More than 75 singers with Sounds Good Choir gathered at Chicago’s Navy Pier on a recent morning in October to sing one of the all-time great hits about a highway; spoiler, it wasn’t Canned Heat’s 1968 “On the Road Again” and they weren’t auditioning for American Idol. (Sounds Good Choir famously doesn’t do auditions.) No, the road-tripping singers were harmonizing to the mother of all road songs—Nat King Cole’s iconic “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”—as part of a statewide creative aging initiative celebrating the 100th anniversary of Historic Route 66, which begins in Illinois.

“America’s Main Street,” at first only an 800-mile stretch of paved road, grew to 2,400 miles long, crossing eight states and three time zones before reaching its terminus in Santa Monica, California. The road was removed from the federal highway system in 1985 and left to fall into disrepair until 1999, when Congress recognized its historic significance and approved $10 million to preserve it. Today, Route 66 still takes travelers from cities to small towns, through national parks, past historic monuments and museums, and by countless restaurants and kitschy tourist traps chock-a-block with souvenirs.

Sounds Good Choir partnered with the Illinois Department on Aging and the Illinois Arts Council on the EngAging Illinois “Route 66 Sing-Along” to promote social connection, creative engagement, and intergenerational collaboration through the power of music.  Choirs from across Illinois—including older adult choirs, memory choirs, faith-based choirs, and community ensembles—were asked to learn and rehearse the song in a few weeks and then record their own performance using an accompaniment track. The individual recordings would then be professionally edited into a single commemorative video celebrating Illinois communities, Route 66, and the voices of older adults.

Sounds Good Choir artistic director, Chris Cherry, explained that singers from both of the organization’s two choral programs, Sounds Good and Good Memories, participated, delighted at yet another opportunity to perform. And the venue didn’t disappoint; Chicago delivered a sunny, breezy day in the mid-60s with gorgeous views up and down the lakefront. The group had already rehearsed online several times in the last month, but the first time they would sing together in person would be when they recorded the song. After some vocal warmups and a few run-throughs, they were ready. “We spent about an hour recording,” Cherry said. “Seven or eight takes.”

The video will also feature selected interviews and stories highlighting many benefits of singing and choir participation, particularly among older adults, and the history and cultural significance of Route 66. Upon completion, the video will be distributed to public television stations throughout Illinois as part of the state’s Route 66 centennial celebration.

The idea for the Route 66 Sing-along was inspired by the Illinois Department on Aging’s EngAging Illinois Multisector Plan for Aging, an ambitious 10-year plan in which multiple state agencies, local governments and the private sector will collaborate to make life better for older adults and their caregivers.