock band that's served as boosters of Route 66 for the past few years: https://youtu.be/ocnYDLw934A The song comes from "Songs from the Mother Road" album, which you can download from Amazon here. It's also on iTunes.
Hello from Dallas
Here's a nifty arrangement of Nelson Riddle's "Route 66" by Reverend Organdrum, a three-piece band in Dallas. Riddle initially composed this for the "Route 66" television program. https://youtu.be/GtXWn3JoMcI Try not to be too distracted by the video's pinup models.
Bing and the Andrews Sisters take a trip
Here's a new video with a 1946 version of Bobby Troup's "Route 66" by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters. It also includes Vic Schoen & His Orchestra. https://youtu.be/FJ4GBrnRBic The clip contains a lot of vintage footage, including from the "Route 66" television program of the early 1960s.