Nat King Cole, Jack Kerouac, Ridley Scott… How the legendary Route 66 inspired music, cinema and literature

If there are few songs, books or films about Route 66 itself, the different localities it passes through have largely inspired artists.

“Get Your Kicks on Route 66” will forever remain the iconic song of the famous route. Its history deserves attention. In 1946, Bobby Troup, musician and lyricist, and his wife Cynthia decided to leave Pennsylvania to try their luck in Los Angeles. Their ten-day journey is tedious and punctuated with misadventures. However, Bobby decides to make a song out of it by erasing the unpleasant side of their trip. It was Cynthia who suggested the title “Get Your Kicks on Route 66”. Arriving at his destination, Bobby offers his song to Capitol Records. Performed by Nat King Cole, its success was immediate. Among the many covers, those of Chuck Berry – whose centenary we are also celebrating this year – in 1961, and that of the Rolling Stones in 1964, when the British group had never yet set foot in the United States, will remain in the memories.

“Les Raisins de la colère”

Literature will be there on Route 66 with two major works: in 1939, “The Grapes of Wrath”, by John Steinbeck, traces the exodus of farmers during the Great Depression. The author will give it the name “Mother Road”. Later, in 1957, “On the Road”, by Jack Kerouac, will embody the spirit of adventure and the rejection of conventions, even if the journey of its protagonists sometimes deviates from the plot.

Le cinéma s’est aussi approprié la route mythique, à commencer par John Ford avec son adaptation magistrale des « Raisins de la colère » en 1940. Dennis Hopper l’évoquera avec « Easy Rider » (1969), avant « Les Blues Brothers » de John Landis (1980) « Bagdad Café » de Percy Adlon (1987), « Thelma and Louise” by Ridley Scott (1991), “Little Miss Sunshine” by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (2006), and surtout le film d’animation “Cars” by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft (2006).