Zero to 180 – Three Minute Magic
Shame on Zero to 180 for not celebrating Red Simpson‘s musical legacy as a pioneer of the “Bakersfield Sound” until now – after his spirit has already left this mortal plane. I’m afraid Simpson’s passing might have gotten overlooked in all the media attention given to the unexpected loss of
I once played a sweet little instrumental by James Burton and Ralph Mooney on an all-truck-driving radio show, even though it’s not actually a “trucker tune” — and yet nobody called me out on it, because the song – “Corn Pickin‘ – fit like a glove. Later when I “back-announced”
Somebody [the Commander himself, I would later learn] went to considerable effort to stitch together all these images to tell the story behind Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen‘s “Truck Stop Rock” from 1972’s Hot Licks, Cold Steel & Trucker Favorites album — the least you can do is
Can you believe it’s been 4 months and 20 days since I last featured a truck driving song? And how perfect is it that Lonnie Mack once wrote and sang a truck driving song for 1971 Elektra album, The Hills Of Indiana? “Asphalt Outlaw Hero“ Lonnie Mack (1971) Don Nix
Last May’s piece about Sonny George and his modern truck driving classic album Truckin’ Country (issued on Eddie Angel‘s Spinout label) reminds me that Dale Watson deserves recognition for his own equally excellent contribution that very same year, 1998’s Truckin’ Sessions. Kick-off tune, “Good Luck ‘n’ Good Truckin’ Tonite” would
Dave Dudley’s earliest recordings go back to King Records, interestingly — six sides altogether, with three written by Dudley and one co-written with Louis Innis. Dudley would record for a handful of small labels before being signed to Mercury in the wake of “Six Days on the Road” and its
A huge tip of the hat to the late, great Charlie Coleman of WKHS for playing the righteous sounds on his Coleman’s Classic Country radio show in the greater Annapolis/DC area — a part of the nation that desperately needs help with the quality of its radio programming. Charlie was
Don’t be misled by the German 7-inch soundtrack companion whose A-side bears the dual title, “Midnight Cowboy–Asphalt Cowboy” — Ferrante & Teicher did not, in fact, release an early version of the truck-driving country classic, “Asphalt Cowboy” in 1969. Sleepy LaBeef, in truth, recorded the first — and greatest —
Another easy pick for Top 10 Truck Driving Albums Ever [besides Truck Driver Songs by The Lonesome Valley Singers] is Truckin’ Country — fourteen original and fun trucker tunes that feature dynamite musicianship and Sonny George‘s one-of-a-kind voice, including this revved-update of American folk standard, “Wabash Cannonball“: “Dixie Fireball“ Sonny
We will likely never know just how many people were lured to the truck driving profession as a result of the romantic and freewheeling images fueled by truck driving country music during its 1960s and 70s heyday. Fortunately, we can all thank Alan MacEwen of veteran DC band, The Grandsons,
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