The following excerpts are from our "18 Wheels of Truckdriving Music" article (From Roctober #46, 2008)

Wheel #1 "Six Days on the Road" by Dave Dudley (#1, 1963)
by Gentleman John Battles and Jake Austen
Illustration by Johnny Sampson

Dudley is, in death as in life, The King of the Truckdriving Songs. His booming voice and the big, boss guitar sound of his better known songs (provided by Johnny Voit) defined the truckstop sound, which was just coming into being when he cut his breakthrough smash, 1963's "Six Days on The Road." The song is the perfect trucker tune; his manly monotone invokes the macho of the road cowboys, yet he's not too manly to avoid expressing his (universal theme of) longing for home ("my hometown's coming in sight/If you think I'm happy you're right!"), plus there's enough trucker lingo to sound authentic, but not so much as to baffle Beetle drivers ("I just passed a Jimmy and a White...I'm a little overweight and my logbooks way behind"). Not to mention some of the only pro-drug lyrics aimed at Republicans in the 60s ("I'm taking little white pills and my eyes are open wide). "From there, it was on to big rig classics like "Truck Driving Son Of a Gun" (#3, 1965), "There Ain't No Easy Run" (#10, 1969), and "Thanks For All The Miles," speaking a language the truckers understood (long before the C.B. craze of the mid-70s and its subsequent novelty hits). Not that Dudley was above doing novelties, check out the almost-Rockabilly "Cowboy Boots" (#3, 1963) or the hilarious "Rolaids, Doan's Pills, and Preparation H" (which tells you what truck drivers REALLY live on). Dudley had a big, full sound, the kind that, along with Johnny Cash or George Jones, could win over the average rocker who's just getting his feet wet in the Country pool. He sang in two keys, matter of fact and that's that. Dudley's career didn't begin or end in the truckdriving song era that he helped launch. He was a rockabilly artist for King in the 50s and just two years before his death he released a truck driving reaction to the September 11th attacks called "You Ain't Gonna Truck with Us" on his album "American Trucker." Though he was far from a one trick pony (his half-century career yielded well over thirty LPs, most of non-big rig c&w), between 1963 and 2001 he recorded at least 75 songs about trucks, one for every year he lived. When he rode off into the sunset in 2003 naturally, I expected to hear tales of truckers hanging their little flags at half-mast after Dudley made his last run, but, when I asked my friend, Pope, who's a trucker himself, he just said, "Nahh, these younger guys don't know anything about that." But, we remember Dave Dudley, the real patron saint of truck drivers everywhere.

Spare Tire: "Rolaids, Doan's Pills and Preparation H" by Dave Dudley (#77, 1980) – Not only was this arguably the most honest trucker song ever recorded, it also can be viewed as the last recording of the truck song era, charting in 1980. I suppose it also heralded the product placements that would plague pop culture in the greed-driven eighties. (Jake Austen)

Wheel #2 "Teddy Bear" by Red Sovine (#40 pop; #1 c&w, 1976) RED SOVINE MYSTERY: SOLVED!
By Mike White
Illustration by Heather McAdams

Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine was born July 17, 1918. This native of Charleston, WV was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry and became known as "The King of Trucker Music." As the old commercial for "Red Sovine's Greatest Hits" used to say, "Red Sovine means as much to trucking as CBs and hot coffee."

Unlike other Trucker singers such as Dave Dudley or the similarly-hued Red Simpson, Sovine was known more as a storyteller than a crooner. While Sovine could belt out gear-jamming tunes like "Six Days on the Road" or "Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel" (#92, 1977) with the best of them, he is best remembered for maudlin epic poems like "Little Rosa" (#5, 1956) or "Phantom 309" (#9, 1967). The most famous Sovine song is his experiment in rhyme couplets, "Teddy Bear." Here the tale of a wheelchair-bound boy and the loss of his father are related in tear-jerking detail.

The most perplexing song in Sovine's oeuvre, "Little Joe" (#45, 1976), has the song's narrator experiencing his own 18-wheel hardship before being saved by a puppy (the title character) and being reunited with a miraculously walking Teddy Bear. The reason for Teddy Bear's ambulatory nature doesn't exist in Sovine's song catalog. This unexpected turn requires looking at the life of Teddy Bear outside of the songs. Written by Sovine, Tommy Hill, Dale Royal, and Billy Joe Burnette, "Teddy Bear" is said to have sold over a million copies in six weeks, climbing the country charts to the top slot faster than any other song to date in 1976. The song also crossed over to reach number 40 on the pop chart. With such popularity, record executives demanded another "Teddy Bear" tale to cash in on the phenomenal success. Yet Sovine was uninterested in narrating "the continuing adventures of Teddy Bear."

