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Songs about Cars and Driving

In the states, driving wasn't much of a thing until the Interstate highway system was initialized. Before then, you might tool about in your car in town but true cross-country travel happened only on a train. When the Interstate highway system was underway, it was the 1950s, and Americans had finally fallen in love with the car. Thus was born a whole generation who had grown up never knowing a world without cars, and the songs that came along with them.

All those cars had radios after awhile, too, so the music of driving and driving to the music went right together. Driving songs are an almost uniquely American phenomenon. Could be because the country spans a whole continent, and likes to spread out over wide distance. We have this car culture to thank today for our 2-hour commute to work and back, since building a society around the car makes cars necessary for everything. But at least we still have our driving music!


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