#ultimate playlist

Driving songs aren’t always about cars. As this playlist unfolds, the road becomes a backdrop for freedom, homecoming, heartbreak, hard work, and even life’s direction itself.

Number Six Driver by Eddie From Ohio This song captures the less glamorous side of life on the road. Written by Robbie Schaefer after a desolate 1999 drive home from Utah across Interstate 80 in Wyoming, the song chronicles the weary determination of a touring band making its way back to Virginia.

Driver 8 by R.E.M. Despite its title, “Driver 8” isn’t about cars at all. It’s a haunting railroad song inspired by the Southern Crescent passenger train, with Michael Stipe painting vivid images of farms, churches, power lines, and small towns rolling past the engineer’s window.

Driving Into The Clouds by Disney Created specifically for Walt Disney Records’ Disney Travel Songs (1994), this song wasn’t borrowed from a movie or pop catalog—it was written to bring a family road trip to a gentle close. While the album was arranged by Paul Kreiling and produced by Robin Frederick, no credit is given to the songwriter or singers.

Drivin’ My Life Away by Eddie Rabbitt Few road songs capture the reality of life behind the wheel as convincingly as this one does. Rabbitt knew the lifestyle firsthand, having driven trucks while trying to establish himself in Nashville. Co-written with Even Stevens and David Malloy, the song was also inspired by the band’s own road crew and intentionally avoids mentioning a specific vehicle, making it a tribute to everyone whose work keeps them moving and far from home. Its blend of country storytelling and pop energy made it one of 1980’s biggest crossover hits.

Baby Let’s Drive by Neil Diamond This song was on Diamond’s 25th album Three Chord Opera, released in 2001. Although it had been five years since he had released any original songs, this invitation to hit the road feels like classic Neil Diamond, using a simple image to capture something bigger. The drive isn’t really about getting somewhere. It’s about freedom, companionship, and the joy of leaving the world’s worries behind for a little while.

Give Me The Keys (And I’ll Drive You Crazy) by Huey Lewis & The News The song was released as the third single from Small World in early 1989 and reached #47 on the Billboard Hot 100. That might not sound remarkable, but it marked the end of an era: it was the band’s first single since 1982 to miss the Top 40, breaking a streak of thirteen consecutive Top 40 hits.

Drive by The Cars Despite its title, “Drive” is one of the least carefree driving songs ever written. Ric Ocasek’s lyrics aren’t about hitting the open road—they’re about watching someone struggle and wondering who will be there to help. Sung by Benjamin Orr, the song became The Cars’ biggest hit, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Drive by R.E.M. This one also breaks the mold of driving-themed songs. Bassist Mike Mills described it as a political song encouraging young people to think for themselves and become engaged rather than simply following directions.

The first ultimate playlist I created was specifically made for a long family road trip. I gathered every song I had about driving, cars, and roads. There are a lot. And they’re really good songs. There’s something about traveling—the freedom of the road—that just lends itself to a catchy tune. The order is loosely based on sub-themes, but it’s not as structured as the last three playlists, so I’m going to dole this one out five songs at a time.

Join me on the drive, won’t you?

Cruise Control by Bruce Hornsby This is the perfect song to kick off the playlist. It’s such an upbeat, hopeful melody, you can easily forget the deeply meaningful lyrics inspired by a bicycle accident involving Bruce and his son. The song is made even better by Jerry Garcia’s lead guitar. This was the last studio recording Garcia made before his untimely death due to a heart attack..

Let’s Ride by MxPx If the first one wasn’t energetic enough for you, this one will get you moving. Punk rock isn’t usually my scene, but one of my bandmates turned me on to this bit of nostalgia. It’s the first song from their tenth studio album.

Joyride by Roxette And speaking of nostalgia, here’s Roxette’s fourth and final Billboard #1 hit. The title of the song was inspired by an interview in which Paul McCartney compared writing songs with John Lennon to “a long joyride,” but the first line of the song came from a note Gessle’s girlfriend (whom he later married) left on his piano: “Hello, you fool, I love you.”

Life In The Fast Lane by The Eagles Off their album Hotel California, this song started life as the opening guitar riff, which Joe Walsh played while the band was warming up in rehearsal. Don Henley heard it and was determined to make a song out of it. The title and and theme of the song came from Glenn Frey who was riding on the freeway with a drug dealer known as “The Count.” When Frey asked him to slow down, he responded, “What do you mean? It’s life in the fast lane!”

This is the final installment of my ultimate playlist, The Week. I have four songs about Sunday, but I’ll kick off with a transition song and finish with a couple weekend songs and the ultimate finale.

Brand New Day by Sting This song was the finale and namesake of Sting’s 1999 album. It ushered in the new millennium on a positive note in the face of a lot of apocalyptic nonsense. Stevie Wonder played harmonica on the recording. The song ends with a litany of sexual innuendos that Sting said with a laugh are “purely coincidental—the results of dirty minds.”

