MUSIC VIDEO

"Convoy" by C.W McCall - 

This is a novelty song inspired by the CB radio craze of the mid-'70s. The story of "Convoy" was told in CB jargon and with a Country and Western (the "C.W.") twang. (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)
C.W. McCall is a character created by songwriter Bill Fries. While he displayed musical promise as a child, he was more interested in graphic design. While attending the University of Iowa, Fries studied music and played in the school's concert band, but his major was in fine arts, and after graduation he began handling the art chores at an Omaha, Nebraska television station. After 5 years there, he was hosting his own program, where he drew caricatures of celebrities. Fries signed on as the art director for an Omaha advertising agency in the early '60s, and it was there that he created the character C.W. McCall as a selling tool for an area bakery. A trucker for the fictional Old Home Bread company who spent much of his time in a diner called The Old Home Filler-Up-an'-Keep-On-a-Truckin' Cafe, the McCall character was a huge hit with viewers, and the radio campaign won Fries the advertising industry's prestigious Clio Award. In 1974, Fries decided to cut a record under the McCall moniker, and the single, a monologue with country backing titled after the aforementioned cafe, became a hit. A follow-up single, "Wolf Creek Pass," was even more successful.
This hit #1 on both the Pop and Country charts, and a national craze was born.
Sam Peckinpah made a 1978 movie based on the song starring Kris Kristofferson and Ally McGraw. By the time the movie was released, however, McCall's music career was largely over. He released two more albums, but in 1977, McCall turned his back on the music industry to focus on the burgeoning environmental movement and moved to the small town of Ouray, CO. He was elected mayor of the town in 1982. An attempt at a comeback in 1990 proved unsuccessful. (thanks, Bob - Knoxville, TN, for above 3)

There was a serious side to this song. It dealt with the struggles truckers were facing with restrictive speed limits, tolls, bureaucracy and fuel costs.

"Old Home Bread" was a real bread company in Iowa, where the ads were broadcast. They were filmed in Pisgah, a small town in the Western part of the state. (thanks, Scott - Eugene, OR)
Some of the CB terms used and their meanings:

Got a Copy - do you hear me?

Jimmy - a GMC truck. GMC no longer builds class 8 trucks.

Headin' for bear - coming up on a police blockade. "Bear" is the CB slang term for "police."

Shakeytown - Los Angeles, California

Put the hammer down - speed up

Tulsa-town - Tulsa, Oklahoma

Smokies - highway state patrol officers

Bear in the air - police helicopter

Ten-nine (10-9) - repeat message

Swindle Sheets - truckers' logs. Truckers have to keep logs of what they were hauling. These "swindle sheets" must be presented to Department Of Transportation officers on request.

Chi-town - Chicago, Illinois

Chicken Coop - weigh station

Longhaired friends of Jesus - hippies

Microbus - Volkswagen Microbus. Very popular vehicle among the hippies during the 1960s and 1970s. Another popular song that mentions the Volkswagen Microbus is "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" by Arlo Guthrie.

"Keep the bugs off your glass and the bears off your... tail" - The real phrase is "keep the bugs off your glass and the bears off your a**". A typical CB sign-off that means to drive carefully and watch out for speedtraps.

"What's your twenty?" - "Where are you?"

"Catch you on the flip-flop" - "I'll talk to you on my return trip (on the way back home)." (thanks, Patrick - Tallapoosa, GA)

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3034

Billboard Top 100 Songs of 1976 - Year End Charts

1	Wings	Silly Love Songs
2	Elton John and Kiki Dee	Don't Go Breaking My Heart
3	Johnnie Taylor	Disco Lady
4	Four Seasons	December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)
5	Wild Cherry	Play That Funky Music
6	Manhattans	Kiss And Say Goodbye
7	The Miracles	Love Machine (Part 1)
8	Paul Simon	50 Ways To Leave Your Lover
9	Gary Wright	Love Is Alive
10	Walter Murphy and The Big Apple Band	A Fifth Of Beethoven

57

C.W. McCall

Convoy