1976: 40 Years Ago “Convoy” Was The Number One Song In The U.S.

40 years ago, C.W. McCall’s (real name Bill Fries) truck driving odyssey "Convoy" stood tall atop both the country and pop charts in the U.S, also charting high in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand, among other places.

Some of you may be old enough to remember the song, and many of you may question why such a song even exists, but it was the mid-70’s, and trucker/CB culture was a large part of not only many, many lives, but also pop music & culture.

The song inspired the 1978 motion picture of the same name, starring the legendary singer/songwriter/actor Kris Kristofferson, which was just the latest entry in the genre, joining movies like "Smokey & The Bandit", and popular TV shows "Movin’ On" and "BJ & The Bear".

"Convoy", the song, features a simulated CB conversation, Rubber Duck complaining the whole way about the smell of Pig Pen’s hogs, and is riddled with the appropriate slang. The narrative spins a tale of a group of truckers forming a (hypothetical) coast-to-coast convoy, in protest of, among probably plenty of other things, the 55mph speed limit, toll roads, log books, and weigh stations.

"Ah, breaker one-nine, this here's the Rubber Duck. You gotta copy on me, Pig Pen, c'mon?
Ah, yeah, 10-4, Pig Pen, fer shure, fer shure. By golly, it's clean clear to Flag Town, c'mon.
Yeah, that's a big 10-4 there, Pig Pen, yeah, we definitely got the front door, good buddy.
Mercy sakes alive, looks like we got us a convoy"

"Convoy," by C.W. McCall, is the #1 song on the U.S. pop charts

Convoy on Wikipedia"

I remember that song, and they play it occasionally on the Sirius 70s station.

Let them truckers roll, 10-4.

I remember the sing and movie. That movie along with all the others, Smokey and the bandut, high ballin, white line fever, and tv like movin on and bj and the bear is what started my fascination with the trucking industry.

I remember 1976 - those tall ships really lifted the nation's spirits after Watergate,

That was a great movie. You should try finding it now. Nearly 6 years ago when I finally found a copy from a place called "Cheesey Flicks" if memory serves me correctly. I still want the duck on my hood.