Theme Song
Nelson Riddle was commissioned to write the instrumental theme when CBS decided to have a new song, rather than pay royalties for the Bobby Troup song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66". Riddle's theme, however, offers an unmistakable homage to the latter's piano solo (as originally recorded by Nat King Cole) throughout the number. Riddle's "Route 66 Theme" instrumental was one of the first television themes to make Billboard Magazine's Top 30, following Ray Anthony's "Dragnet Theme" (in 1953) and Henry Mancini's "Mr. Lucky Theme" (in 1960). The song earned two Grammy nominations in 1962.
Read more about this topic: Route 66 (TV Series)
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