Fewer Trucking Songs

Dale Lee · Post by **Dale Lee** » 4 Nov 2006 4:21 pm

The first truck song I ever heard was "Pinball Machine" by Lonnie Ervin. Does anyone else remember that song? Probably sometime around 1960.

Darryl Hattenhauer · Post by **Darryl Hattenhauer** » 5 Nov 2006 3:41 pm

Shane,

What the heck kind engine and trans do they use that would get all that weight started and yet get it up to a decent speed? How fast do they go?

Here in Phoenix, they trucked in a HUGE transformer on a series of flatbeds and lowboys, and the top speed was 7 miles per hour/ 11 kmh. I don't know what they used to get that thing rolling. They must have been through five gears before they hit one mile per hour. But 7 miles per hour from Los Angeles to Phonix would give you a lot of time to write the trucking song to end them all.

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"I take my wife everywhere, but she keeps finding her way back." --Henny Youngman

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 5 Nov 2006 4:12 pm

Our fellow forumite Cartwright Thompson played steel with Maine's Diesel Doug and the Long Haul Truckers.
Check out the song titles on their Mistakes Were Made CD

If I'D Shot Her When I Met Her (I'd Be Outta Jail By Now) 3:59
I'D Like To Quit Drinkin' (But I Live Over A Bar) 2:51
Not Much To Say 3:58
Picture Of You 3:18
Circles 4:52
Never Lookin' Down 4:42
Merry Christmas From The Family 4:01
18 Wheels Of Love (Live) 2:40
Pride'S Corner 4:11
Another One Like Me 2:49
An Angel Not A Saint 3:25
Because Of You 4:34
One Light 5:17
Thin White Line 3:25
Daddy'S Drinkin' Up Our Christmas 2:28
My Girlfriend Is A Waitress 3:23

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 5 Nov 2006 5:04 pm

I play once in a while with the great Red Simpson and I know fellow forumite and my buddy Larry Petrie from Bakersfield plays with him a lot also. Red is the real deal when it comes to truck songs and if you analyze Junior Brown's music it's evident he has a few of Red's records in his collection. Two of my favorite Red Simpson tunes are "I Got A Beaver In My Lap And A Bear On My Tail" and "Diesel Smoke and Dangerous Curves". It don't get any better than that. -MJ-

Kelly Hydorn · Post by **Kelly Hydorn** » 6 Nov 2006 10:01 pm

speaking of Red Simpson and all his great trucking songs, don't forget that Leo LaBlanc played steel on those albums and he had his own unique style that still sounds awsome almost 40 years later.

Eric Jaeger · Post by **Eric Jaeger** » 6 Nov 2006 11:01 pm

I think there's a recording of Junior AND Red Simpson doing something ("Nitro Express"?) floating around in my record collection somewhere.

But for me I think Bill Kirchen is keeping the flame burning. King of Dieselbilly is worth it just for "Truck Stop at the End of the World" -- one of the funniest kick-!@@#!?! twangsongs I know.

-eric

p.s. "Rig Rock Deluxe" is the CD with the joint track. And it's got some real howlers on it.[This message was edited by Eric Jaeger on 06 November 2006 at 11:03 PM.]

Paul Honeycutt · Post by **Paul Honeycutt** » 11 Nov 2006 4:44 pm

Country music went downhill when they started singing about pickup trucks instead of diesels.

Colm Chomicky · Post by **Colm Chomicky** » 12 Nov 2006 7:27 am

Makes me think of Commander Cody's "Hot Licks, Cold Steel, and Trucker's Favorites"

"Looking through the World Thru a Windshield"

"Mama Hated Diesels"

etc.

Tore Blestrud · Post by **Tore Blestrud** » 12 Nov 2006 8:04 am

Nice to see Red Simpson mentioned. My music buddies and I are big fans. The best trucking music I've ever heard. Great sound and great band on Reds records. I hear he is a piano entertainer in Bakerfield now? To bad........

Richard Bass · Post by **Richard Bass** » 12 Nov 2006 9:05 am

Sorry about double post.
Richard[This message was edited by Richard Bass on 12 November 2006 at 10:20 AM.]

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 12 Nov 2006 9:09 am

Red has always played a pretty good honky-tonk piano and it's featured on his recent CD "The Bard Of Bakersfield" on which I was honored to be asked to play steel.

Richard Bass · Post by **Richard Bass** » 12 Nov 2006 9:10 am

I worked with Dave Dudley in the late 60's for about 5 yrs, a great guy and artist. Back then alot of truck songs were recorded by Dave, Red Simpson, Red Sovine, Dick Curless, Del Reeves, and several others.
Richard

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 12 Nov 2006 3:25 pm

I've been in and out of the trucking business most of my life and it doesn't get any worse than it is right now. It's hard to market negative music and there ain't much positive to sing about in trucking these days.

The Knights of the Road image has been replaced by a 400 pound slob in sweat pants who chucks pee jugs out the window. The rest areas and CBs have been taken over by queers who refuse to keep to themselves.

Cell phones, Qualcom satellites and XM radio--and I do love my XM--have all but made the CB radio obsolete, thus the commaraderie is nothing like it used to be. Half the truckers out there today don't even talk English. And the other half have such filthy mouths that you can't turn on the CB for a minute without somebody coming unglued. I can't even turn it on when my wife's with me.

