Turns out there are quite a few Route 66 Bands out there, most of them doing covers and tribute acts. But are there any "non-Route 66" 66 songs? Quite a few, as it turns out...
Martin reminds us of 66 by The Afghan Whigs... good tune.
C offers the great PJ Harvey - 66 Promises...
Charity Chic grudgingly kicks in 1966 & All That by Half Man Half Biscuit... one of the better football songs in my collection... although it's about much more than the silly game when you listen to it.
Jim Dubai offers another football-related tune, with a 66-related artist... Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendez and Brazil 66.
Rigid Digit throws in an extra 6 for Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast. Second Iron Maiden tune this month, but this one is PROPER metal, complete with a silly spoken intro. Class.
On the subject of 666, can I add: Route 666 by The Hamsters, another Route 666 by The Comsat Angels, 666 Conducer by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Your Sweet 666 by HIM, and 666 Post from the latest Mark Kozelek album?
Oh, and Incident at 66.6 FM by Public Enemy... and Nineteen666 by The Jesus & Mary Chain, which combines football with satanism... apt, in my opinion.
I also found the following lurking in the dusty corners of my collection...
OMD - 66 And Fading
Primal Scream - Autobahn 66
The Troggs - 66-5-4-3-2-1 (another phone number song!)
The Boys From Nowhere - 1966
This week's winning tune was obvious from the outset though.
Originally recorded in 1946 by Nat King Cole and the King Cole Trio, the song was transformed into a rock n roll standard by Chuck Berry a decade later. Since then it's been recorded by everybody from Them to Depeche Mode to Jason and The Scorchers... most famously, I guess by Mick & Keef who arguably made it their own.
Over to Lynchie, who, until he gives the public what they demand and starts writing a blog of his own, is always welcome to contribute a paragraph or two to mine...
The best version of "Route 66" is to be found on the "Got Live If You Want It!" EP released in Summer 1965. Honest!
Back in 1999, I saw The Stones live for the last time. There were 2 stages - the main stage and a smaller one (which they crossed to via a small bridge - it was the Bridges to Babylon tour!) slap bang in the middle of the crowd . They blew the place away with the the small stage opener - "Route 66". It was righteous - like hearing them do their R&B stuff for the first time!
Onto 65 next week, and with no blatantly obvious contenders (unlike this week), it could be anybody's game. Your suggestions are welcome as always...