The Ultimate Smooth Drive Home Playlist

‘Fast Car’ is consistently featured in ‘greatest songs ever written’ lists and I wholeheartedly agree. It’s a great wind down song on your way home after work. I couldn’t do a Smooth Drive Home playlist without including her!

Did you know?
Tracey won a Grammy Award with ‘Fast Car’ in 1989 for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

ANY Dolly Parton song puts a smile on my face! She seems to have a knack of just making you feel good – even singing about Jolene stealing her man!!

Did you know?
That ‘Jolene’ was inspired by one of Dolly’s youngest fans, a 10 year old girl of the same name.

Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ album was (and is) one of my favourite albums ever, there’s not a bad song on it but ‘Man in the Mirror’ has to be up there as one of the best.

Did you know?
Man in the Mirror was the fourth of five US hits for Michael from his album ‘Bad’.

The enjoyment of a power ballad is instantly improved with some in-car air grabbing! We all know we do it – no need for embarrassment here! Foreigner is perfect for this!

Did you know?
The New Jersey Choir sang the backing vocals and released their own version of the song which peaked at #37 in the charts.

Sometimes you just need to turn the radio up really loud and sing your heart out! Whitney is the lady who is guaranteed to make me do this. I love looking to the car next to me in a traffic jam and realising we’re both warbling to the same song!

Did you know?
Whitney won a Grammy Award in 1986 with this song for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Having seen him performing earlier this year in Nottingham – Lionel gets my vote for not only having amazing songs, but a stunning voice AND he seems lovely too! A winning combination in my book.

Otis Redding’s voice is a guaranteed calmer…if you’ve had one of ‘those’ days, this is the song to turn you from stressed worker to calm home body ready for a chilled out evening.

Did you know?
Music licensing company BMI named this as the sixth-most performed song of the 20th century, with around 6 million performances.

This was George\'s first solo single and what a solo single it was! It’s the perfect fake romantic song – it sounds super romantic but it’s actually not at all! ‘I\'m never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm’ – still it’s definitely good enough to make my list!

Did you know?
George Michael was just 17 when he wrote this song. He was taking the bus to his job as an usher at a cinema.

I couldn’t do this list without adding a Simply Red track – I admit it – I have a crush on Mick Hucknall! It’s the voice! I’m a sucker for a man who can sing!

Remember to tune in to the #SmoothDriveHome with Emma Caldwell every day from 4-7pm on Smooth East Midlands 106.6FM & online. Where you can listen to some of the smooth tunes mentioned plus many more classics! Also follow Smooth East Midlands on Twitter for latest music updates and flashbacks to hits from days gone by!