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Of all film genres, the road movie features some of the greatest jukebox soundtracks. From the pioneering playlist of Easy Rider in 1969, through the memorable music of Thelma And Louise in 1991, to the innovative selections of Drive in 2011, driving sequences make a perfect companion to pop. Here are some of the best examples from the last 50 years...

It all started here. When editor Donn Cambern was cutting the film he used tracks from his own collection to make the hours of motorbike riding footage more interesting. The producers ended up using many of his choices with the result that the cost of licensing the music was greater than the production budget for the movie! Songs like , and work brilliantly within the picture - setting a trend for the use of existing music that continues to this day.

This existential chase movie features music by (who make a cameo appearance as a Christian band in the film) as well as , who also wrote performed by (heard in an ). One of the key characters in Vanishing Point is the blind DJ Super Soul, who commentates on the action and encourages the hero of the film Kowalski to evade the police. He’s played by Cleavon Little - the black actor who was the sheriff in Mel Brooks’ hilarious western spoof Blazing Saddles.

Although the two leads in this enigmatic cult road movie are played by musicians and , neither of them contributed to the soundtrack. The eclectic selection features tracks by and as well as the original version of performed by its writer . No soundtrack album was ever released, but in 2003 an album made in tribute to the film called You Can Never Go Fast Enough was issued. It featured music by , , , and others.

That rarest of things – a British road movie. A DJ investigating his brother’s suicide undertakes the journey from London to Bristol in a vintage Rover. It is a modest one by the standards of the genre – an epic 120 miles – but the soundtrack more than makes up for the lack of distance. Chris Petit’s black and white odyssey features tracks by , , , and . Look out too for a fleeting appearance by as a petrol pump attendant who sings ’s .

Jake and Elwood Blues first appeared as characters in a sketch on Saturday Night Live – the legendary NBC variety show which spawned so many comic talents over the years. Their creators John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd portray them in John Landis’ sprawling comedy that went hugely over budget - thanks in part to one of the most spectacular and destructive car chases in film history. A host of stars appear and sing on screen in the movie including , , , and . The soundtrack also includes , as well as memorably covering the theme from the TV series Rawhide.

Silence Of The Lambs director Jonathan Demme helmed this quirky comedy thriller about yuppie Charles Driggs (Jeff Daniels) who falls for femme fatale Lola (Melanie Griffith). They go on a strange road trip where he gets mixed up with her dangerous past in the form of a psychotic ex-boyfriend terrifyingly played by Ray Liotta. The delightful and diverse soundtrack includes songs by , and , plus a wonderful laid-back reggae version of , performed by .

Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon are the two bored housewives in ’s iconic female buddy movie. The plot, which sparked some controversy at the time, sees one of them kill a predatory man who has attacked the other, after which they go on the run in a 1966 Ford Thunderbird convertible. The soundtrack features Part Of Me, Part Of You by the late great as well as contributions from , and . founder member Pete Haycock plays the slide guitar on Thunderbird, the specially composed theme to the film.

Two drag queens played by Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving and a transgender woman (the brilliantly hilarious Terence Stamp) travel across the outback of Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs in a bus they have named Priscilla. This much-beloved LGBT comedy-drama features a fine selection of camp classics including by and by . The film was subsequently transformed into a highly successful stage musical. It used many of the same songs and travelled all over the world.

Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn is one of the most interesting directors working today and this 2011 neo-noir crime thriller, about a Hollywood stunt driver who drives getaway cars by night, is a particular favourite of Mark's. Beautifully shot by Newton Thomas Sigel, Drive features magnetic performances from Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. The soundtrack is a superbly curated list including tracks by , and . In 2014 大象传媒 Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe rescored the film for a special broadcast – a fascinating and controversial exercise that included music by , and .