| "Convoy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by C. W. McCall | ||||
| from the album Black Bear Road | ||||
| Released | November 1975 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | 1975 | |||
| Genre | Country, truck-driving country | |||
| Length | 3:49 | |||
| Label | MGM Records | |||
| Writer(s) | William D. Fries Jr. (lyrics) Louis F. Davis Jr. (music) |
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| Producer | Louis F. Davis Jr. Don Sears |
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| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| C. W. McCall singles chronology | ||||
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"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall (pseudonym of Bill Fries) that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts [1] and one week at number one on the pop charts. The song went to number one in Canada as well, hitting the top of the RPM Top Singles Chart on January 24, 1976.[2] "Convoy" further peaked at number two in the UK. The song's success helped start a fad for citizens band (CB) radio. The song was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Peckinpah film Convoy.
Contents |
The song consists of three types of interspersed dialog: a simulated CB conversation with CB slang, the narration of the story, and the chorus. It is about a fictitious trucker rebellion that drives from the west to the east coast of the United States without stopping. What they are protesting against (other than the 55 mph speed limit), is shown by lines such as "we tore up all of our swindle sheets" (CB slang for log sheets used to record driving hours; the term referenced the practice of falsifying entries to show that drivers were getting proper sleep when, in reality, the drivers were driving more than the prescribed number of hours before mandatory rest) and "left 'em settin' on the scales" (CB slang for Department of Transportation weigh stations on Interstates and highways to verify the weight of the truck and the drivers' hours of working through log books). The song also refers to toll roads: "We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll."
The conversation is between "Rubber Duck," "Pig Pen" and "Sodbuster," primarily through Rubber Duck's side of the conversation. The narration and CB chatter are by Fries.
At the beginning of the song a "Kenworth pulling logs," being driven by Rubber Duck, is the "front door" (the leader) of three eighteen-wheelers (tractor and semi-trailer) when he realizes they have a convoy. Following the Rubber Duck is an unnamed trucker in a "cab-over Pete with a reefer on" (a refrigerated trailer, hauled by a Peterbilt truck configured with the cab over the engine), while Pig Pen brings up the rear (the "back door") in a "'Jimmy' (GMC truck) haulin' hogs."
The convoy begins toward "Flagtown" (Flagstaff, Arizona) at night on June 6 on "I-one-oh" (I-10) just outside "Shakytown" (San Francisco, California. due to its earth tremors. although, I-10 does not go to San Francisco, but goes to Los Angeles, which is referred to as Shaky City in CB slang). By the time they get to "Tulsatown" (Tulsa, Oklahoma), there are 85 trucks and the "bears / Smokeys" (police, a reference to the campaign hats worn by many state police departments as well as the United States Forest Service mascot Smokey Bear) have set up a road block and have a "bear in the air" (police helicopter). By the time they get to "Chi-town" (Chicago, Illinois), the convoy includes "Sodbuster" (another trucker in an unspecified make of truck), a "suicide jockey" (truck hauling explosives) and "eleven long-haired friends of Jesus (11 born-again hippies) in a chartreuse microbus" (a Volkswagen Type 2), and the police have called out "reinforcements from the 'Illi-noise' (Illinois) National Guard." The convoy crashes another road block when crossing a toll bridge into New Jersey, and by this time they have "a thousand screamin' trucks" in all.
The song's running gag has Rubber Duck complaining about the smell of the hogs that Pig Pen is hauling. He repeatedly asks the offending driver to "back off" (slow down). By the end, Pig Pen has fallen so far back, when Rubber Duck is in New Jersey, Pig Pen has only gotten as far as Omaha (a reference to the headquarters of American Gramaphone, which released the song, and also a reference to the slaughterhouses for which Omaha is famous). Also, Omaha was C.W. McCall's "home 20" (a reference to the ten-code for location).
| Chart (1975) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Singles | 19 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 4 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 13 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 2 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Top 40 | 19 |
| German Singles Chart | 43 |
| French Singles Chart | 76 |
McCall's "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck" is the sequel to "Convoy." In this continuation, the convoy leaves the United States and travels around the world, through Britain, France, West and East Germany, the USSR, Japan, and Australia.
Kris Kristofferson recorded a new version of the song with saltier lyrics for the soundtrack of the 1978 film Convoy. McCall also made two additional re-recordings of the original song, one for his 1990 album The Real McCall: An American Storyteller, and the other for the 2003 Mannheim Steamroller album American Spirit. He also recorded a Christmas version titled "Christmas Convoy."
In 1976 a parody, Convoy GB, featuring BBC Radio 1 DJs Dave Lee Travis and Paul Burnett as Laurie Lingo & The Dipsticks, made #4 on the UK singles chart. In this version, the two truckers are "Superscouse" and "Plastic Chicken". ;
Another parody, Chat Room, was produced by Bob Rivers.[3]
In 1981, rap artist Blowfly recorded a "dirty" rap version of the song on his album Rappin Dancing and Laughin.
In 2010, country-rap artist Colt Ford recorded the song for his 2010 album Chicken & Biscuits.
The song was covered in 2004 by Paul Brandt.[4] The video features Brandt and fellow country singers Jason McCoy and Aaron Lines as well as then Calgary Flames defensemen Mike Commodore and Rhett Warrener as truckers and George Canyon, of Nashville Star fame, as the highway patrol officer. The video was seen on CMT in both Canada and the United States. It was filmed at CFB/ASU Wainwright on Airfield 21. The song appears on the 2004 album This Time Around.
Brandt also recorded a version of "Christmas Convoy" which appears on the 2006 holiday album A Gift. In this version, the convoy helps Santa deliver his toys after a bad storm.
| Preceded by "Love Put a Song in My Heart" by Johnny Rodriguez |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single December 20, 1975- January 24, 1976 |
Succeeded by "This Time I've Hurt Her More than She Loves Me" by Conway Twitty |
| Preceded by "Saturday Night" by Bay City Rollers |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single January 10, 1976 |
Succeeded by "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow |
| Preceded by "Rhinestone Cowboy" by Glen Campbell |
Billboard Hot Country Singles number-one single of the year 1976 |
Succeeded by "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)" by Waylon Jennings |
| Preceded by "Jump in My Car" by Ted Mulry Gang |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single 1 March 1976 – 21 March 1976 |
Succeeded by "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen |
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