The Northway Inspired ‘I Can’t Drive 55′

I'm a huge Red Rocker fan. As a matter of fact, my very first concert was Sammy Hagar and ZZ Top. So, I'm surprised that this is the first I'm hearing that the 1984 hit song "I Can't Drive 55" was inspired by Sammy's drive through the upstate.

In a recent interview with Paul Shaffer on his show on AXS TV "Paul Shaffer Plus One", Sundays at 8 p.m. Sammy tells the story of the inspiration for the song, "I Can't Drive 55."

The Story goes that Sammy was pulled over driving on the Northway from Albany to Lake Placid and was ticketed for doing 62 in a 55. While the cop was writing the ticket, he was writing the lyrics.

I always just assumed that the song was written about an experience in Southern California...boy was I wrong.