Five Faves: 70’s Road Trip Songs

A good highway journey requires several mixtapes, er, playlists. Twilight, barreling down a desert highway, windows rolled down, music cranked. Just driving. Heading somewhere else. Feeling the joy of the journey. Sometimes these road trips require a healthy dose of retro goodness. So take a deep breath of evening air and check out these 70’s gems!

Shuggie Otis “Strawberry Letter 23” (1971)
The original version of this song is an essential addition to any road comp. Quentin Tarantino used the Brothers Johnson’s tamer cover of “Strawberry Letter 23” in Jackie Brown, but he should have gone straight to the source. Shuggie Otis takes listeners to sunshiney psychedelic soul land. He’s singing a sweet song about a love letter, complete with an awe-inspiring, soulful vocal bridge when, bam, he shifts into an effervescent California psyche guitar solo that bubbles and floats away on a breeze. “Strawberry Letter 23” is early 70s soul rock genius, composed, played, sang and produced by a then 19 year old boy wonder. Genius. Plus it has the coolest glockenspiel line ever played on record!

Fela Ransome Kuti & Africa 70 “Shakara (Oloje)” (1972)
What’s a road trip without some Nigerian afrobeat? Nothing! Fela must be onboard! He and his bulletproof band of polyrhythmic saints played African funk so vital and ferocious it was mindblowing. They were known in Lagos for playing all night shows, not leaving until the sun rose and everyone involved, band and crowd, were spent. “Shakara (Oloje)” is a prime example of Fela in his prime: a long, luxurious intro; intricate dynamics and an absolute commitment to bring the funk, African style. This song is 13 minutes of magic that will leave you wanting more. More road. More Fela!

Bad Brains “Pay to Cum” (1979)
This single birthed the American hardcore movement, the genesis of fast, aggressive punk rock. Bad Brains were tighter, faster, and harder, plus had groove and dynamics no other hardcore band could match. Recorded as a 7” in December, 1979, “Pay to Cum” clocks in at a blistering 1:33. It flipped a finger and waved goodbye to 70’s musical baggage, stripping a song down to its absolute essence. A thousand and one teenagers took the challenge to start bands and try to emulate their heroes. Minor Threat, SOA (Henry Rollins band when he was still Henry Garfield), Scream and many other Washington, D.C. bands got shot out of a cannon the Bad Brains lit. Make sure you have plenty of open highway when this song starts, because for a minute and a half the pedal shall hit the metal.
P.S. Check the cowbell line. . . fastest ever recorded.

Black Sabbath “Sweet Leaf” (1971)
“Sweet Leaf” is Sabbath’s love song to the herb. Ozzy, in a rare moment of second-person lyrical positivity professes: You introduced me to my mind/And left me wanting you and your kind. He’s crooning a weed love song in the second person—no innuendo, just straight-up confession. I love you Sweet Leaf/though you can’t feel. The intro captures a stoner mid you-gotta-cough-to-get-off, hacking in a little loop until the power chords come in and that chugga-chugga makes you take one hand off the wheel, put your fist in the air and holler Fuck Yeah!

James Brown “Super Bad” (1970)
When teenager Bootsy Collins and his cousin Catfish joined James Brown’s band, their respective bass and rhythm guitar lines injected a whole new urgency—uncut funk with badass dawn-of-the-70s swagger. And they were razor sharp, of course. This is James Brown, who notoriously made his bands play three or four full shows a day during tours. “Super Bad” comes in hard with the beat accented on the one and three. Brown instantly wants, and gets, your attention: Watch me! Watch me!/I got it. This song can cause an ecstatic highway driving experience. Bliss will envelope you as you bounce and wiggle, seat belt off, driving with your knees, sparking spliffs, hearing James Brown wail: Sometimes I feel so nice/Good God/Jump back/ I wanna kiss myself while the funkiest band ever anticipates every vocal gymnastic. You, too, will feel Super Bad.