I’m filling in for the host of a two-hour singer-songwriter program on a local radio station in mid-July. I do this a couple of times a year and always do a theme show.
My theme this time out is “On the Road Again.”
I’d like it to be about the trials and tribulations of touring musicians, and could use some suggestions.
If I can’t find enough about touring, it’s easy enough to fill with other road trip songs, but it would be nice to keep to the original more specific theme.
The show is focused on singer-songwriters, but I’ve got a lot of latitude. I can use groups if one or more members of the group wrote the song. I can use material in the general roots music category: folk, country, alt-country, rock, blues, bluegrass, etc.
Haven’t got a lot so far:
Turn the Page - Bob Seger
Good Road - Heidi Mulier
Road To Long - Staid Cleves
Three Down - The Waifs
Homeward Bound - Simon & Garfunkel
40 Miles to Vegas - Southern Culture on the Skids
On the Road Again - Willie Nelson
On the Road Again - Canned Heat
Down the Road - Spencer Bohren
Everybody Goin’ on the Road - Hoyt Axton
I know there are more out there and if anyplace has the goods, the Dope does.
How about Billy Bragg’s ‘A13’ Trunk Road to the Sea?
Joni Mitchell’s ‘This Flight Tonight’ and Rufus Wainwhright’s ‘Oh What A World’ are about touring, but not specifically ‘roads’.
Rush - Making Memories and Fly By Night, from the album Fly By Night. There’s also Limelight, from the album Moving Pictures, but that’s more about being on stage than being on the road. If you run out of time and need general road trip songs, Rush also has Red Barchetta, Dreamline, Ghost Rider, and Workin’ Them Angels. I think you should definitely use Making Memories. Here’s a link to the lyrics.