ClassicRockRoadTripMusic

February 25, 2005 11:26 AM

Classic Rock Road Trip Music? I am looking for stuff that was popular and has a driving theme.
posted by srboisvert to Media & Arts (54 answers total)

Best answer: Born to be Wild, 'natch
posted by Capn at 11:28 AM on February 25, 2005

Best answer: Highway to Hell
Radar Love
posted by Capn at 11:28 AM on February 25, 2005

Panama. Panama-a-a-a-a-a.
posted by felix betachat at 11:29 AM on February 25, 2005

Jeff Beck's Blow by Blow will always be one of the great traveling CD's. Give Freeway Jam a listen.
posted by wsg at 11:29 AM on February 25, 2005

Here I Go On The Road Again... Bob Seger
posted by rolypolyman at 11:31 AM on February 25, 2005

Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits CD
posted by matildaben at 11:32 AM on February 25, 2005

Not exactly classic rock, but IMO Swervedriver's "Mezcal Head" is the best driving album of all time. OF ALL TIME.

Otherwise, I dunno. Molly Hatchet?
posted by psmealey at 11:33 AM on February 25, 2005

The best music for driving is "I Wanna Be Sedated" by the Ramones, though almost any Ramones will do, since many of their songs tend to be very similar. It does have a tendency, alas, to make one drive very swiftly, but who could give a ticket to anyone playing the Ramones.
posted by anapestic at 11:33 AM on February 25, 2005

Does it have to be popular? 'Cuz, I mean, you could just spin the radio dial as you drive to find the local classic rock radio stations, which by law are not allowed to broadcast any song that was not in the top 5 between 1966 and 1995.

Sorry to snark, but jeez.
posted by scratch at 11:34 AM on February 25, 2005

Led Zeppelin's "Trampled Under Foot" is about cars (as a metaphor for sex).

It also happens to be awesome.
posted by saladin at 11:34 AM on February 25, 2005

Eagles - Take it Easy.
posted by qwip at 11:36 AM on February 25, 2005

The lost highway soundtrack is the best driving CD ever.
posted by batboy at 11:40 AM on February 25, 2005

Tom Petty - Runnin' Down a Dream
posted by davey_darling at 11:47 AM on February 25, 2005

The first half of the Talking Head's Remain In Light.

Anything off of Modern Lovers (by The Modern Lovers, natch. Not popular, per se, but people these days tend to like it).

Anything by George Thorogood and the Destroyers.

Some Chuck Berry.
posted by Ptrin at 11:48 AM on February 25, 2005

The traditional driving tunes in the eriko clan are the soundtracks to Animal House and The Blues Brothers.
posted by eriko at 11:50 AM on February 25, 2005

I can't drive 55!
posted by knave at 11:50 AM on February 25, 2005

I'm with saladin, only I would say that about most Led Zeppelin songs.

Maybe some Doors, also (L.A. Woman, Break Through). I may only be saying that because I now have organs playing in my head thanks to saladin.
posted by steelbuddha at 11:51 AM on February 25, 2005

I swear by Stereolab for long drives, but it has a tendency to hypnotize. You might be better off with the Allman Brothers Band.
posted by jokeefe at 11:54 AM on February 25, 2005

Best answer: Davey_Darling took my first suggestion.

So I am going to say "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road" by Springsteen.
posted by m0nm0n at 11:56 AM on February 25, 2005

Heart's "Barracuda" gets my nod. Not at all about driving or cars, but it sure as hell makes you want to go faster.

(It's interesting the mention of "Panama," given it's the opening movie music for Gran Turismo 4.)
posted by kuperman at 11:58 AM on February 25, 2005

ZZ Top, baby. Particularly "Cheap Sunglasses."
posted by flod at 12:05 PM on February 25, 2005

Mostly obvious artists, mostly not-so-obvious tunes (and the ones among these that weren't popular should have been):

"Not Fade Away" and "Rocks Off" by The Rolling Stones
"Airline to Heaven" by Wilco (off Mermaid Avenue, Vol 2)
"Guitar Town" by Steve Earle
"Village Green Preservation Society" by the Kinks
"Be My Baby" by the Ronettes
Almost anything by CCR (The Dude knows his driving music)
"American Girl" by Tom Petty (possibly the best driving song of all time)
posted by gompa at 12:10 PM on February 25, 2005

Highway Star - Deep Purple
I'm in Love with My Car - Queen
posted by malocchio at 12:12 PM on February 25, 2005

Boston - "Don't Look Back"
posted by grateful at 12:22 PM on February 25, 2005

Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' With Disaster
posted by ThePants at 12:27 PM on February 25, 2005

