There’s nothing more satisfying than getting in a car, rolling the windows down, and jamming to some good music. There’s no shortage of options for a road trip playlist, but we’ve rounded up three of the best tunes to add to your queue.
Videos by American Songwriter
The Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces”
There’s no better song than “Wide Open Spaces” to soundtrack a drive on the open road. Written by Susan Gibson, The Chicks became aware of the tune after Natalie Maines’ dad produced the track for the former singer. The Chicks soon fell in love with the song and were able to convince Gibson to let them record it.
“When the Dixie Chicks asked me to let them record ‘Wide Open Spaces’, I was nervous about letting them do it,” Gibson told Texas Music Magazine in 2000. “There was nothing about The Dixie Chicks that made me hesitate. It was that I was so close to this song. I was hanging on to it so tight. I really did come close to saying no.”
When Gibson heard The Chicks’ version, though, all her doubts flew out the window.
“I got to thinking this thing could go gold,” she recalled. “It was then I realized that if I had held onto the song and kept it as only mine, millions of people would have never heard it and identified with it themselves.”
The Chicks’ version of the track wound up topping Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart and peaking at No. 41 on the outlet’s Hot 100 chart.
Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise”
As soon as Florida Georgia Line croons “Baby you’re a song / You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise“, listeners will be ready to set off on their road trip.
“Cruise” became a breakout hit for the duo in 2012, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spending 24 weeks atop the outlet’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Duo members Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard wrote the song with Joey Moi, Chase Rice, and Jesse Rice. The former Rice told Radio.com that it was Kelley who came up with the melody for the catchy tune.
“I think it really resonates with country fans,” Hubbard told the outlet. “I keep hearing people say, ‘Every time we hear it, it really does make me want to roll my windows down and cruise.’ Even if you’re not totally into country music, it’s just a feel-good song that can [work] for anybody. Everybody seems to be drawn to it. The hookiness of it, the catchiness of it, everybody calls it an earworm that they can’t get out of their head. We’ve just been blessed to be a part of it.”
Rascal Flatts’ “Life Is A Highway”
No road trip list would be complete without Rascal Flatts‘ “Life Is a Highway”. Originally released by Canadian musician Tom Cochrane in 1991, the band covered the tune in 2005 for the movie Cars. The song became a hit for Rascal Flatts, landing at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Rascal Flatts’ Gary LeVox told Songfacts that he was initially hesitant to cover the song, but agreed to do so at the behest of Pixar boss John Lasseter.
“There’s certain songs you just wanna leave alone. You’re, like, ‘How can you re-do that?’” LeVox said. “There are staples of music history, and ‘Life Is A Highway’ is one of them with Tom Cochrane. But he was like, ‘I want you guys to do ‘Life Is A Highway’.’ And we were, like, ‘Wow! Really?’”
Photo by M. Caulfield/WireImage for Bragman Nyman Cafarelli
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