Slim's Corner: America's Last Love Affair

Prior to the age of social media, it was much more difficult for a "trend"
 to go viral. It usually took years of Advertising (movies, Tv), radio, print, etc for any trend to truly take-off. In the 1930's and 1940's, American's were obsessed with the Cowboy and the West. Thanks to the popularity in Comic books, moving picture shows, radio and maybe even the Great Depression, every little boy and girl owned a Cowboy costume. Complete with cap guns and holsters, Red fabric cowboy hats and plastic spurs, these children and their parents were hooked on Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. This trend seemingly waned in the 1950s, maybe because of the Baby Boom and the end of World War II. This decade was marked by the Family Unit. Picturesque suburban streets straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, and of course, the birth of Rock'N'Roll. 

However, something else was taking shape. The U.S. Interstate Highway System began to form with the the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. $25 billion was granted to build over 40,000 miles of roads, influenced by the German Autobahn. American travel and trade would never be the same. Thus, a new Cowboy was beginning to pique the interests of many young child, and adult. The Truck Driver. 

Each one of these big mighty trucks, were equipped with a C.B. (Citizen Band) radio. These radios helped truck drivers communicate on the open roads with other truck drivers, policemen, citizens etc. This was very first form of open, social networking. Each user used a secret name, or "Handle", to communicate. By the start of the 1970's, this device became a cultural phenomenon, with ordinary citizens buying a C.B. for the family station wagon, their truck, their general store, and even their house (like my grandparents!). During this time, this culture was also fantasized about in both Music and Movies. 

Hit movies about truck drivers started appearing, such as : Smokey & the Bandit (1977); Convoy (1978); Breaker ! Breaker ! (1977); Every Which Way but Loose (1978); White Line Fever (1975); High Ballin' (1978); Duel (1971); Steel Cowboy (1978) and many others. As you can notice, many of these appear in a certain era where it truly was at it's peak (late 1970s). 

Then there was the music. There were artists who made entire CAREERS mostly from singing Truck Drivin' songs (namely Dave Dudley and Red Sovine). Shall we take a stroll down memory lane at some of the biggest trucker hits and their chart impact? 10-4, good buddy! :

• Hank Snow "I've Been Everywhere" - #1 in 1962
• Willis Brothers "Give Me 40 Acres" - #9 in 1964
• Red Sovine "Giddy-Up Go" - #1 in 1965
• Dave Dudley "Truck-Drivin-Son-of-a-Gun" - #3 in 1965
• Del Reeves "Girl on the Billboard" - #1 in 1965
•  Del Reeves "Looking At the World Through a Windshield" - #5 in 1968
• Red Sovine "Phantom 309" - #9 in 1967
• Red Simpson "I'm a Truck" - #4 in 1971
• Joe Stampley "Roll on Big Mama" - #1 in 1975
• Dave Dudley "Me and Ole C.B." - #12 in 1975
• C.W. McCall "Convoy" - #1 in 1975
• Cledus Maggard & the Citizen Band "White Knight" - #1 in 1976
• Red Sovine "Teddy Bear" - #1 in 1976
• Jerry Reed "East Bound & Down" - #2 in 1977. 

There were other songs that continued chart dominance in the 1980's and even into the 1990's and beyond. Albeit, fewer and farther between. You might notice there are (2) songs missing from this list. Songs that you have heard in many movies, many languages even. Songs you hear in current country music live performances. 

"Truck Drivin' Man" was written by Terry Fell solely, and first recorded with his band, The Fellers, in 1954. Buck Owens sang harmony on this version, and he would later include his own cover of the song on his 1964 LP with the Buckaroos, Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat. This may just be the quintessential Truck Drivin' tune, even if the highest it peaked by any artist was #11, by George Hamilton IV in 1964. This song has been recorded by everyone. Most non-country music-music fans, probably know the words to it. Google says it has been recorded probably "hundreds" of times, in multiple languages as well. This list includes but not limited to: Red Steagall (great version); Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys; Ricky Nelson; Boxcar Willie; Charley Pride; Buck Owens; Bill Anderson; Conway Twitty; Dave Dudley ;Red Simpson; Jim & Jesse ; Charlie Walker; Flying Burrito Brothers; George Hamilton IV; Glen Campbell; New Riders of the Purple Sage (*another great version); Willie Nelson; Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen; Hylo Brown; Redd Volkaert; David Allan Coe; Leon Russell; Toby Keith; Aaron Tippin; the J. Geils Band; Don Wasler; Moe Bandy; Dick Nolan and probably 300 more. Phew! The Fell family must still be very comfortable with those royalty checks. 

"Six Days On the Road" was written by Earl Green & Carl Montgomery. This particular tune for sure had the more chart success, with the notorious version by Dave Dudley hitting #2 in 1963, and Sawyer Brown bringing it to the masses again in 1997, peaking at #13. The song has been featured on movie soundtracks, and even been re-written under different titles as novelty songs (see "Six Tons of Toys"). The list of artists having recorded this number probably also hits in the hundreds, and they would include: Dave Dudley; George Jones; Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys; Sawyer Brown ;Steve Earle; Boxcar Willie; Flying Burrito Brothers; George Thorogood & the Destroyers; Merle Haggard; Taj Mahal; Country Joe McDonald; Mudcrutch; David Allan Coe; Eric Church; Gram Parsons; Jim Croce; The Cadillac Three; Red Sovine; Red Simpson; Hank Snow; Freddy Fender; Ferlin Husky; Sean Burns & Lost Country; Chris Sprague; Del Reeves; Bobby Bare & the Hillsiders; Jim & Jesse; Dick Curless; Hank Thompson; Bud Brewer; The Hagers; Johnny Russell and again, probably about 300 more. 

On this 4th of July weekend, let's remember a time when we Americans bonded over CB radios at the kitchen table. Talking to neighbors, strangers and lonely trucks passing on the interstate. Over and out!