As a teen, I was queen of the mix tape. When it came to our college sorority parties, I was in charge of the music. Then music made the jump to digital and the playlist was born. So is it any wonder that I have playlists for every occasion? My summer road trip playlist made the miles go by faster on our recent 24 hour drive from Rhode Island to Florida.
But yeah, you can tell I’m a child of the 70s and 80s by my choices. Although I’ve yet to meet a Gen Z that didn’t also love to sing along to “Don’t Stop Believin’.” If you are also a proud member of Generation X, you will find yourself singing along for hours to this playlist. Don’t worry, there are enough popular songs to keep multi-generations entertained and deep cuts to satisfy the music lovers.
I hope you enjoy using this on your next road trip. It should get you through 7 hours of singing and driving. And tell me, what did I miss? Any must-add songs I should include? Leave a message in the comments below.

Summer Road Trip Playlist
You can play the summer road trip playlist on Spotify here, or you can recreate it on Apple Music or Google Music or the music app of your choice:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6yM8VKYwCARQcaDkf589yV
- Radar Love, Golden Earring
- American Girl, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Life is a Highway, Tom Cochrane
- Rockin’ Down the Highway, The Doobie Brothers
- Life in the Fast Lane, Eagles
- Thunder Road, Bruce Springsteen
- Sweet Home Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Don’t Stop Believin’, Journey
- Danger Zone, Kenny Loggins
- Let it Ride, Bachman-Turner Overdrive
- Ramblin’ Man, The Allman Brothers Band
- Free Fallin’, Tom Petty
- Drivin and Cryin, From Good Homes
- Take it Easy, Eagles
- Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver
- Africa, TOTO
- American Pie, Don McLean
- Against the Wind, Bob Seger
- On the Road Again, Willie Nelson
- The Boys of Summer, Don Henley
- Peaceful Easy Feeling, Eagles
- Into the Mystic, Van Morrison
- Carolina in My Mind, James Taylor
- December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
- Three Little Birds, Bob Marley & The Wailers
- Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffet
- All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow
- Centerfield, John Fogerty
- Summer of ’69, Bryan Adams
- Cheeseburger in Paradise, Jimmy Buffet
- Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede
- Melissa, The Allman Brothers Band
- And it Stoned Me, Van Morrison
- Tequila Sunrise, Eagles
- Fire and Rain, James Taylor
- Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley
- Jamming, Bob Marley & The Wailers
- Escape (The Pina Colada Song), Rupert Holmes
- Sugar Magnolia, Grateful Dead
- Brown Eyed Girl, Van Morrison
- Bamboleo, Gipsy Kings
- Under the Boardwalk, The Drifters
- I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, U2
- Box of Rain, Grateful Dead
- Soak up the Sun, Sheryl Crow
- Heart of Glass, Blondie
- Dancing Queen, ABBA
- Only Wanna Be with You, Hootie & The Blowfish
- Baila Me, Gipsy Kings
- Ballroom Blitz, Sweet
- Smooth, Santana & Rob Thomas
- Hard Sun, Eddie Vedder
- Only Time Will Tell, Asia
- All Summer Long, Kid Rock
- Born in the U.S.A., Bruce Springsteen
- Heat of the Moment, Asia
- Down Under, Men at Work
- Last Night, Traveling Wilburys
- Eye of the Tiger, Survivor
- Have you Ever Seen the Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Cold as Ice, Foreigner
- Africa, TOTO
- Closer to Fine, Indigo Girls
- Like the Way I Do, Melissa Etheridge
- Spirit in the Sky, Norman Greenbaum
- Rosanna, TOTO
- Lady, Little River Band
- Don’t Bring me Down, Electric Light Orchestra
- Drift Away, Uncle Kracker
- End of the Line, The Traveling Wilburys
- Carry on Wayward Son, Kansas
- Rock N’ Roll Fantasy, Bad Company
- Mustang Sally, The Commitments
- I Wanna be Sedated, The Ramones
- Money for Nothing, Dire Straits
- Friend of the Devil, Grateful Dead
- Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of a New Day), Jethro Tull
- Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1, Pink Floyd
- The Devil Went Down to Georgia, The Charlie Daniels Band
- Immigrant Song, Led Zeppelin
- Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen
- Fast Car, Tracy Chapman
- Running to Stand Still, U2
- Under Pressure, Queen
- Pride (In the Name of Love), U2
- Southern Cross, Crosby, Stills & Nash
- Sweet Child O’Mine, Guns N’ Roses
- Love Shack, The B-52s
- Believe it or Not (Theme from the “Greatest American Hero”), Joey Scarbury
- Little Red Corvette, Prince
- Jolene, Dolly Parton
- Come on Eileen, Dexys Midnight Runners
- Crazy in Love, Beyoncé
- Pour Some Sugar on Me, Def Leppard
- Livin’ on a Prayer, Bon Jovi
- Son of a Preacher Man, Dusty Springfield
- Jessie’s Girl, Rick Springfield
- I Want You to Want Me, Cheap Trick
- Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
- Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen
- Jack & Diane, John Mellencamp
- Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Running on Empty, Jackson Browne
- Runnin’ Down a Dream, Tom Petty
- Uncle John’s Band, Grateful Dead
- Reelin’ in the Years, Steely Dan
- Truckin’, Grateful Dead
- Heart of Gold, Neil Young
- China Grove, The Doobie Brothers
- Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Life’s Been Good, Joe Walsh
- Ramble On, Led Zeppelin
- Fly Like an Eagle, Steve Miller Band
- Silver Thunderbird, Marc Cohn
- Me and Bobby McGee, Janis Joplin
- Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl), Looking Glass
- If the Wind Blows, From Good Homes
- Sympathy for the Devil, Rolling Stones
- Going to California, Led Zeppelin
- Crazy Train, Ozzy Osbourne
- Fade to Black, Metallica
- Wish you Were Here, Pink Floyd
- Cecilia, Simon & Garfunkel
- Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn
- Graceland, Paul Simon
- Comin’ on Home, From Good Homes
So what songs are your favorites?