Happy Music Monday! This country was founded on one thing: interstate trucking. Possibly because of a little time travel, since trucks didn't exist in 1776. Whatever. Today Scott's gonna celebrate the glory of the truck and the magic of the trucker song.
True story: I found a 45 of this song in a dollar bin at a record fair and it blew my mind. Clearly an attempt at a blaxploitation version of the great "Convoy" (which you'll be hearing right after the jump) and yet, this song is so much more. It's funky, and happy, and tells that Robin Hood-style story of a man fighting for his right to not be hassled by "The Man." Also, it's hard to find online. Tracking down this version took me forever.
Load up and hit the road and we'll see you after the jump, good buddy.
I'm not willing to give this song 100% of the credit for creating the current generation of truck drivers, but I'll certainly give it, oh, 75%. Somehow this weird little novelty hit spawned a weird love of citizen's band radio, a Sam Peckinpah movie, and possibly contributed to the country music revival in the late 1970s. Not to mention Smokey & The Bandit and maybe even Big Trouble In Little China and popularizing the word "chopper." Just goes to show what one trucker can do when he puts his mind to it.
Jerry Reed - East Bound And Down
Yes, it's sort of a Convoy clone, but it's also a perfectly good song from a talented guy. A guy who clearly was willing to work with the scriptwriters, since there's another version for the opposite direction. See? That's why truckers are so great. They always plan for the return trip.
Your heart will grow six sizes after hearing this touching story of a sick little boy and his only friend, a CB Radio. Reaching out to a friendly trucker who probably should be paying more attention to the road, the young boy unlocks a magical surprise- which we don't dare spoil! Just know that, when you listen, you'll hear the line "Well, I came back and I said before you go 10-10/What's your home 20, little CB friend?" and you'll never hear anything better than that.
Harry Chapin - 30,000 Pounds Of Bananas
Look, the man did more than just "Cat's In The Cradle" you know. This song also is based on a true story of possibly the worst banana disaster in American history. And, wouldn't you know it? Bananas are hauled… by truck.
Take a pit stop and visit our Turntable.fm room for the regular Music Monday enjoyment. Also, let us just remind you: some images come from the corresponding Wikipedia pages and are here under fair use.