A decade earlier, when Sovine claimed the Trucker Song throne with his song "Giddy-up-go" (#82 pop; #1 c&w, 1965) he and co-writer Tommy Hill penned an answer song to this hit for country legend Minnie Pearl. Simply called "Giddy-up-go Answer" (#10, 1966), this song tells nearly the same story as Sovine's tale of a young trucker reuniting with his father, but this time, from the mother's point of view. Rather than an answer song to "Teddy Bear," singer Diana Williams recorded the morbid Dale Royal and Billy Joe Burnette-penned lament, "Teddy Bear's Last Ride," which killed off the handicapped tyke. Told from the point of view of the best friend of "Momma Teddy Bear," the song portrays Teddy Bear's slow, sad, downward spiral. Dying of unknown causes, "He talked less often on the old CB/And there were times when he'd hardly talk with me." Eventually, "They never did catch Teddy Bear again/'Cause late one night the Angel came./And the last thing he said before he died/Was, 'Tell all my trucker friends how I enjoyed the rides.'" Apparently, Sovine was incensed. His beloved Teddy Bear was needlessly slaughtered. Moreover, Williams's single was climbing the charts. Rather than commenting on the "Last Ride," Sovine (via songwriter Moe Lytle) came back with "Little Joe." Here we learned that not only was Teddy Bear alive but he could walk. Essentially, the disrespect of Diana Williams was "the miracle that made Teddy Bear walk again."

Little Joe would not have been able to save Sovine from the wreck of April 4, 1980, when the singer had a heart attack behind the wheel of his vehicle and crashed. He died due to the injuries sustained, but left behind an undying musical legacy.

TEDDY BEAR'S LAST RIDE
By Dale Royal & Billy Joe Burnette

I was there that day and saw her cry
When Mama Teddy Bear said, "Ten-four and goodbye."
She turned off the old CB and just looked at me,
And her heart overflowed and her tears ran free.

And the gratitude in her face shone like the sun
For all the things those big tough truckers had done.
A handful of change and a few dollar bills,
But most of all, a little crippled boy's dream fulfilled.

I guess I was Mama Teddy Bear's best friend.
I lived next door to her and little Teddy Bear since I don't know when.
And that's why now, before my memory grows old,
The rest of this story just has to be told.

I'd come over and sit with Teddy Bear while his mama was away
And play little games to help him pass the day.
In the afternoon he'd wheel that chair
Over by the radio and he'd go on the air.

And one by one he'd break 'em all.
I never knew a trucker not to answer his call.
He'd just grin and asked me not to tell his mom,
But I was pretty sure she knew what was going on.

But time has a way of taking its toll,
And much too fast, Mama Teddy Bear was growing old.
I watched as the silver touched her hair,
And her one aim in life was Teddy Bear.

And then I saw another change take place,
Little Teddy Bear was slowly losing the race.
I knew it, and his mama knew it too,
And there was nothing in this whole world either one of us could do.

He talked less often on the old CB,
And there were times when he'd hardly talk with me.
He took to sitting in the window and watching the road
And the big eighteen- wheelers rolling by with their loads.

Finally he was too weak to get out of bed,
And one day he looked at me and said,
"Would you turn on the radio and go on the air,
And tell all my trucker friends what's happened to Teddy Bear."

Well, the hardest thing I've done in my time
Was to pick up the mike and say, "Break one-nine... "
This is for all you truckers who care.
"I'm calling for your little friend Teddy Bear.

"He says to tell you he misses you all,
"And he's awful sorry he can't answer your calls."
They all came back and joked with me,
And said they'd catch him later on the old CB.

They never did catch Teddy Bear again,
'Cause late one night the Angel came.
And the last thing he said before he died
Was, "Tell all my trucker friends how I enjoyed the rides."

Mama Teddy Bear couldn't tell 'em, and neither could I,
'Cause each time we'd look at that radio, we'd both start to cry.
The funeral was preached at the chapel, and
Little Teddy Bear started on his last ride.

As the procession rounded the little city square,
The sounds of a hundred engines filled the air.
The truckers had dropped their trailers back somewhere behind,
And one by one they fell in line.

They all tried to comfort Mama Teddy Bear,
And it seemed like the warmth of God just filled the air.
Slowly they formed a circle 'round the little grave, and a lot of big men cried
That day as they paid their last respects on Teddy Bear's last ride.

