From New York, New York to Blue Hawaii, a coast-to-coast playlist for a journey across America
- Frank Sinatra bookends a meandering voyage across the United States, celebrating destinations in song
- Blondie, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Elvis Presley and the Beach Boys help to shape the freewheeling soundtrack
At some point in the not-too-distant future, I’d like to fly to New York, hire a car and drive across America, stopping off at towns and cities immortalised in song. Mind you, deciding on a right time to visit the United States is easier said than done in these troubled times.
Admittedly, the 16-hour flight from Hong Kong involves a degree of Covid-19-related risk but once there, renting a set of wheels would enable me to stay within my own bubble for the most part. Staying overnight in roadside motels is all part of the US road trip experience and being able to drive right up to the room would certainly help with social distancing.
A coast-to-coast road trip is also a journey through some of America’s most famous songs. Here’s one route, although the scope for song-based US travel itineraries is almost limitless.
Hundreds of tracks and tunes namecheck New York, and the number is much higher if we include Manhattan, the Big Apple, Harlem, the Bronx and Brooklyn. Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York is perhaps the most universally recognised but other songs that have stood the test of time include New York State of Mind (Billy Joel), Englishman in New York (Sting), Harlem Shuffle (the Rolling Stones) and Fairy Tale of New York (the Pogues).
Alicia Keys and Jay-Z continued the theme in anthemic fashion with the 2009 hit Empire State of Mind. After taking in Times Square, the Empire State Building and a Statue of Liberty cruise, I’d head to Strawberry Fields, a landscaped section of Central Park dedicated to the memory of John Lennon. It is named after the Beatles’ song Strawberry Fields Forever.