The members huddled around their laptops in the 17 rounds of voting. Points were given to songs on a sliding scale of ten, with extra points for songs appearing on multiple lists. Was it scientific? Not one bit. –  T-Boy Society of Film & Music

1. The Long and Winding Road – The Beatles

From the Album: Let It Be
B Side: For You Blue
Released: May 1970
Recorded: January 1969 and April 1970
Studio: Apple and EMI, London
Label: Apple
Songwriters: John Lennon – Paul McCartney
Producer: Phil Spector

The Long and Winding Road was initially recorded (and filmed) for the Beatles’ 1969 Let It Be sessions. The album was finished, but record producer Phil Spector, known for his Wall Of Sound, was called in by Lennon to tidy up some of the tracks. And tidy he did:  overdubbing the song with eight violins, four violas, four cellos, three trumpets, three trombones, two guitars, and a choir of 14 women. McCartney was appalled by the version  and protested in vain. Never-the-less, The Long and Winding Road became the Beatles 20th and last US #1 song on June 13, 1970.

After much legal jousting, a new version of the song with simpler instrumentation was subsequently released by McCartney and the remaining Beatles in 2003 on the LP, Let It Be… Naked.

2. Take it Easy – The Eagles

From the Album: Eagles
B Side: Get You in the Mood
Released: May 1, 1972
Studio: Olympic Sound Studios, London
Label: Asylum
Songwriters: Jackson Browne, Glenn Frey
Producer: Glyn Johns

The Eagles’ co-founder Glenn Frey, and fellow country-folk rocker Jackson Browne, had once lived in the same apartment building in Santa Monica, CA. Frey recalled having heard an incomplete version of a song which Browne was having difficulties finishing. Frey asked if he could work with him on the song, resulting in the 1971 song, Take It Easy. The song became the first track on the Eagles’ self-titled debut album and was released as their first single, which propelled them to stardom. Browne also recorded his version of Take It Easy on his second LP, 1973’s For Everyman.

3. Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen

From the Album: Born to Run
Released: August 25, 1975
Recorded: July 16, 1975 (completed) at the Record Plant, New York City
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Mike Appel

Bruce Springsteen said he envisioned the LP Born to Run as a series of vignettes, following its character throughout the day, with Thunder Road serving as an “invitation” to the album and opening with a harmonica that suggests the beginning of a “new day.” In 1975, music critic Jon Landau joined the album’s production team, marking the start of a life-long professional relationship with  Springsteen. Current manager Mike Appel fiercely resented Landau’s influence. Springsteen had grown tired of Appel’s dictatorial control, and sought to replace him with Landau. Appel filed a lawsuit that kept Springsteen from recording for three years. The lawsuit was eventually settled, but it was a frustrating period for Springsteen and his fans with the lack of new recordings.

4. America – Simon & Garfunkel

From the Album: Bookends
Released: April 3, 1968
Recorded: February 1, 1968 at Columbia Studio A, New York City
Studio: Columbia Studio A, New York City
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Paul Simon
Producer: Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, Roy Halee

America is a track from Simon & Garfunkel’s fourth studio album, 1968’s Bookends, which is influenced by the Beatles’ stunning innovations in the studio. The song was composed by Paul Simon, and concerns young lovers hitchhiking their way across the United States, in search of “America,” in both a literal and figurative sense. It was inspired by a 1964 road trip that Simon took with his then girlfriend Kathy Chitty. The song is regarded as one of Simon’s strongest songwriting efforts and one of the duo’s best songs.

5. King of the Road – Roger Miller

From the Album: The Return of Roger Miller
B Side: Atta Boy Girl
Released: January 1965
Recorded: November 1964
Label: Smash
Songwriter: Roger Miller
Producer: Jerry Kennedy

Roger Miller was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping country and pop hits from the mid-1960s Nashville sound era. King of the Road is a song written and originally recorded in November 1964. The lyrics tell of the day-to-day life of a vagabond who, despite being poor, revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously or cynically as the king of the road.

6. Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

From the Album: Born to Run
B Side: Meeting Across the River
Released: August 25, 1975
Recorded: January 8, 1974 (first take); May 21, 1974 (first demo); August 6, 1974
Studio: 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York
Label: Columbia
Songwriter: Bruce Springsteen
Producer: Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau

Born to Run was Bruce Springsteen’s first worldwide album release, and the title song of his album, Born to Run. In late 1973, on the road in Tennessee, Springsteen awoke with the title Born to Run in his head. Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy, for whom the hot rod-riding protagonist seems to love. However, Springsteen has noted that the song has a much simpler core: getting out of Freehold, New Jersey. U.S. Route 9 is a highway passing through Freehold.

