Route 66 was opened in 1926 as part of the original U.S. highway system. Connecting Chicago to Los Angeles via Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, it was known as the Will Rogers Highway and America's Main Street. It was eventually replaced by the Interstate Highway System -- mostly I 55 and I 40 -- and ultimately decommissioned in the 1980s. While it was in service, Route 66 was both romantic and poignant, as it was traveled by pleasure seekers, vagabonds, and dust bowl refugees.
The delights of Route 66 were immortalized in a 1946 song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," first recorded by Nat King Cole. I hitch-hiked along a portion of Route 66 in November, 1966, but I never told my parents. Musical paean aside, they would have been appalled at the risky behavior of a 17 year old would-be hippy.
Chuck Berry traveled constantly between St. Louis and Chicago, on Route 66 all the way:
How could you forget this classic version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-LETk5H8hE
Posted by: Steve Diamond | December 12, 2020 at 10:44 PM