Bobby Troupe, originally from Pennsylvania, decided to move with his wife to Los Angeles to try to make it in Hollywood as a songwriter. On the way, his wife came up with the phrase “get your kicks on Route 66.” When they arrived at their destination, they used some maps to come up with the place names in the song. Most are fairly well-know and larger cities except Winnona, Arizona, a very small town which was used to rhyme with “Flagstaff, Arizona.”

Bobby Troupe went on to pen many other songs including “The Girl Can't Help It,” written for the movie with the same title and sung by Little Richard in 1956, and “Girl Talk,” co-written with Neil Hefti. (I recorded “Girl Talk” for my album American Standard Blue in 2008. Troupe produced Julie London's version of “Cry Me A River,” in the 1950's, and later married London, with whom he co-starred as Dr. Joe Early in the 1970's drama Emergency!

Miles Davis recorded a version of his song “The Meaning of the Blues” on his album Miles Ahead, which was Miles' first collaboration with Gil Evans. Troupe released over a dozen LPs in the 1950's, featuring his vocal jazz/blues stylings.

Some recordings include covers by: Aerosmith, Asleep at the Wheel, Chuck Berry, Natalie Cole, Bing Crosby, Glenn Frey, The Four Freshman, Harry James, Jerry Lee Lewis, Manhattan Transfer, John Mayer, The Outlaws, Brad Paisley, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, John Pizzarelli, Louis Prima, The Rolling Stones, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Nancy Sinatra, Them featuring Van Morrison, Mel Torme, Yo La Tengo, Buckwheat Zydeco and others.