Driving Wheel -- Foghat
Radar Love -- Golden Earring
posted by xena at 12:29 PM on February 25, 2005

Seconding gompa:

CCR for sure -- especially Fortunate Son
posted by xena at 12:32 PM on February 25, 2005

Rush, Red Barchetta and Driven.
Scorps, Lovedrive.
Dio, I Speed at Night.
Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell.
In Flames, Bullet Ride and Pinball Map (OK, maybe stretching it a bit both on theme and popularity there).
B52s, Roam, Running Around, and Devil in my Car.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:51 PM on February 25, 2005

On the Modern Lovers kick, the Joan Jett cover of "Roadrunner" is all kinds of awesome. (Not that the original isn't also, awesome, but, yeah.)

I would say "Cars" by Gary Numan, but I don't think that's the kind of car music you want.
posted by SoftRain at 12:53 PM on February 25, 2005

Back In Black/Shake A Leg/A Whole A Lotta Rosie - AC/DC
Mr. Brownstone - GNR (or the entire Appetite for Destruction album)
Kill Em All - Metallica
Take it Easy/Already Gone - Eagles
Sweet Home Alabama
Mr Blue Sky/Sweet Talking Woman - ELO
Down On The Corner - CCR
I Don't Want To Know - Fleetwood Mac
Roll Me Away - Bob Seger
Ramblin' Man - Allman Brothers
Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison
Daydream Believer - The Monkees (not classic rock but hey!)
Mother's Little Helper/Gimme Shelter/Paint it Black - Rolling Stones
Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
Iron Man - Black Sabbath
posted by patrickje at 12:54 PM on February 25, 2005

Best answer: Talking Heads - Road to No Where

While driving at night
Stan Ridgeway - Drive She Said
posted by thomcatspike at 1:22 PM on February 25, 2005

Top 50 Driving songs from Berklee (College of Music) News probably has a few you might be interested in. Here's a brief sampling:
"409" Beach Boys, 1963
"No Particular Place to Go" Chuck Berry, 1964
"Born to Be Wild" Steppenwolf, 1968
"Crosstown Traffic" Jimi Hendrix, 1968
"American Pie" Don McLean, 1972
"Born to Run" Bruce Springsteen, 1975

I know you said classic rock, but I would also throw in these two Modest Mouse albums as both have many excellent songs dedicated to the travel/driving theme and are an easy transition from and back into the classic rock:

Modest Mouse, Lonesome Crowded West, 1997
Modest Mouse, This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About, 1996

I also heartily second the recommendation for Swervedriver's Mezcal Head (note travel related: Last Train to Satansville and Girl on a Motorbike).

Be sure to throw Crazy Train by Ozzy on your mix, too.
posted by safetyfork at 2:10 PM on February 25, 2005

Six days on the Road - Taj Mahal
posted by adamvasco at 2:30 PM on February 25, 2005

Best answer: Low. Ri. Der. - War
posted by telstar at 2:36 PM on February 25, 2005

My personal favorites:
Eddie Rabbit's "Drivin' My Life Away"
Allman Brother's "Ramblin' Man"
Kenny Roger's "On the Road Again"

and of course for the ride home:
Simon & Garfunkle's "Homeward Bound"
posted by sarahmelah at 2:48 PM on February 25, 2005

'Ramblin'" Marshall Tucker Band
"Tush" ZZ Top*
"Road Runner" The Modern Lovers
"Detroit Rock City" Kiss
"Commotion" CCR
"Live Wire" Motley Crue*
"Crash And Burn" April Wine
"Ol' 55" Tom Waits/Eagles
"Running Free" Iron Maiden*
"C'mon Baby Let's Go Downtown" Neil Young
"Theme From An Imaginary Western" Mountain*


*(not about driving necessarily, but a fun song to drive to, so Iassociate it with driving)
posted by jonmc at 3:55 PM on February 25, 2005

"Born to Run" and "Highway Star" definitely.
Car's "Drive", "Good Times Roll", anything? they are called The Cars.
Judas Priest "Headin' Out to the Highway"
Alice Cooper "Under My Wheels"
posted by hellbient at 4:22 PM on February 25, 2005

A not so obvious choice, but I'd put "The Globe Sessions" by Sheryl Crow as being my favorite "driving a zillion miles across the plains/desert with my foot down" album. It's so earthy.
posted by wackybrit at 4:44 PM on February 25, 2005

Not all about driving, but will get you there:
Black Sabbath "Paranoid"
Priest "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
The Who "Baba O'Reilly"
Journey "Don't Stop Believin'"
Hendrix "Crosstown Traffic"
Cult "She Sells Sanctuary"
Heart "Barracuda" (was a car i think)
posted by hellbient at 4:45 PM on February 25, 2005

damn, sorry, Heart and Hendrix are doubles.
posted by hellbient at 5:02 PM on February 25, 2005

