I have CD’s with at least three different versions of Route 66, all in different styles, all of which I like. First, there’s the version by Manhattan Transfer; laid back tempo, cool jazz piano, great bass line and their trademark harmony. Then, there’s Nat King Cole: piano and bass, a nice jazz guitar solo and Nat’s ultra cool voice. But my favorite is by *Asleep At The Wheel*; big, brash boogi-woogie piano and brass section, with a western swing twang with Big Ray & Co (sorry, no online sample, but it was the one used in a motel commercial recently).
What is your favorite version of this icon of hip?
I’ll always be partial to the Stones’ version on their (US) album December’s Children – partly because it’s the first one I heard, and partly because it gives a good feel for the energy of the band and their audience circa 1965 – and for the Stones’ deep love and respect for American music and geography.
Actually, that is not a version of Bobby Troups’s Route 66, but an original theme Nelson Riddle wrote for the TV series, Route 66, which aired from 1960-64. Very cool, though.