Best songs for a summer road trip
It’s the time of year when families across New Zealand load up the car and head out of the highways on their summer holidays.
Whether it’s a trip home to catch up with family and friends or a trip to an isolated camping ground near a deserted beach, one thing we love to organise is music. Not just any kind of music. Music for the road trip.
Most of us have favourites that we love to listen to on a road trip. I was recently asked what my favourite road trip songs are. That’s a hard question to answer. It’s a bit like asking who your favourite child is.
When my children were growing up and we headed out on the fourhour trip to visit family in Whanganui, I inflicted them with non-stop Jackson Browne.
Without a doubt he still is my favourite singer/songwriter. Songs like Running on Empty, Take it Easy, Doctor My Eyes were played repeatedly over the journey. I would like to apologise to my family for inflicting those songs on them. Mind you it could have been the Spice Girls or True Bliss.
There are so many songs that would make the best road trip play list and have the passengers singing at the top of their voices. Here are a couple of suggestions if you don’t want to listen to Jackson Browne or The Spice Girls!
How about Whitesnake’s Here I
go Again. This song came up recently on a list of best road trip songs of all time. The song was released in 1982 on Whitesnake’s album Saints and Sinners.
If you want something to put you in a beachie mood, how about the Beach Boys’ Fun, Fun, Fun. With their tight harmonies and terrific rhythms, a great driving song with the top down.
Let’s throw in some Springsteen. Born to Run without a doubt would be the perfect one for a road trip from The Boss or maybe Born in the
USA.
I love The Beatles and no road trip playlist of mine would be complete without a track or two from the Liverpool lads. Ob-La-Di,
Ob-La-Da off the Beatles’ White Album has to be there. Guaranteed to have everyone in the car singing at the top of their voices, and then the kids asking what it all means!
Staying with the 60s classics, better add the Rolling Stones’
Satisfaction. It’s a song that beckons
you to the road as well as the dance floor.
There are some great songs on the soundtrack to the movie
Easy Rider and one song I would download to the playlist is Steppenwolf’s’ Born to be Wild and let’s follow that with AC/DC’s
Thunderstruck. Bit of an interesting
mix so far.
There are millions of songs that would make great road trip songs.
And I guess it also comes down to your personal favourites. I have to say I still love listening to Jackson Browne on a long drive. Happy travels.
When my children were growing up and we headed out on the four-hour trip to visit family in Whanganui, I inflicted them with non-stop Jackson Browne.