7. Hit the Road, Jack – Ray Charles

B Side: The Danger Zone
Released: June 1961
Label: ABC-Paramount
Songwriter: Percy Mayfield

Ray Charles Robinson pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into his songs. His innovations continued during the 1960s with  the integration of country music, rhythm and blues and pop music, leading to crossover success. Hit the Road, Jack is a song written by Percy Mayfield and first recorded in 1960 as an a cappella demo sent to Art Rupe. It became famous after it was recorded by Ray Charles with The Raelettes’ vocalist Margie Hendrix, and eventually became one of his signature songs. Hit the road is an idiom: A person could say, Everyone into the car; let’s hit the road!

8. Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver

Released: April 12, 1971
Recorded: January 1971, New York City
Label: RCA
Songwriters: Bill Danoff, Taffy Nivert, John Denver
Producer: Milton Okun, Susan Ruskin

Henry John Deutschendorf Jr., known professionally as John Denver, was a singer-songwriter, actor, activist and humanitarian. In 1970, Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert co-wrote a song called I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado, which they recommended to Colorado transplant, John Denver. Denver chimed in as the third writer, and the result was Take Me Home, Country Roads. Danoff had never been to West Virginia before co-writing the song, with its inspiration stemming from a drive to Montgomery County, Maryland. He considered using Massachusetts rather than West Virginia as both four-syllable names would have fit the song’s meter. Take Me Home, Country Roads is now the official state song of West Virginia.

9. Refuge of the Roads – Joni Mitchell

From the Album: Hejira
Released: November 1976
Recorded: 1976
Studio: A&M Studios, Hollywood
Label: Asylum
Songwriter: Joni Mitchell
Producer: Joni Mitchell

Refuge of the Roads was written about a three-day visit that Joni Mitchell had made to the controversial Buddhist meditation master Chögyam Trungpa in Colorado on her way to Los Angeles. According to Mitchell, it was during this visit in early 1976 that Trungpa cured her of her own cocaine addiction. She would later say that this track was one of her own favorite songs, partially due to her collaboration with jazz virtuoso bass guitarist Jaco Pastorius. Refuge of the Roads closes the album Hejira, whose experimental sound is still considered ahead of its time today.

10. Sweet Baby James – James Taylor

Released: February 1970
Recorded: December 1969
Studio: Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Label: Warner Bros.
Songwriter: James Taylor
Producer: Peter Asher

Sweet Baby James is a song written and recorded by James Taylor that serves as the opening and title track from his 1970 breakthrough album, Sweet Baby James. It is one of his best-known and most popular tunes, considered a classic and his own favorite of his songs. It was written by Taylor for the son of his older musician brother, Alex, who was named James after him  The song is composed as a waltz, in 3/4 time, a cross between a cowboy song and a lullaby, conceived by Taylor as he was driving through North Carolina to meet his  infant nephew for the first time.

The post The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Top 20 Songs of the Road appeared first on Traveling Archive.

11. On the Road Again – Canned Heat

On the Road Again was recorded by the blues-rock group Canned Heat in 1967. A driving blues-rock boogie, it was adapted from the 1953 Floyd Jones song of the same name, which is reportedly based on the Tommy Johnson song Big Road Blues, recorded in 1928. Canned Heat included mid-1960’s psychedelic rock elements in their songs which added to their popularity. Though guitarist Alan Wilson sang lead vocals on On the Road Again and their smash hit Going Up the Country, Bob (The Bear) Hite was the co-lead vocalist and unofficial leader of Canned Heat, much due to his massive weight and presence on stage. The group has been noted for their interpretations of blues material and efforts to promote interest in its original artists. 

12. Willin’ – Little Feat

Willin’ is a song written by Lowell George before he had formed his band, Little Feat. Released on their 1971 Little Feat album, the band re-recorded the song at a slower tempo to much greater success on their 1972 Sailin’ Shoes album. The song tells a story of a truck driver traveling from Tucson to Tucumcari; Tehachapi to Tonopah and became a trucker anthem. Though not confirmed, some believe the lyrics, ” . . . from Tucson to Tucumcari . . . ” were taken from the 1961 Sam Peckinpah film, The Deadly Companions.

