US 131 to Kalamazoo Was Once ‘Death Highway’ – Listen to the ‘Devil on Death Highway’
US 131 from Kalamazoo to Cadillac through West Michigan can be a tricky road particularly when the winter snow and winds wind up. The highway's reputation for accidents and death was immortalized in a 1968 song, The Devil on Death Highway.
The song is written in a honky-tonk/rockabilly style and tells the story of a trucker from Cadillac who is making a run south to Kalamazoo.
The song, attributed to Ken McWilliams and The Twilighters calls out small towns along the way like Leroy, Big Rapids, Stanwood and Cedar Springs. It nods to Grand Rapids as Furniture City.
The driver suffers an accident, and presumably dies, after his brakes give out somewhere in Allegan County about 30 miles from his final destination at Kalamazoo. The cause - the Devil on Death Highway.
Let us know in the comment section below what experiences you've had while driving US 131.
BONUS VIDEO - 9 Possible Meanings of the Word 'Kalamazoo'
[reddit]