C.W. McCall, the singer-songwriter who tickled the world with images of outlaw truckers, passed away at a time when the word “Convoy” is back on the air. Canadian truckers rolled on Ottawa with the never-so-die attitude of McCall’s 1975 international hit song. American drivers orchestrated peaceful protest convoys, and the trucking movement sprouted across Europe. Although McCall didn’t possess a CDL, he seemed fated to echo the open-road freedom of the trucking lifestyle.
Born Billie Dale Fries, he changed his name to William Dale Fries Jr. and adopted the stage name C.W. McCall after a successful career as an ad man opened his eyes to trucking. Before penning “Convoy,” Fries created a television advertising campaign around Old Home Bread. The products were baked and trucked across the Mid-West, prompting Fries to build around the trucking theme. The spots evolved into “Old Home Filler-Up an’ Keep on a-Truckin’ Café.” The commercials won a Clio Award, essentially the Emmy for TV advertising.
He recognized America’s fascination with truckers and enlisted Chip Davis to play behind his singing and “Convoy” lyrics. Fries, aka C.W. McCall, won Country Music Writer of the Year in 1976. Whether real-life truckers gravitate to the song or not, there’s no denying C.W. McCall tapped into the country’s collective imagination, putting truckers front and center. In honor of the man who recently passed away at 93 years old, here are a few trucking songs worth adding to your playlist.
- Truckin’: Written by Robert Hunter, who joined the Grateful Dead as a lyricist, Truckin’ charted in 1971. The song peaked at number 64 as a U.S. Pop Single but became something of a dead-head cult classic. The album version spans just over 5 minutes of a trucker’s hours of service time.
- On The Road Again: The Willie Nelson classic driving song isn’t necessarily about truckers or hauling freight. But the 1980 hit reached Number 1 on the Hot Country Songs Billboard and remains a perfect song to play while pulling out of a freight yard. Nelson captured the traveling lifestyle, and “On The Road Again” earned him a Grammy Award for Best Country Song.
- Six Days on the Road: This iconic American song was written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery. But country music singer Dave Dudley made it famous in 1963, charting at number 2 on the U.S. Hot Country Songs Billboard. At the time, “Six Days on the Road” was considered the definitive truck driving song.
- Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses: Released in 1988, Kathy Mattea’s heartfelt trucking lifestyle song topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs Billboard. The song echoes the loneliness of being away from home but focuses on a retiring trucker about to spend the rest of his days with his beloved wife.
Other trucking songs worth considering include Phantom 309 by Red Sovine, Roll On 18 Wheeler by Alabama, We Rode In Trucks by Luke Bryan, I’ve Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash, and Driving My Life Away by Eddie Rabbit. Feel free to post your favorite in the comments.
Sources: rollingstone.com, nypost.com
“Amarillo By Morning ”
Not sure by which artist.
George Strait. My favorite song of his.
cb craze and 10 4 good buddy ,good stuff
Gitty up Go and Teddy Bear by Red Sovine
16 Tons, Don’t Remember the Artist.
Wolf Creek Pass, C.W. McCall
roll on big mama
“We just ain’t a-gonna’ pay no toll!”
I grew up on all these classic trucker tunes. My grandfather and father were truckers. They were both local company drivers, whereas I’m a long haul owner operator. I still listen to these tunes today.