13. Moonlight in Vermont – Frank Sinatra Version

Moonlight in Vermont, considered the unofficial state song of Vermont, was written by John Blackburn (lyrics), Karl Suessdorf (music) and published in 1944. The lyrics are unusual in that they do not rhyme, with each verse (not counting the bridge) a haiku. The song was first introduced by Margaret Whiting in a 1944 recording, and has been covered by numerous other artists over the years, including our favorite version by Ol‘  Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra.

14. Walkin’ Blues – Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson was born in the Mississippi Delta, a dirt-poor, African-American who would grow up, learn to sing and play the blues, and eventually achieve worldwide renown in the decades after his death. He has become known as the King of the Delta Blues Singers, with his music expanding in influence to the point that rock stars – the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers – sing his praise and have recorded his songs. The itinerant blues singer and guitarist lived from 1911 to 1938, recording 29 songs between 1936 and ’37.  Most of these songs have attained canonical status, and are now considered enduring anthems of the genre: Walkin’ Blues, Cross Road Blues, Love In Vain, Hellhound On My Trail,I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom and Sweet Home Chicago. Never had the hardships of the world been transformed into such a poetic height; never had the blues plumbed such an emotional depth. Johnson took the intense loneliness, terrors and tortuous lifestyle that came with being an African-American in the South during the Great Depression, and transformed that personal experience into music of universal relevance and global reach.

15. Route 66 – Rolling Stones Version

(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 is a popular rhythm and blues standard, composed in 1946 by American songwriter Bobby Troup. The song became popular for the British Invasion crowd as it appeared on the Rolling Stones’ first U.S. LP, England’s Newest Hitmakers. It was a route well-taken by mid-1960’s rock-and-roll British Invasion groups whose popularity in North America stemmed from anglicizing U.S. music, generally Afro-American, and sending it back to the America’s as something new and exciting. Like the French New Wave, whose late 1950s and 60’s films were highly influenced by Hollywood genre films, they were reintroducing America to their own music.  

16. Six Days on the Road – Dave Dudley Version

Six Days on the Road is written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery. It was made famous in 1963 by country music singer Dave Dudley, leading to it being hailed as the definitive celebration of the North American truck driver. There  have been countless cover versions of the song, but Canadian Jerry Doucette does a rockin’ blues of it like no one else, but is hard to find.

17. Where the Streets Have No Name – U2

Where the Streets Have No Name is a track by Irish rock band U2. As the opening song from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree, it was released as the album’s third single in August 1987. The song’s hook is a repeating guitar arpeggio using a delay effect, played during the song’s introduction and again at the end. The Joshua Tree cemented U2’s status as one of the 1980’s preeminent groups, assimilating their initial post-punk energy with their fascination and immersion in American roots music.

18. On the Road Again – Willie Nelson

On the Road Again is written and made famous by country music legend Willie Nelson in the Jerry Schatzberg film, Honeysuckle Rose. The song, about life on a tour, was born when Nelson was on a plane with one of the film’s executive producers. Nelson had just signed a contract to play the film’s lead character, which would prove to be a box office hit, introducing him to a new legion of fans. He was asked  to write a theme song for the movie, and purportedly scribbled the lyrics on one of the plane’s barf bags.

19. Running on Empty – Jackson Browne

Running on Empty is  written and performed by singer-songwriter Jackson Browne. It is the title track to his 1977 live album of the same name, recorded at a concert in Columbia, Maryland on August 27, 1977.  The album itself consists of live performances while Browne and his band were touring on the road. Breaking the usual conventions for a live album, Browne used only new material and combined live concert performances with recordings made on buses, in hotel rooms, and back stage. The collection of songs, along with the LPs’ Late for the Sky (1974) and The Pretender (1976), are indicative of the heyday of Browne’s remarkable popularity in the mid-1970s and early 1980s.

20. Peace Train – Cat Stevens

Peace Train is a 1971 song by Cat Stevens, taken from his album Teaser and the Firecat. Pop songs with messages of peace were common in the Vietnam War era. Stevens later converted to Islam, and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. During the Iraq War he commented on the song’s renewed relevance, saying: ‘Peace Train’ is a song I wrote, where the message is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again. Following 9/11, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles.

The post The Top Twenty Songs of the Road (#11-20) appeared first on Traveling Archive.