LITTLE JOE
By Moe Lytle

Some time ago I was sippin' on some coffee and havin' some ham and biscuits when a motion caught my eye through the truck stop window. It was a little lost puppy; half-starved and shakin' from fear. Well, I just had to make friends with him so I picked him up and put him in the cab. And, buddy, he took to that truck like he was born there. Well, I named him Little Joe and as I watched him sleep on the seat beside me that's when I knew that Little Joe would be with me for a long, long time.

Well, a few months later I was talking to my old friend Teddy Bear on the old CB and not paying much attention to my back door. Little Joe started barking up a storm. I looked up and saw a Smokey in the mirror and I slowed my rig down just in time. But, you know something, Teddy Bear heard Little Joe barking and he said, "Hey Big Red, let me talk to your partner!" And I said, "You've got it, good buddy."

"How's the old Smokey situation, Little Joe?" And Little Joe said, "Rough (Ruff)." Aw, that just tore him up and the next two hundred miles just flew by 'cause everybody on that CB wanted to talk to Little Joe.

Well, one night we were headed through the Smokies in East Tennessee and Little Joe started acting real (sic) nervous. I heard the sounds of lightning (sic) on the old CB and suddenly we were in the worst storm that I'd ever seen. All at once I saw headlights coming straight at my rig! Someone was blinded in the rain! So I swerved fast and just barely missed a camper full of kids. But the shoulder gave way and we crashed over the side of the mountain. And when I woke up my truck was on fire and I couldn't move. But, somehow, Little Joe grabbed me by the collar and pulled me away from that burning rig.

Well, I was in the hospital the next time I woke up and the doctor was there to break the bad news. The accident had taken my sight. Oh, God, now I can't even drive! And that's when I realized how helpless Teddy Bear must have felt before the miracle happened that made him walk again. And then I thought, we-we-we-where's Little Joe? No-ain't nobody said anything about Little—Where's Li—Oh, I was so sad. 'cause I figured Little Joe had given his life to save me.

Well, my brother asked me to come live with him and when he opened the door to my new room I heard an old CB just a-blarin' away. Well, I couldn't wait to grab that mic and the first voice I heard was my old buddy Teddy Bear, ratchet jawin' in the distance. So I broke for him, and he came right back to me. Why, it was almost like old times again. Teddy Bear was a-yackin' away, unloading all the latest new on me and getting louder and louder. But all of a sudden the sound of an engine seemed to drown Teddy Bear out. And I said, "Hey, what's going on?" Teddy Bear said, "Open your front door, good buddy, I'm just outside." Lord, the roar of engines seemed to rock the house. And, all around me I could hear familiar voices and slammin' doors. Aw, I couldn't hold back the tears. All my friends were there.

And then I heard something I couldn't believe. Little Joe? That bark? Why, it had to be Little Joe. And no sooner than that he was all over me. And I put my arms around my old partner and the tears were streaming down my face. And then I felt something strange. Little Joe hadn't worn a collar before. And attached to the collar was a handle. A hush fell over my friends. And I realize, Lord, my new eyes were standing at my feet...Little Joe.

Spare Tire: "Giddy-Up Go" by Red Sovine (#82 pop; #1 c&w, 1965)-"Teddy Bear" may be more schmaltzy by a hair, but no song is more sentimental in a pure trucking sense than this tale of a trucker whose pre-verbal son names his daddy's first rig "Giddy-Up Go." Returning home from a long run a few years later he finds his wife and child gone, and has no luck tracking them down. He becomes a nomadic full-time trucker, and many years later he sees a big shiny rig named "Giddy-Up Go." He stalks the driver into a truckstop, and (spoiler alert) father and son are reunited! (Jake Austen)

Wheel #6 "Truck Drivin' Son-Of-A-Gun" by Dave Dudley (#3, 1965)
By Bosco

I had the (mis)fortune of being a good Jewish boy from the north side of Chicago whose father was a little on the mental side. He decided one day that he wanted to be a Jewish cowboy and ride in rodeos. Not a bad idea if you're doing it yourself, but he decided to bundle up my mom, my brother and myself and move us to the middle of nowhere Iowa.

Gee, thanks dad.

Well, along with the change of real estate, all things cowboy were quickly adopted: Job (obviously you can not be a cowboy if you're not working on a ranch, right?), dress and music. Luckily my old man went in for Outlaw country with a side helping of traditional cowboy/trucker style when it came to the music. So I grew up listening to the likes of David Allan Coe, Waylon and Willie, Johnny Cash and a healthy dose of the faves of trucker music aficionados like Red Sovine, Buck Owens and many others.

