Here is the rewritten content in HTML format:
Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road
The Ultimate Playlist for a Carefree Drive
There’s something special about the open road, isn’t there? The feeling of freedom, the wind in your hair, and the music playing loudly as you cruise down the highway. What better way to enhance this experience than with some classic rock songs that capture the spirit of the open road? In this article, we’ll count down the top 10 classic rock songs about the open road, complete with lyrics, stories behind the songs, and recommendations for your next road trip.
# 10 – Take It Easy – The Eagles
We open our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list with the classic Eagles song “Take It Easy.” Is there any better opening line about escape and the search for real love than “Well, I’m a-runnin’ down the road tryin’ to loosen my load, I’ve got seven women on my mind?” “Take It Easy” was the debut single by the Eagles. The song instantly became a classic and has long been one of the group’s signature songs. Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey wrote it. Both the Eagles and Jackson Browne recorded their own versions. At the time of the band’s first album, the Eagles consisted of Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon, Randy Meisner, and Don Henley. When the song was first released, it hit number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Not bad for a band’s debut single. Glenn Frey’s lead vocals and those incredible harmonies just make you feel good when listening to this one.
Read More: The Eagles Best Song From Each Of Their Studio Albums
# 9 – Running On Empty – Jackson Browne
It’s two in a row for Jackson Browne on our open road songs list. However, this time the Eagles get no credit for this one. This is pure Jackson Browne. This is the title cut from Jackson Browne’s Running on Empty album, which was the follow-up to his phenomenal The Pretender record. The title “Running on Empty” can mean a lot of things, but we all know that feeling—looking at that line about to touch the ‘E’ on the gas gauge, hoping that we can find gas somewhere down the road but, in many ways, not really even caring. That can be a metaphor too, my friends. Nonetheless, the music to this one makes you feel so good.
Read More: Jackson Browne’s Best Song From Each Of His Studio Albums
# 8 – Roll On Down The Highway – Bachman-Turner Overdrive
In the number eight spot on our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list is a real classic from one of our favorite bands of all time, Bachman-Turner Overdrive. This killer tune, titled “Roll On Down The Highway,” was released on Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s most successful album of their career, called Not Fragile. The big hit off the album was, of course, “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.” Yet, ask a lot of Bachman-Turner Overdrive fans to name their favorite track on this record, and it usually comes down to “Roll On Down The Highway.” This one just gets you pumped. It’s the perfect song to pop into that 8-track player of yours, turn up really loud, take a sip of that 7-Eleven coffee, and just let the four winds blow.
Read More: Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s Best Song On Each Of Their Albums
# 7 – Radar Love – Golden Earring
Not all songs about the open road happen during the day. There are some real classics about driving at night. Golden Earring’s “Radar Love” is the first of three classic rockers that we’ve included on this list about driving at night. This one has it all: lyrics, attitude, melody, and chord changes that just make you want to roll down the window and feel the night breeze as you thunder down the freeway. The song was originally released in 1973 and became a top 20 hit in the United States.
Read More: Top 10 Golden Earring Songs
# 6 – I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar
Well, there’s just no way we could put together a list of songs about the open road and not include Sammy Hagar’s classic “I Can’t Drive 55.” If there was ever a song about putting the pedal to the metal on the open road, it’s this one. Interestingly, this song was actually inspired by Sammy Hagar’s personal experience on the open road. He wrote this song after receiving a speeding ticket on the Northway in New York, not the Californian highways where the video for the song takes place. The Northway in New York is a stretch that runs from Albany all the way up to the Canadian border. It’s an extension of the New York Thruway that splits in Albany and heads west towards Buffalo.
Read More: Top 10 Sammy Hagar’s Greatest Guitar Riffs
# 5 – Midnight Rider – The Allman Brothers Band/ Gregg Allman
At the halfway point on our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list is the second of three songs about driving at night. This one is purely about escape. It’s also about not being caught, or held down, or whatever it was that Gregg Allman meant. The song was originally recorded by The Allman Brothers Band on their sophomore album Idlewild South, released in 1970. However, it was Gregg Allman’s rendition of this song in 1973 that became our preferred version here.
Read More: The History Of The Allman Brothers Band Guitar Players
# 4 – Free Bird/ Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
At the number four spot on our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list is a sweet tie. One song is about hitting the road to leave, while the other is about hitting the road to come home. The only question is which one came first. In the end, does it really matter? Because we are talking about the original Lynyrd Skynyrd here. One of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time. This band gave all of us who grew up in the 1970s so much joy. Pretty much anyone who was a rock fan had a Lynyrd Skynyrd tape in their car as they hit that open road.
Read More: Top 10 Lynyrd Skynyrd Songs
# 3 – Ventura Highway – America
Moving along on our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list is another feel-good open road song. This time we take a listen to America’s much-loved classic “Ventura Highway.” The band paints a beautiful picture in this one, from both a lyrical standpoint and a spirited, happy-go-lucky melody that just makes you feel good. The song was released in 1972 and became a top 10 hit. The lyrics “Wishin’ on a falling star, watching for the early train. Sorry boy, but I’ve been hit by purple rain,” may have inspired another huge rock and roll song that came out many years later in 1984. Hmmmm.
Read More: America’s Best Song On Each Of Their Studio Albums
# 2 – Something In The Night – Bruce Springsteen
There are many songs from Bruce Springsteen’s catalog that we could have chosen to place on this list. Springsteen’s early material from his first few albums relied heavily on images of open roads and driving. Songs like “Racing in the Street,” “Born to Run,” and others were all filled with images of escape and hope. However, his most dramatic song about the road was also one of his darkest. Released on the Darkness on the Edge of Town album, Bruce Springsteen’s “Something in the Night” was hands down his most dramatic piece about a sense of hopelessness and the search for comfort on the road, and in this case, of course, on the road at night.
It wasn’t just the lyrics, although they were very profound; it was the music itself. Roy Bittan’s driving, repeated piano notes created this sense of an endless journey that painted such a cinematic picture. But topping it all off was the vocal performance that Springsteen laid out on this one. It was simply breathtaking. Listening to this song while driving at night, for someone in their late teens or early twenties, could be quite moving.
Read More: Top 10 Bruce Springsteen Albums
# 1 – Carefree Highway – Gordon Lightfoot
We close out our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list with the breathtaking Gordon Lightfoot song entitled “Carefree Highway.” Gordon’s lyrics that invoke the freedom of the road are pretty much used as a metaphor for the end of a relationship, as someone slips away down the road without a care. Nonetheless, there has always been something about this song that just gave you a sense of hope in the midst of despair that the open road always seems to offer. Gordon sets the scene perfectly. The song “Carefree Highway” was released on Gordon Lightfoot’s 1974 album Sundown. It was the second single released from the album and became a top 10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. It has long been a Gordon Lightfoot fan favorite.
Read More: Top 10 Gordon Lightfoot Songs
Conclusion
There you have it – our Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road list. From the Eagles to Springsteen, Bachman-Turner Overdrive to Golden Earring, these songs capture the essence of freedom, escape, and the thrill of hitting the open road. Whether you’re driving to a new destination or just taking a Sunday cruise, these classics are sure to get you pumped and put a smile on your face.
FAQs
Q: What inspired the song “I Can’t Drive 55” by Sammy Hagar?
