| 1. Bob Dylan: Like a Rolling Stone |
A rolling stone gathers no moss. This Dylan classic was so popular with baby boomers who liked the idea of moving freely through the world that it was then taken on as the name for one of the world’s biggest rock bands – The Rolling Stones. It also became the moniker for the world’s foremost music magazine – Rolling Stone. After initial problems trying to release the record, it finally debuted in 1965 as part of the Highway 61 Revisited album recording and shot straight up to number two in the US chart.
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| 2. The Proclaimers: I’m going to be (500 miles) |
As a Scottish band the Proclaimers 500 miles song is regularly played at Scottish sporting events such as football and rugby matches. Released in 1988 this was number one on the Australian hit chart, though five years later it made it to number 3 on the US billboard. The travelling nature of this song is exemplified by comedy show How I Met Your Mother in which best friends Ted and Marshall take a road trip with the 500 Miles song stuck in their tape deck.
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| 3. Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody |
This epic song by queen is always a great one to sing along to no matter how long the journey and the head-banging scene in Wayne’s World made it even more famous. One of the few songs without a chorus to be so commercially successful, this stayed at the top of the UK chart for nine weeks. Truly a classic travelling song.
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| 4. Tom Petty: Free Fallin |
Ranked in the top 200 songs of all time by music magazine Rolling Stone, this is a travel song for the ages. It marked the time that Tom Petty was working solo from the Heartbreakers with his writing partner Jeff Lynne for company instead. The song is littered with references to famous Los Angeles places such as Hollywood and Mulholland Drive.
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| 5. Tracy Chapman: Fast Car |
This song may have sad lyrics but you just can’t stop yourself from singing along.
“You got a fast car
I want a ticket to anywhere
Maybe we make a deal
Maybe together we can get somewhere”
Chapman produced some of the all time great songs by an American singer songwriter and they invariably deal with the transitory heartache of life in America. In 1989 she got the Grammy award for best female pop vocal performance for Fast Car.
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| 6. Golden Earrings: Radar Love |
One of the archetypal driving songs begins with the strong striding chords of a lead guitar. Then the guitar fades out and a percussion of drums begins. Eventually the lyrics kick in with “I’ve been driving all night and my hands are wet on the wheel.” With a quick tempo this is definitely a good one to keep you up on a late night drive.
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| 7. Lisa Stansfield: All Around the World |
Sometime in 1989 Lisa Stansfield misplaced her baby (whether this was an infant or a lover I’m not sure) and travelled the whole world looking for it. She may not have had any success, but the resulting song was a massive chart topper which was later covered by numerous bands including Puff Daddy. Stansfield also got the master of moods Barry White to help her sing about her travel experiences.
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| 8. Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon |
Pink Floyds’ spacey progressive rock music and atmospheric delights are ideal for any drive through beautiful scenery. Whether you are watching the sun come up over the Highlands of Scotland or the first stars emerge as you drive through the Las Vegas desert, Dark Side of the Moon is the kind of song and album which will imprint the setting on your mind forever.
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| 9. The Doors: Roadhouse Blues |
Another thrumming rock song with a driving beat, no one did cool quite like The Doors. Of course drivers should probably not follow the sentiment of the song too closely as it opens with the words “woke up early morning and I got myself a beer”, as inspired by Alice Cooper. Nevertheless this is an important piece of music which recognises the transition from blues to rock music.
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| 10. 2Pac Shakur: Picture me Rolling |
A good song if you are planning to show off your new wheels or catch the attention of some ladies (or men) on the roadside. Tupac always like to brag about his cars and taunt his rivals, which is probably part of the reason why he ended up shot in tragic circumstances. Like many of his songs this one predicts the coming gang violence that killed him in almost prophetic terms.
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