Best answer: Bob Seger - "Get Out of Denver"
Judas Priest - "Hell Bent for Leather"
Dick Dale - "Mr. Eliminator"
Black Sabbath - "Trashed"
AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"
Bob Seger - "Travelin' Man"
Ted Nugent - "Motor City Madhouse"
David Lee Roth - "Sensible Shoes"
Dire Straits - "Heavy Fuel"
Joan Jett - "Roadrunner"
Montrose - "Bad Motor Scooter"
Jeff Beck - "Hotrod Honeymoon"
Violent Femmes - "Gimme the Car"
White Zombie - "Supercharger Haven"
BTO - "Roll On Down the Highway"
posted by substrate at 5:13 PM on February 25, 2005

The Best of Queen

/Good Omens

Seriously, I don't know what to add, except Big Sugar's albums 500 Pounds (especially "Ride Like Hell") or Hemivision.
posted by synecdoche at 5:54 PM on February 25, 2005

Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan. Great album, I especially like It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry and From A Buick 6.

Dylan's recent Time Out Of Mind also has great travelling tunes including Million Miles, Cold Irons Bound, Dirt Road Blues. Then again, in my opinion all Bob Dylan is good travelling music.

You can hear samples of all the tunes on the linked pages.
posted by McGuillicuddy at 6:08 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm suprised no ones mentioned Autobahn by Kraftwerk ...
posted by rfs at 7:01 PM on February 25, 2005

Dwight Yoakam - "Thousand Miles from Nowhere" (night driving)
ibid, "Fast as You" (kickin' out of town in a hurry)
Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't Fear the Reaper" (not *about* driving per se but about being fearless)
Canned Heat's "On the Road Again"
Zep's "Kashmir" is about the road to that place
Townes Van Zandt's "Highway Kind" (sad as hell)
Son Volt - "Tear Stained Eye" is about place, not motion, but works well
Motorhead - "Ace of Spades"
Lyle Lovett's "Step Inside this House" double album is great to drive to, as are
Nanci Griffith's two "Other Voices" albums and
Tom Russell's "Borderland" disc (the last few are folky but serene)
posted by notsnot at 7:03 PM on February 25, 2005

Guns N' Roses - Out to Get Me, Night Train.
Tom Petty - You Wreck Me
Reo Speedwagon - Riding The Storm Out

And it's not really classic rock (more like alt.rock or some other variant), but oh god it ought to be in any top ten list of car songs or driving-too-fast songs or speed-as-a-drug songs:

The Butthole Surfers - Ulcer Breakout

Oh, and a quick note on Panama; talked to a guy who was stationed in Panama (the country) before (and during) the invasion. He and his buddies had a band, did covers in local bars. The most requested song by the locals? Oh, come on... do I have to tell you?
posted by Clay201 at 7:09 PM on February 25, 2005

Ooh, Ohh! I fergot one. Chris Isaac's "wicked Game". Less so since I saw David Lynch's "Wild at Heart", but I can listen to that song on repeat for *hours* while driving.
posted by notsnot at 7:49 PM on February 25, 2005

I'm suprised no ones mentioned Autobahn by Kraftwerk ...

That's because he asked for rock.
posted by jonmc at 10:08 PM on February 25, 2005

Back when I made mixtapes, I made several mixtapes for driving, and oddly enough I was unable to start them with any song other than Jerry Harrison's "Flying Under Radar." Not specifically about driving, but it makes you wanna go fast.
posted by kindall at 11:41 PM on February 25, 2005

Space Truckin' - Deep Purple

Greatest driving song ever.
posted by Corpus Callosum at 1:01 AM on February 26, 2005

Hit the Road Jack, Mr. Ray Charles
posted by airguitar at 1:57 PM on February 26, 2005

Keep your eyes on the road,
Your hands upon the wheel.
Yeah, we’re going to the roadhouse,
Gonna have a real good-time.

The back of the roadhouse,
They’ve got some bungalows.
That's for the people
Who like to go down slow.

Let it roll, baby, roll.
Let it roll, all night long.

Well, I woke up this morning
And I got myself a beer.
The future's uncertain
And the end is always near.
posted by airguitar at 2:07 PM on February 26, 2005

back when eddie rabbit's "driving my life away" was a hit, i was on a cross country trip ... it became my road song, of course
posted by pyramid termite at 2:28 PM on February 26, 2005

Road songs list from the Road Trip America forums.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:09 AM on February 28, 2005