The 1970s were odd times in many, many ways. One of those ways was the fascination with citizen’s band (CB) radio. It started as a thing for truckers to communicate with each other when on the road but, over the course of the decade, seeped into mainstream life. Millions of regular citizens installed CB radios in their cars, ostensibly to discover radar traps on highways saddled with the new 55 MPH speed limit but really just to listen in on and sometimes participate in others’ conversations.
The CB radio craze was buttressed by movies like Smokey and the Bandit and “Convoy,” a novelty song issued by some feller named C.W. McCall. That song is today’s classic song of the day.
C.W. McCall wasn’t a real person; he was actually a truck-driving, country music-loving character created for a series of bread commercials by advertising exec Bill Fries. Those commercials were wildly popular and led Mr. Fries to write, along with partner Chip Davis, a song about the CB radio craze. That song was “Convoy” and it followed the titular character (with the handle “Rubber Duck”) as he led a constantly growing convoy of truckers across the country to protest high gas prices (this was in the middle of the ’70s energy crisis, after all), the newly instated 55 MPH speed limit, and who knows what else. By the end of the line the convoy was more than a thousand vehicles long—and they’re all putting the hammer down on their way east.
Yeah, this was a real song and it was real popular. Released as a single in November of 1975, “Convoy” went all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, as well as topping Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It even led to a movie, also titled Convoy, directed by Sam Peckinpah (yes, that Sam Peckinpah) and starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali McGraw, and Ernest. Borgnine. The less said about that one, the better.
BTW, if you’re wondering what all that CB lingo means, here’s a quick reference:
- Bear: see Smokey
- Bear in the air: Police helicopter
- Breaker one-nine: Asking for permission to break into a conversation on CB radio channel 19
- Chi-Town: Chicago
- Chicken coop: DOT weigh station
- Flag Town: Flagstone, AZ
- Flip flop: Return trip
- Front door: Lead truck in the convoy
- Good buddy: Another CB user
- Hammer down: Go as fast as possible, as in put the accelerator pedal down
- Handle: Personal CB radio nickname
- Rear door: Last truck in the convoy
- Reefer: Refrigerated trailer
- Shot the line: Committed to an action
- Smokey: Police officer or highway patrol
- Suicide jockey: Truck hauling explosives
- Swindle sheet: Trucker log book
- Ten-Four: Message received and understood
- Ten-Nine: Say it again or repeat the message
- Ten-Roger: Message understood and agreed
- Twenty: Current location, as in “What’s your twenty?”
- Shakeytown: Los Angeles
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, the trailer for the movie Convoy. Not surprisingly, it prominently features the song of the same name.
