Holiday Road

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1983 song by Lindsey Buckingham

title: "Holiday Road" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1982-songs", "1983-singles", "songs-written-for-films", "songs-written-by-lindsey-buckingham", "national-lampoon's-vacation-(film-series)", "lindsey-buckingham-songs", "song-recordings-produced-by-richard-dashut", "warner-records-singles"] description: "1983 song by Lindsey Buckingham" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Road" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary 1983 song by Lindsey Buckingham ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]

FieldValue
nameHoliday Road
coverHolliday Road - Lindsay Buckingham.png
captionEuropean picture sleeve
typesingle
artistLindsey Buckingham
albumNational Lampoon's Vacation Original Motion Picture Sound Track
B-sideThe Trip (Theme from Vacation)
releasedJune 24, 1983
recorded1982
genre{{flatlist
length2:11
labelWarner Bros.
writerLindsey Buckingham
producer{{flatlist
prev_titleIt Was I
prev_year1981
next_titleGo Insane
next_year1984
misc
typesingle
fileLindsay Buckingham - Holiday Road.ogg
description"Holiday Road"
::

| name = Holiday Road | cover = Holliday Road - Lindsay Buckingham.png | alt = | caption = European picture sleeve | type = single | artist = Lindsey Buckingham | album = National Lampoon's Vacation Original Motion Picture Sound Track | B-side = The Trip (Theme from Vacation) | released = June 24, 1983 | recorded = 1982 | studio = | genre = {{flatlist|

Buckingham released a live version of the song on his 2008 album Live at the Bass Performance Hall.

In July 2015, a remastered edition of "Holiday Road" was re-released, both on the Vacation soundtrack album and as a digital download along with "Dancin' Across the USA" from the original National Lampoon's Vacation soundtrack.

Background

Following the release of Fleetwood Mac's 1982 album Mirage, Buckingham was approached by Harold Ramis to create two songs for Ramis's film National Lampoon's Vacation. Buckingham was initially reluctant and believed that soundtrack work "wasn't part of his discipline", but he ultimately decided to honor Ramis's request.

Prior to "Holiday Road", Buckingham had never been asked to compose a song for a soundtrack. He recorded the song after seeing a rough cut of the film. Buckingham inferred that the song "had to be somewhat uplifting and a little bit funny". As such, he added dog barks near the end of the song to account for this sense of humor, but was unaware that the movie would feature a scene where a dog gets accidentally dragged to death from the bumper of a car.

Upon hearing "Holiday Road", Ramis and producer Matty Simmons were surprised with how accurately the song addressed the movie's subject matter. During the same recording sessions as "Holiday Road", Buckingham also wrote "Dancin' Across the USA", a Mills Brothers pastiche intended for the movie's ending credits.

"Holiday Road" was first released via a promotional twelve-inch single in July 1983. For the week dated July 23, 1983, "Holiday Road" entered at No. 7 on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, a chart that serves as an extension of the Billboard Hot 100. The song debuted at number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week dated August 6, 1983. During its fourth week on the Hot 100, "Holiday Road" reached its peak of number 82 and then slipped to number 99 on its fifth and final week on the chart.

When asked in a 2017 interview about his thoughts on "Holiday Road", Buckingham replied that "It was one of those things that happened to work very well for the movie". Buckingham elaborated in a later interview that he enjoyed recording "Holiday Road" and remembered that Ramis was "thrilled" when he first heard the song in the studio.

Charts

::data[format=table title="Chart performance for "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham"] | Chart (1983) | Peak position | |---|---| ::

Kesha version

| name = Holiday Road | cover = Kesha_Holiday_Road_Single_cover.jpg | caption = | alt = | type = promo | artist = Kesha | album = | B-side = "A Very Merry Christmas from Kesha" | released = October 15, 2024 | recorded = | studio = | venue = | genre = {{flatlist|

  • Dance-pop
  • electro rock
  • holiday
  • synth-pop}} | length = 2:05 | label = Kesha | writer = Lindsey Buckingham | producer = {{flatlist|
  • Zhone
  • Kesha}} | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = | next_year = | misc = {{Extra album cover | header = Vinyl cover | type = song | cover = | alt = | caption = 7" cover art | border = yes On October 15, 2024, American singer and songwriter Kesha released an exclusive cover version of "Holiday Road" for Spotify's Spotify Singles Holiday series, the singer's first holiday release. The song saw great chart success, with the song being her first to enter the Billboard Hot 100 since 2018's "Woman". The song also peaked at number 38 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Canadian Hot 100. The song was made available on all streaming services on November 12, 2025.

An exclusive 7" vinyl was released on November 28, 2025 as part of Record Store Day, featuring the song physically for the first time ever. The B-side of the vinyl is "A Very Merry Christmas from Kesha", a cover version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" originally released on Kesha's YouTube channel in 2010.

