Dave Dudley

Dave Dudley
Background information
Birth name	David Darwin Pedruska
Born	(1928-05-03)May 3, 1928
Origin	Spencer, Wisconsin, United States
Died	December 22, 2003(2003-12-22) (aged 75)
Genres	Country music
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1961–2003
Labels	Golden Wing Records, Mercury Records
Associated acts	Dick Curless, Del Reeves, Tom T. Hall, Red Simpson

Dave Dudley (May 3, 1928 – December 22, 2003), born David Darwin Pedruska, was an American country music singer best known for his truck-driving country anthems of the 1960s and 1970s and his semi-slurred baritone. His signature song was "Six Days on the Road," and he is also remembered for "Vietnam Blues," "Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun," and "Me and ol' C.B.". Other recordings included Dudley's duet with Tom T. Hall, "Day Drinking," and his own Top 10 hit, "Fireball Rolled A Seven," supposedly based on the career and death of Edward Glenn "Fireball" Roberts.

Biography

Early life and rise to fame

Born in Spencer, Wisconsin, Dudley had a short career as a semi-professional baseball player.^{[citation needed]} After he suffered an arm injury, he was no longer able to play baseball. He then decided to pursue a career in country music. He was one of the earliest artists to record for the National Recording Corporation, with "Where's There's A Will" (1959).

Dudley was injured once again in 1960, this time in a car accident, setting back his career in music.^{[citation needed]} He first appeared on the Country charts in 1961 with "Maybe I Do," released by Vee Records.^{[citation needed]} He later moved to Golden Wing Records.

Height of his career

In 1963, "Six Days on the Road" became a hit for Dudley. The song was written by Earl Green and Peanut Montgomery. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.^[1]

In the original version of the song as recorded by Dudley the lyrics include the words "...I'm taking little white pills and my eyes are open wide..." a reference to the stimulants some truckers used to keep driving (and make their delivery times) when they needed sleep. Some remakes of the song replace these words with a reference to looking at the white lines on the road. Dudley can be heard and seen singing the correct original lyrics in a 1971 performance currently available at YouTube.

In 1963, Dudley moved on to Mercury Records. By the end of 1963, he released his first single from the label, "Last Day in the Mines".^{[citation needed]} Dudley scored more big hits in the 1960s, including "Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun", "Trucker's Prayer" and "Anything Leaving Town Today". "Six Days on the Road" has been covered by several artists, including George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Steve Earle, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Sawyer Brown.

Dudley continued to have success into the 1970s, while continuing to record for Mercury Records. He had some Country Top 10s in the 1970s, including "Comin' Down" and "Fly Away Again." By the late 1970s, his success on the charts was beginning to fade, although Dudley amassed thirty-three Top 40 Country hits.

In 1978, Dudley's name became unforeseen known to the audience in Germany as the most successful German country band Truck Stop had a single Top 10 hit in Germany, titled "Ich möcht’ so gern Dave Dudley hör’n" ("I would like with such pleasure to hear Dave Dudley").

Decline and death

In the 1980s, Dudley continued to record sporadically, and remained popular in concert. During this time, he was elected to the 'Nashville Teamsters Truck Drivers Union', receiving a solid gold membership card from the union. During this time, he also found out that he had a big fan base in Europe, and he decided to try to appeal more to this market. ^{[citation needed]}

In total, Dudley recorded more than 70 albums. However, he did not manage to reclaim his past success, and neither his single "Where's That Truck?", recorded with disc jockey Charlie Douglas, nor the track "Dave Dudley, American Trucker", recorded in 2002 in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, helped revive his career. Few of his hits have made it onto CDs and albums, creating a market for his vintage vinyl recordings.

Dudley died on December 22, 2003, aged 75, after suffering a heart attack at his home on Staples Lake, near Danbury, Wisconsin.

Discography

Albums

Singles

• ^APeaked at No. 13 on Easy Listening (now Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks).

References

Other sources

• Country Music: The Rough Guide; Wolff, Kurt; Penguin Publishing

External links

• Allmusic Dave Dudley with Biography, Discography, Charts
• Dudley profiled in WFMU's Diesel Sniffing Series
• CMT.com: "Six Days on the Road" Singer Dave Dudley dead at 75