Truckin' Songs

Almost as long as there have been trucks, there have been country and western songs about the people who guide the rigs across the nation. With music from various genres, Truckin' songs range from spoken-word melodrama like Red Sovine's "Teddy Bear" to the rollicking Honky-Tonk of Dave Dudley's "Six Days On The Road." The first acknowledged truck-driving song is Ted Daffan's "Truck Driver's Blues," which dates back to the 1930s. The '50s brought more great songs like Doyle O'Dell's "Diesel Smoke." But things really kicked into high gear during the '60s, with Dick Curless' "Tombstone Every Mile" and Red Simpson's "Roll, Truck, Roll." The '70s brought the CB radio craze and the smash C.W. McCall hit "Convoy." By the '90s, Indie Rock and Alt-Country bands were rediscovering the truck-driving genre. A series of three excellent Rig Rock compilations released by the Diesel Only label (the most recent is Rig Rock Deluxe) include such artists as Go To Blazes, the World Famous Blue Jays, Buck Owens, and Kelly Willis paying tribute to the men and women of the 18-wheeler world.