Put On Your Sunday Clothes by Jerry Herman From the Tony award winning 1964 musical Hello, Dolly!, this song finds the title character taking a group of young folk from Yonkers to New York on a matchmaking adventure. Arguably, the best version is from the 1969 film featuring Barbra Streisand and Michael Crawford.

Tell Me On A Sunday by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black This is the title song from a one-woman show originally performed by Marti Webb. It tells the story of an English girl who has emigrated to the United States where she has a series of romance. In this song, she explains how she wants to hear the news of an imminent breakup.

Sunday Afternoon by Paul Simon Yet another song from a musical, this one Paul Simon’s The Capeman, which was based on the life of Salvador Agrón, a convicted murderer. It’s not a very happy song, sung by a twice-divorced mother trying to raise her daughter.

Sunday Bloody Sunday by U2 This song conveys the band’s stance against violence, specifically referencing a famous incident in Northern Ireland. It was the first track off of their album War and was responsible for introducing the band in the U.S. by way of the video playing often on MTV.

Seven Days by Sting From his album Ten Summoner’s Tales, this quirky song (written in 5/4) has the singer procrastinating about challenging his lady’s other suitor. The chorus runs through the entire week, “but Sunday’d be too late.” Cleverly, the outro is the second verse and outro of the Police song Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, in which the singer is too afraid to ask a woman to marry him. So, it acts as the continuation of a story started two decades earlier.

Weekend Song by Billy Joel Joel’s third studio album, Streetlife Serenade, was a relatively short one with two instrumentals and no single releases. This song is simply about making a buck at the nine to five and then blowing it on a night out with your girl.

Working For The Weekend by Loverboy The quintessential Friday five o’clock whistle song.

Eight Days a Week by The Beatles What better song to wrap this playlist? Paul’s driver’s license had been suspended due to speeding, so he took a taxi to Lennon’s place. As they pulled up, Paul asked the driver if he had been busy. “Busy? I’ve been working eight days a week.” Paul ran into the house, told John that he had a title, and they wrote the song in the next hour.

Almost as popular as Monday, Saturday is a great day for singing. Maybe it’s due to it being the only day of the week with three syllables, instead of two, but more likely it’s because it’s the weekend. After all, only one of these six songs isn’t specifically about Saturday night.

Saturday In the Park by Chicago Robert Lamm wrote this song from a film he shot in Central Park in the early ’70s. He wanted to capture the feeling of peace and love where people just relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Everybody Loves Saturday Night by Aldwyn Roberts This is a traditional song originating in Nigeria, and is now just a fragment of a forgotten, older piece. The Trinidadian calypso singer Aldwyn Roberts “Lord Kitchener” popularized the song in the 1940s by repeating the one line over and over in different languages. I was introduced to this song in the summer of 1991 when I was attending the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy at WVU. I took a class on world percussion with Phil Faini. We learned African drumming and steel drums, and Everybody Loves Saturday Night was our finale.

Tougher Then The Rest by Bruce Springsteen A rough and ready love song from the Boss, this one wasn’t released as a single in the US but charted in Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, and Austria. The song begins, “Well, it’s Saturday night…"

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting - Elton John Taupin intended this to be an American rock and roll song set in Britain. He was inspired by his teenage years and fist fights at Aston Arms, the local pub in Market Rasen.

Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night by Bon Jovi This song covers most of the week, but Saturday is in the title. It’s a song about optimism in the face of adversity.

I have three songs for Friday, and as with past days, I’m including a transition song. I’m tacking on the transition song between Friday and Saturday, because (spoiler!) there are already six Saturday songs.

Just Another Day by John Mellencamp We had two songs titled “Another Day” as transitions earlier in the playlist; now we have “Just Another Day,” Mellencamp’s last significant hit, reaching #46 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 in Canada.

Friday by Rebecca Black I really don’t care for the original song. Black’s voice is just grating. However, the arrangement that was done for the television show Glee isn’t bad. The harmonies and variety of voices, as well as the rap break in the middle, give it some interest and energy.

Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) by Katy Perry All the Friday songs are party songs, and this one takes the cake. Perry said most of it is actual truth, apart from the ménage à trois. Naughty behavior, but this song broke a record, making her the first woman in the 53-year history of Billboard to have five of her singles from the same album reach number one.

Friday I’m in Love by The Cure Robert Smith was driving home from the studio one Friday to take the weekend off when a great chord sequence entered his head. He turned around and found the rest of the band still at the studio. They recorded the song that night, and it became their second-biggest hit.

If you thought Tuesday was a little light, get a load of the middle of the week. I have a single song for Wednesday and only two for Thursday. We have another transition song with the same title as the last one.

Another Day by Bryan Adams Reaching 33 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, this song likely gained popularity due to its inclusion on the B-side of his bigger hit "Heat of the Night".

Waiting for Wednesday by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories The woman in the song is in bad relationship and waiting for her period to see if she’s pregnant. This is the highest-charting song on the Hot 100 with the word Wednesday in the title.

I Lost Thursday by They Might Be Giants John Flansburgh wrote this song during the COVID-19 pandemic to a bass line John Linnell sent him as a MIDI file. It was released for a pay-what-you-can donation to support their live crew and band.