Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road

Top 10 Classic Rock Songs About The Open Road

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Nothing is more fulfilling than rolling down the windows, feeling that summer breeze, and escaping down an open highway. In a world filled with traffic and chaos, it’s simply wonderful to find a roadway where you can put the pedal to the metal. What tops it all off are some great tunes that help you relax and feel alive. We all know how it feels to be driving down a beautiful stretch of road without any traffic and listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd on the radio. Remember the days when we made mixtapes to pop into that 8-track or cassette deck? There was nothing like a great 60- or 90-minute TDK music cassette tape mixed with all the perfect songs for that special drive. Below is a sample of the songs that should always be included in a classic rock songs playlist about the open road.

# 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.

The Northway is just a two-lane highway that continues north, usually pretty deserted, except for the troopers parked alongside the road. I’ve driven that road hundreds of times, as someone in my family went to college in Plattsburgh. I actually love that highway. It’s incredibly scenic as it runs along the Hudson and through such beautiful towns as Saratoga, Glens Falls, Lake George, and many others. It’s not what most people would think about New York who’ve never been to this state. But it’s definitely not a road to speed on.

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

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3 Comments

  1. Howard Alperin August 8, 2024
  2. Jay Thornton August 10, 2024
    • Brian Kachejian August 10, 2024

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