Chart performance

::data[format=table title="Chart performance for "Holiday Road" by Kesha"] | Chart (2024–2025) | Peak position | Australia (ARIA) | Lithuania (AGATA) | New Zealand Hot 40 Singles (RMNZ) | US Holiday 100 (Billboard) | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | 54 | | | | | | | 60 | | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | 98 | | | | | | ::

Cover versions and usage

The song has been covered by pop-punk bands Limp, the Aquabats, Whippersnapper, Matt Pond PA, and Dirt Bike Annie. The song was also covered by gothic country band Murder by Death in their holiday album Lonesome Holiday. The indie rock band the Walkmen performed a version of the song in November 2010 for The A.V. Club Holiday Undercover series. In 2015, the country group Zac Brown Band covered the song for the soundtrack of the film Vacation. In 2024, indie music supergroup Fantastic Cat and American pop singer Kesha both released covers of the song. Kesha's electro-rock version peaked at number 88 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as number 38 on the UK Singles Chart and number 61 on the Canadian Hot 100.

In 2011, the song was used as the music on television advertising for Teletext Holidays, a British travel agency. In 2013, "Holiday Road" was adopted as the unofficial playoff victory song of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, who went on to win the Stanley Cup on June 24, the 30th anniversary of the song's release.

The song appears under the closing credits of National Lampoon: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead, a 2015 American documentary film directed by Douglas Tirola about the magazine and its related franchises and influence. A version of the song with rewritten lyrics was used in Honda television commercials in 2017. In 2023, the song appeared in the fourth episode of the second season of the FX television series The Bear.

Country music singer Chris Janson performed "Holiday Road" on the ''Grand Ole Opry'''s "Opry Country Christmas" broadcast on December 11, 2022. He later recorded and released it as a single in 2023.

In 2024, the song was used in a holiday-themed Coca-Cola television advertisement.

References

References

  1. Trust, Gary. (May 10, 2011). "Mac Attack: Five Fleetwood Mac Solo Hits".
  2. (December 10, 2018). "Lindsey Buckingham Reveals Stories Behind His Solo Songs And Whether He'll Ever Rejoin Fleetwood Mac".
  3. Lenker, Maureen Lee. (September 14, 2021). "Lindsey Buckingham breaks down 10 of his best guitar riffs".
  4. Barnes, Ken. (July 8, 1983). "World's Shortest 12 -Inch?".
  5. (July 23, 1983). "Bubbling Under the Hot 100".
  6. "Billboard Hot 100: Week of August 6, 1983".
  7. "Billboard Hot 100: Week of September 3, 1983".
  8. (June 1, 2017). "Fleetwood Mac's Lindsey Buckingham: 'I said to Christine, 'You can't leave again'".
  9. (September 30, 2021). "Episode 212 – Lindsey Buckingham".
  10. (10 December 2024). "‘Holiday Road’ Is Top 10 on a Billboard Chart for the First Time, Thanks to Kesha Cover". Billboard.
  11. Griffiths, George. "WHAM! take Last Christmas to 10th week at Number 1". Official Charts Company.
  12. (12 November 2025). "Holiday Road - Single by Kesha on Apple Music". iTunes Store.
  13. "RSDBF '25 Special Release: Kesha - Holiday Road".
  14. (December 30, 2024). "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 30 December 2024". [[Australian Recording Industry Association]].
  15. (December 27, 2024). "2024 52-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)". [[AGATA (organization).
  16. "Kesha Chart History (Hot 40 Singles)". [[Official Aotearoa Music Charts]].
  17. "Kesha".
  18. "The Walkmen cover "Holiday Road"". [[The A.V. Club]].
  19. (September 19, 2021). "Lindsey Buckingham Has Long Dreamed of Solo Success. 'Holiday Road' Is His Legacy".
  20. . (October 23, 2024). ["Fantastic Cat Releases a Pair of Christmas Covers"](https://www.newjerseystage.com/asburymusic.com/getarticle2.php?thelocation=njstage&titlelink=fantastic-cat-releases-pair-of-christmas-covers102024). *New Jersey Stage*.
  21. (October 15, 2024). "Kesha – "Holiday Road" (Lindsey Buckingham Cover)".
  22. Trapunski, Richard. (December 24, 2024). "Kesha Brings 'Holiday Road' to The Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard.
  23. Griffiths, George. "WHAM! take Last Christmas to 10th week at Number 1". Official Charts Company.
  24. "Our TV Ad". Teletext Holidays.
  25. Baffoe, Tim. (24 June 2013). "A Guide To Celebrating A Blackhawks Win Tonight". CBS Chicago.
  26. "Happy Honda Days TV Commercial, 'Holiday Road Trip'".
  27. "Songs Used in the Bear".
  28. (2012-07-10). "Grand Ole Opry". Oxford University Press.
  29. Major, Michael. "Chris Janson Releases Lively Cover of 'Holiday Road'".
  30. Whalen, Savannah. (2023-10-27). "CHRIS JANSON RELEASES LIVELY COVER AND MUSIC VIDEO OF CLASSIC TUNE, "HOLIDAY ROAD," USHERING FANS INTO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT".
  31. "Coca-Cola {{!}} Holiday Road".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1982-songs1983-singlessongs-written-for-filmssongs-written-by-lindsey-buckinghamnational-lampoon's-vacation-(film-series)lindsey-buckingham-songssong-recordings-produced-by-richard-dashutwarner-records-singles