When officials gathered to dedicate the stretch of Route 40 going through Williams, Arizona, they asked composer Bobby Troup to be the guest of honor and perform his composition (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66. The new road would be the last connector in a chain of freeways that would displace the historic roadway.
Forty years earlier, the singer songwriter from Encino had enjoyed a massive hit when Nat “King” Cole recorded his song, kicking off a generation of fun seekers on the “highway that’s the best.” By the time that Route 40 ribbon was cut in 1984, the old road had begun to fade into oblivion.
John Paget graduated from college in the early 1990s and was fascinated by the fading lore and stories around the old highway and set out to document the stories with a camera mounted on the hood of a 1969 Cadillac he drove across the country.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the dedication of Route 66, Paget is back with a new documentary film called Route 66: The Main Street of America. Enthusiasts convinced the filmmaker to return to the subject that launched his movie career and catch up with the shopkeepers, personalities and dreamers keeping the road alive and thriving today as a symbol of Americana.
“People often think Route 66 is a story about the past,” Paget said in a statement. “This trailer shows something very different. It’s a story about people creating the future of Route 66—one business, one building, and one community at a time. We hope it leaves people excited to experience these stories in person when the Roadshow comes to their town.”
The film is an official project of the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission and concludes a months-long roadshow across all eight Route 66 states with a gala screening at Downtown’s opulent Los Angeles Theatre followed by a live conversation with the filmmaker and people featured in the documentary.
“Route 66 is not simply about what has been preserved,” Paget says. “It’s about what people are still building. In every town, we met people who believe history is more than something to remember—it’s something that inspires what comes next.”
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