One of the stand out tunes I remember from being in the truck (yep, you have to have a pick-up truck to be a cowboy too) heading to and from the ranch was "Tiger in My Tank" by Jim Nesbitt (#15, 1965). Jim came to prominence in the 60s with some country/comedy bits including one about President Kennedy, and also charted with many country singles. The basis for the song came from old Esso Gasoline ads promising a 'tiger in your tank'. It's one of those songs I find myself singing when I'm driving down the highway or just tooling around the city. It's infectious in a good way. Officially though, it was about a car and not a truck, but another favorite from those days was Dave Dudley's "Truck Drivin' Son-Of-A-Gun," a classic about a womanizing road warrior with, "a cute little gal in every eastern town from Boston to St Lou" and "a good old girl in Knoxville but man I forgot her name, but not her figure." Dudley's monotone is pure trucking magic when he declares himself to be "a kiss stealing, wheeling dealing, truck driving son of a gun." If you've never hear this, you need to - you can probably find it (and Nesbitt's petro classic) on some country or trucker compilation tape at your local truck stop.

Wheel #7 "Phantom 309" by Red Sovine (#9, 1967) TRUCKERS, TRUCKSTOPS AND 8-TRACK TAPES
By F.R. "Russ" Forster, Former Editor 8-Track Mind Magazine

"America remembers Red Sovine," informed the late-night TV commercial from 1990 promoting a posthumous collection of beloved trucker hits entitled The Best Of Red Sovine. After a list of Red's most memorable songs from across his remarkable 35-year career (including the truly iconic "Teddy Bear" and "Phantom 309") came the sentence that really caught my attention: "Available on 2 LPs, cassette, 8-TRACK, and all-new compact disc." In 1990 there was almost no place to find a brand new 8-track tape except this curious TV offer, and this might be the only time ANY title was released on 8-track and CD simultaneously. Why was this famed purveyor of trucker anthems on 8-track at this late date, I wondered?

The answer was revealed to me over the course of the next few years as I worked with a group of oddball Chicago 8-track enthusiasts on an 8-track fanzine called 8-Track Mind (8-TM, for short). In the winter of 1993 we put out an issue devoted to so-called "bootleg" 8-track tapes (illegally reproduced versions of big name albums where royalties were not paid and licenses were not obtained). As part of the research for the issue we reproduced a "Buyers Bulletin" that was printed on the inner sleeve of Phonogram Records LP releases circa 1975-1977 warning consumers about the scourge of what they refer to as "pirated" tapes. The essay explaining the "headline" of the piece ("Tape Piracy...Everyone's Problem"), written with unexpected authority by "UPI Feature Columnist Bruce Meyer" dourly pronounces that "...in the long run, it's bound to hurt you - the record consumer - because your money is going not to support the performers you enjoy, but to line the pockets of a criminal." More pro-music industry rhetoric fills Mr. Meyer's defense of then-recently federally defined corporate copyrights, followed by a primer on how to spot and report illicit tapes, but the most interesting part of the "Bulletin" is a small inset piece entitled, "Lewis One-Man Pirate Smasher," detailing the exploits of rowdy '50s rocker Jerry Lee Lewis in literally stamping out a bootleg 8-track tape display at a truck stop he happened onto. "...Lewis recently pulled up to a gas station in the south and noticed a rack of pirate tapes in the station. He asked who owned the rack and when told than an unidentified man serviced it weekly from the trunk of his car, Lewis took the rack outside the station and smashed it. When the station operator asked him what he should do when the route man came and asked what happened to his rack, Lewis replied, "Tell him 'Killer' was here."

From this story, I began to get a picture of how truckers, truckstops and 8-tracks formed a symbiotic relationship in the '70s that was as hard to break as the tapes themselves. Stories of truckers who still had 8-track players and plenty of 8-track tapes well into the '90s spilled onto the pages of 8-TM, as well as stories of truck stop stores with dusty old racks of 8-tracks still for sale to those stubborn truckers (and the pop-culture savvy readers of the magazine itself). CDs and cassettes were for sissies in their Porsches and BMWs; 8-tracks were the big manly format with tapes that could survive Armageddon (if they didn't break at the splice first). And these truckers saw no reason to line the pockets of the record companies re-buying their favorite music on some newfangled format. 8-tracks got them through the '70s and '80s all right, so why not the '90s?

These days those old rigs with have been long retired, as have the truckers who ran them cross-country, keeping our economy pumping. 8-tracks, like the immortal self-sacrificing Big Joe in Red Sovine's hit "Phantom 309," are gone, remembered only as ghosts to a few remaining grizzled old convoy runners. But if you run into a bar serving Colorado Cool-Aid to some of the truckers who once had plenty of Red Sovine 8-tracks in their rigs, you best not make fun of that music technology long-discredited unless you're ready for a serious barroom brawl. The bond of trucker, truckstop and 8-track tape runs THAT deep.