PART 2 :WE PICK THE TOP 40 DRIVING SONGS OF ALL TIME (# 34-30)
We have good news for those of you that missed songs 40 through 35: We have it on our website, so you can start at the beginning. All of the choices are made by us, even though your personal choices may veer off into a completely different direction.
But we will still stick to our guns on our picks. Have a look at picks 34 through 30 on our list.
Number 34 is easy.
Elvis had to make the list somewhere along the line, so we picked him early in the game with "Viva Las Vegas". This song is the official anthem of every weekend warrior that hit Vegas for something other than its museums and well-known fine arts scene. It’s a frantic party song with a subtle but fast calypso riff backing up the King’s vocals. “Viva
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=BYOeqSjSG20&feature=related
Number 33 is Pop Evil’s 2009 hit “Goin 100 in a 55”.
A heartbroken kid behind the wheel of a car is a tried and true formula for a driving song or a real life disaster. The song formula has become rare as the decades moved onward, but Pop Evil went back to the well on this song. The song charted very high in May 2009, so it seems that an old school song about a troubled young driver in a fast car is not quite extinct. The ultimate extinction of the kid in the song remains open to debate for listeners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcfmwfY2GOE
Number 32 is “Magic Bus” by the Who.
We’ll avoid splitting hairs on whether a bus qualifies for a driving song and just conclude that yes- it does- on our charts. The song was a slight departure for the Who because they kept their raging guitars unplugged, as well as their raging percussionist (Keith Moon) in check for most of the song. But the song gains its edge and momentum as it moves along, in the truest tradition of driving songs. Even if it’s simply a ride on (and about) a bus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl9bvuAV-Ao
Number 31 is “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry.
The powerful electric guitar chords of Chuck Berry were brand new to Top 40 radio in 1955. The radical departure from the comatose Perry Como sound was too hot to handle for many listeners. The craziness of rock and roll was not lost on a youthful audience for one reason: They loved it. So Chuck Berry’s timeless classic driving song about faithless love and a high speed chase was custom made for the restless 50s teenager. After all, James Dean had already applied the live-fast-die-young concept to real life in his car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogUWrSWzcc8
Number 30 is “Convoy” by CW McCall.
First of all, we really hate this song. But it makes the list as one of the most famous truck songs of all time, and who are we to argue with bad taste? Trucks are a big part of every road in the world and we promise that our driving list will include truck driving songs that we actually like.
Next time... songs 29 to 25.
