Route 66

At the top of this page is a drawing of Route 66 with the main towns that lay on the route: http://www.historic66.com/books/map-8statemaps.html

Route 66 now lies alongside Interstate 44 to Oklahoma City and then Interstate 40 to Santa Monica.

The most famous song version is Nat King Cole’s:

And then there’s St. Louis’s own Chuck Berry, for a rock version (he mispronounces Barstow, grrr):

And then it was redone in Cars by John Mayer:

The Lego Battle of New Orleans

Monkeys! Skeletons! Andy Jackson!

This song was a hit for Johnny Horton in the 1950s. Yes, really.

 

 

 

Rest in Peace, Richie Havens

One of the most important folk singers (and inventive guitarists) of the 1960s and 1970s, Richie Havens passed away on April 22, 2013, at the age of 72. One of his most famous moments was when he opened the Woodstock Music festival on August 15, 1969. Here is one of his most beautiful songs, “Follow.”

 

Here is a celebration of his life from the NPR blog: http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2013/04/23/178470389/richie-havens-folk-singer-who-opened-woodstock-has-died

Here is his “High Flyin’ Bird.”