Posted on 01/29/2014 9:40:48 PM PST by lee martell
One of the first television theme songs that caught my attention as a kid in Catholic School, was Route 66, written and conducted by Nelson Riddle. Route 66 was on Friday nights on CBS from Oct. 7 1960 to March 20 1964. It was shot on location, and though the show got it's name from that famous highway, very few episodes were shot on that actual highway. The program starred Martin Milner as Tod Stiles, and for the first two seasons George Maharis as Buz Murdock. The show centered around the adventures of two young men who traveled across America in a Chevrolet Corvette sports car. Route 66 was a hybrid between episodic TV drama, which has continuing characters and situations, and the anthology format (i.e. Twilight Zone) in which each week's show has a completely different cast and story.
Route 66 had just three continuing characters, and no more than two of whom appeared in the same episode. Like Richard Kimble from The Fugitive, the wanderers would move from place to place, becoming entwined in the struggles and routines of the people in that town. Unlike Kimble, nothing was forcing the Route 66 guys to stay on the move except their own sense of adventure. This series helped set the tone of what an open ended format could be. Virtually any story could be incorporated. The original idea was said to involve two ex-army men who had left the service, and were looking to re-establish themselves in American life. Tod (Milner) was portrayed as clean cut, plainspoken, well educated and All American. Buz (Marharis) was based on a working class, loose, hip personality, close to the concept of the Beat Generation. Route 66 seems the epitome of perfect driving music, for when you're not in a hurry, but want to drive fast anyway, with all the windows down, and breezes blowing in. With this theme song, Nelson Riddle made the music speak. The song sounds like something I would think of and experience privately, from beginning to the end with it's splashy cresendoes, not like a bunch of noises coming out of some radio.
we took 6 weeks and could have taken much more time.
Passing through Hernando, MS, on several occasions, I’ve asked a few people if they remember the filming of the episode there. It was a fascinating episode, guest-starring Barry Sullivan.
I had a good friend (now deceased) who was a background extra in an episode that took place in Austin/Kerrville. He was a UT college student at the time. Mentioned how Martin Milner came out, met with people, and was extremely friendly to everyone.
I’ve traveled most of Route 66, at least the parts that still exist, and weren’t eradicated, from St. Louis to California.
I always liked The Stones version of the Bobby Troup tune. It got me driving a lot of Rt 66 in 1983 through Flagstaff Arizona, don’t forget Winona and so on
As I drove a car from California to the East Coast
As I alluded to above, I’m not a Depeche Mode fan, but they did a pretty cool version of it, as well.
The Peter Gunn theme is one of my all time favorites!
Ah, never heard Telstar. It does remind me of Knights of Cydonia lyrics -Muse
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHpTQB-bH9M
Thought this is more today than yesterday’s sound
Thanks for the clue.
Damn! I remember the music now...and the piano break. And it was a fresh piece of music...which included a deep bow to the original.
I imagine if you had asked Riddle (now deceased) who wrote the theme for Route 66, he might've replied "Well, actually, it was Bobby Troup...and I just fiddled with it in the arrangement."
green 66...thus your screen name?
I’ve driven RT 66 from Amarillo through most of Arizona. It’s a great look back in history. As a kid I always wanted to “motor west” on that famous highway.
I also remember the signs painted on barn roofs in the Southeastern states saying “SEE ROCK CITY - SEE SEVEN STATES FROM ONE LOCATION!”. I found one a few years ago that was in pretty good shape and got a great pic. If you drive US 64 from Memphis and go east always look at the old barns sitting along the side of the road. Especially ones that are falling down and being overtaken by plant life. lots of them will have the faded sign on them.
I’ve always wanted to travel the Lincoln Highway from NY to the San Francisco.
Nope, screen name has nothing to do with Route 66.
But I’ve always been keen on roadside americana. Used to travel endlessly on state highways in the 80s/90s, and would shoot photos of old buildings and signage along the highways. Semi-collected old postcards of such things as well.
Whenever I travel back to places I shot photos of back then, I notice that 95% of what I took is now gone. All the old individualistic country stores, gas stations, restaurants, etc. Very little left.
I’ve done the same thing over the years. I see these old “gas stations” and think about how it used to be. I remember walking 4 miles to a store to get a “coke”. We appreciated “treats” a lot more back then.
As I get older I realize that Walmarts, good cars and good highways weren’t necessarily good for the country. All the little towns started dying when a thirty mile trip to go shopping got to be a nice, comfortable drive. And the savings paid for the gas.
And the best Depeche Mode version is the beat master remix, where the game show, Name That Tune, is sampled.
It's by far the best version of Rt.66 done by any band.
I have a relation that had a service station on Rt.66, in Odell, Illinois. We have a great photo of him in front of the station. I'd love to have the pumps, signs, etc. that were there.
Seven states? Really?
Yep. Seven states from the top of the mountain. (One of them is Tennessee.) As a kid I pictured it looking like a map with each state a different color.
I hope this works. If it doesn’t just do a yahoo search https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=A0LEV2F2.OpSFDUAMRhXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0OWZnM2hxBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkA1NNRTM5OF8x?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-901-s&va=see+rock+city+chattanooga
I just discovered a picture I took of a barn is on the internet. It’s grouped with a bunch of “See Rock City” images I found through a yahoo search. Can anyone tell me how it got on there? I sure didn’t post it.
If you never put it on FR or anywhere else where someone could copy it, then maybe someone took a picture of the barn and they were standing in the very same spot as you :)
After closer inspection I realize someone else did take almost the exact picture. He’s a little more to one side than I was and the leaves on the tree are different. With the internet there are probably a lot of pictures out there that people think they took.
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