---

:: C.W. McCall - Lewis And Clark ::

When I was a real little kid, there was a series of ads for the local bakery, Old Home, that featured a fast talking, downhome character who was always hanging out at the The Old Home Filler-Up-an'-Keep-On-a-Truckin' Cafe. I couldn't stand those ads, and I think I grew to pretty much loathe all things country and trucker. Being in Iowa, it was pretty hard to avoid either one. Negatory, good buddy. I even had a babystitter whose husband not only listened to the music, but actually drove a truck and had a CB in his rig, and in their friggin' dining room. I completely expected to hear Teddy Bear's pitiful little voice coming over the radio at some point.

Well, times change and genres come full circle and are interesting all over again. Nowadays I like just about every type of music, but I have a surprising fondness for trucker music. Turns out the guy who did the Old Home commercials was William Fries, an ad exec from Omaha who later created an alter ego by the name of C.W. McCall. He's best known for the classic truckin' tune Convoy, which inspired the 1978 Peckinpah film of the same name. This practically Methamphetamine-fueled ditty appears on the same 1975 record as Convoy, and even though I'd probably heard Convoy a hundred times, it took hearing this song for me to realize it was the same guy from the Old Home commercials. I almost want to put up the lyric sheet so you can keep up, but shucks, where's the fun in that? I'm pullin' the plug, over.


Tony

This entry was posted on Monday, October 24, 2005 at 9:05 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.