Top 12 Head Banging Car Cruising Songs

Often you just want to hear the purr of the engine, but sometimes you need music to help set the mood. While you can choose from a lot of different genres, nothing goes better with a fast cruise in your car than rock and roll. Here are our top 12 songs, and some interesting stories, as to why you should have these in your car at all times!

12: Rush: Red Barchetta

Although this is not as heavy as other songs on the list, Rush is an iconic band and Geddy Lee always introduces the song as being about a car. As many of you know, the song does pick up enough to be worthy of this list. The song describes a future in which many classes of vehicles have been prohibited by "the Motor Law." The narrator's uncle has kept one of these illicit vehicles (the titular red barchetta sportscar) in pristine condition for some "fifty-odd years" and keeps it hidden at his secret country home (previously a farm before the enactment of the aforementioned Motor Law).

11: Steppenwolf: Born To Be Wild

"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder," marks the first use of this term in rock music. The song can be found in many compilation albums and soundtracks as well as television and video games. Everyone knows the song, everyone relates to it at some point.

10: Deep Purple: Highway Star

This song was born on a tour bus going to Portsmouth in 1971 when a reporter asked the band how they wrote songs. To demonstrate, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore grabbed an acoustic and began playing a riff consisting of a single "G" repeated over and over, while vocalist Ian Gillan improvised lyrics over the top. The song was refined and was performed that same night. The song first appears on the 1972 LP Machine Head. The track remains one of the band's staple live performances, and was the set opener for many years. Many people consider this song to be one of the early speed metal songs. We just know it sounds great!

9: Queen: I’m in love with my car

Queen has a song for just about any situation and this list is no different, however this particular song does not feature Freddie Mercury and actually has a long story worth telling. The song was initially taken as a joke by Brian May, who thought that Taylor was not serious when he heard a demo recording. The lead vocals were performed by Roger Taylor, as Freddie Mercury refused to sing the song, although he would later assist with harmony vocals. The revving sounds at the conclusion of the song were recorded by Taylor's then current car, an Alfa Romeo. The lyrics were inspired by one of the band's roadies, Johnathan Harris, whose Triumph TR4 was evidently the "love of his life". The song is dedicated to him, the album says: "Dedicated to Johnathan Harris, boy racer to the end". Word is that Taylor was so fond of the song that he wanted it as the B-side to Bohemian Rhapsody to the point he locked himself in a cupboard until Mercury agreed. Taylor was proven right as the song generated as much in royalties as the famous Bohemian Rhapsody.

8: Pantera: F**king Hostile (Tie with Cowboys From Hell)

While neither song has anything to do with driving, do we really need to explain having Pantera on this list? Nothing else on this list makes you want to bang your bloody head into your steering wheel while pushing the Pedal To The Metal.

7: White Zombie: Thunder Kiss '65

Based in New York, White Zombie are better-known for their heavy metal-oriented sound, with lyrics heavily influenced by horror films. Unlike other metal bands of the 1990s, White Zombie was almost exclusively a "fantasy" band, writing songs not based on their aspirations or experiences, but about surreal horror fantasies. The single was released three times as a single before it gained the attention of Mike Judge and its video was aired on Beavis and Butt-head in 1993. In May 2006, the song was ranked #32 on VH1's list, '40 Greatest Metal Songs'. The audio samples "You're all shook up, aren't you baby?" and "I never try anything I just do it. Wanna try me?" are taken from the 1965 movie Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!.

6: Quiet Riot: Slick Black Cadillac

Quiet Riot is well known for their hit singles "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Metal Health". This song was written by Kevin DuBrow and Randy Rhoads. We have always been big fans of Quiet Riot and they have numerous songs to cruise to, but Slick Black Cadillac obviously is all about a car. Sadly, we will never get any more music from these two. R.I.P Kevin DuBrow and Randy Rhoads.

5: Turbo Lover by Judas Priest

As the metal God Rob Halford himself said; 'Turbo Lover' is a great driving song. It was written in regard to the twin-turbos in Porsches. We say it works for anything.

4: AC\DC: Highway to Hell

AC/DC is was formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Although the band is commonly classified as hard rock and are considered a pioneer of heavy metal, they have always classified their music as rock and roll. This song and album title supposedly came after a reporter asked band members if they could describe what life was like being constantly on tour. Angus replied that it was "a fucking highway to Hell". Having to choose from numerous AC\DC songs and two different singers was not easy. They have many great head banging songs spanning 16 albums, so if you don’t like this song, pick almost anything from AC\DC. Having the song featured in Iron Man 2 will make it more familiar to a younger audience who will associate it with cars.

3: Motley Crue: Kickstart My Heart

The song was written by Nikki Sixx about his infamous overdose in which he was declared clinically dead before being revived by two adrenaline shots to the heart. It makes this list because of the introduction in which Mick Mars drops 3 consecutive strings resulting in sound similar to a motorcycle shifting gears. The catchy guitar riff that immediately follows bears a striking resemblance to 70's rock band Montrose's intro to their 1973 song, "Bad Motor Scooter". Add in the mention of racing, the speed and catchiness of the song and we have a great cruising track!

2: Metallica: Fuel

Metallica's early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the "big four" of the thrash metal subgenre alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax during the genre's development into a popular style. Fuel is typical Metallica. Fast, loud and screaming. Almost any Metallica song will work, but this one is all about cars so, it’s the perfect choice.

1: Sammy Hagar: I cant drive 55

Always been a Sammy Hagar fan and “I can’t drive 55” is one of my all-time favorites. You might have heard it in a movie (Back to the Future or Moving Violations), played it on Guitar Hero, saw the video with the Ferrari or simply heard it on the radio as it really is another of those iconic songs. It was played in concert during the Van Halen years. However, it has a long story that Sammy discussed in 1994. He mentions a long night of travelling and a rental car that would not go faster than 55 mph. "I was driving from Albany, New York at 2:00 in the morning, burnt from all the travel. Cop stopped me for doing 62 on a four lane road when there was no one else in sight. Then the guy gave me a ticket I was doing 62. And he said, 'We give tickets around here for over-60.' and I said, 'I can't drive 55.' I grabbed a paper and a pen, and I swear the guy was writing the ticket and I was writing the lyrics. I got to Lake Placid, I had a guitar set-up there. And I wrote that song there on the spot. Burnt." Naturally, we all interpret “I can’t drive 55” a little differently. And the jumpsuit rules.