4 wheelers have no patience whatsoever and now a lot of truckers are getting about as bad. D.O.T. cops are nothing more than revenuers anymore. It's no longer about safety, it's big business.

About every time you get out of the truck, somebody tries to scam you. It's not safe to park anywhere anymore. If the lot lizards or the scam artists don't get you, the cops will. Heck I've seen them wake guys up in the middle of the night and inspect their trucks.

Rates really haven't changed much in 25 years yet trucks cost 2 1/2 times what they did back then and fuel is 4 or 5 times what it was. Nobody can afford to go on strike and the big companies would gobble up the few crumbs the independents have left if they shut down. Anybody got any cheese for my whine?

Lem Smith · Post by **Lem Smith** » 13 Nov 2006 6:10 am

The guy who heads up the band I play in, owns a trucking company and also drives one of his own trucks, so it's no surprise that we do quite a few truckin' songs. Six days on the road, Truck drivin' man, etc... and Jackie has also written and recorded an entire CD of trucking songs.

Here's a link to his company's website, and you can hear a couple of the original tunes here.
http://www.dxlt.net

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 13 Nov 2006 6:19 am

Not only 'Willin', but 'Truck Stop Girl'--I think Little Feat nailed the truckers songs, sympathetic vignettes of life on the road.
It's a hard act to follow.

Darryl Hattenhauer · Post by **Darryl Hattenhauer** » 13 Nov 2006 8:24 pm

http://www.dxlt.net/hammer
Lem, this stuff is gooooood. Way back, this would have been a hit. But what the heck are "STEPDECTS, TO HOTSHOTS AND DOUBLE DROPS"?

Jeff,
"If I'D Shot Her When I Met Her (I'd Be Outta Jail By Now)" I gotta get that. No better title since "Green Snakes on the Ceiling."

Everybody here has mentioned my old favorites. I just hadn't noticed that they don't get on the radio anymore.

Webb,
I had no idea that trucking had gotten so bad. I know that rest areas are really dangerous now, and it's not just the pavement princess but also the pavement prince now (if you flash your lights they think that you want to flash yourself). But even way back, I didn't like cbs because you'd hear teenagers on there who thought four-letter-word breakers were knee-slapping hilarious. It must be hopeless now.

Webb (or anybody) can you tell me what kind of transmissions and rear ends they used on that incredible load, and what gear they were in at 7 mph?

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"My help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

Lem Smith · Post by **Lem Smith** » 14 Nov 2006 9:43 am

Darryl,

I'm not a truck driver myself, so I don't know all about it, but a "Hotshot" is smaller, like a dually pickup pulling something like a 40 foot trailer, not a full blown "big rig". I think a step deck is just a trailer that has a step up toward the front of it.

Darryl Hattenhauer · Post by **Darryl Hattenhauer** » 15 Nov 2006 6:06 pm

Lem,

I'm way behind the times. I remember when 40 feet was the longest trailer, and Cummins made a 220 horse engine. I suppose those 2-cycle V8 GMCs aren't made anymore. I hope not.

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"My help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2)

Gabriel Stutz · Post by **Gabriel Stutz** » 20 Nov 2006 12:27 pm

I recently started playing with a band called the Gin Palace Jesters, and they still write trucker songs. I really love playing those tunes on steel.

Gabriel

Mark Edwards · Post by **Mark Edwards** » 21 Nov 2006 6:53 am

I think they have gone from prison, trains, drinking and trucks to ebay, internet, ipod! Times are a changing and not for the better, but just hang on it will all come around again. Just the other day my daughter and I were driving down the road listening to her music on the radio, a song came on that was originaly done back in the 70's, my daughter looked at me and said dad check out this new song. I had to explain to her that it is a remake of an old tune. She didn't believe me.

Webb Kline · Post by **Webb Kline** » 21 Nov 2006 12:49 pm

Darryl, that's a long time ago. Trailers went to 45 ft, then 48 ft and then 53 ft. Some places in the midwest allow 57 footers. They all went from 96" wide to 108" too.

My first truck was a 64 Emeryville cabover with a 220 Cummins (Come-along. GM diesel became Detroit back in, ummm....I'm thinkin' early 70's. They almost went bankrupt until they came out with the 4 cycle engine back in the mid to late 80's. Now they have a good engine. I used to have a 2 cycle 238 hp 671 Detroit on my sawmill. Like all Detroits, it leaked oil so bad that I never had to buy oil to lubricate the mill--just kept a couple of cans under the engine.

Lem, you're right about the stepdeck and hotshots. Stepdecks are also called dropdecks. Double-drop means just that--the low deck is twice as low as a conventional stepdeck. SOme call it a lowboy, but some lowboys are RGN's which means removable gooseneck--the front part stays on the 5th wheel and you can drive equipment on the front of the trailer and then hook it back up again. All that stuff's too much work for me anymore.

[This message was edited by Webb Kline on 21 November 2006 at 02:07 PM.]

Darryl Hattenhauer · Post by **Darryl Hattenhauer** » 22 Nov 2006 12:47 pm

Webb,

That sounds way to big. Maybe the safety records on the long trailers are ok. But 108 wide just doesn't sound right.

It's interesting to know that Detroit finally went to 4-cycle. I couldn't believe it ages ago when somebody told me that there was a V8 2-cycle diesel.

Are they all using that oil-against-the- flywheel engine brake that Cat invented? And what kind of mileage are they getting now? I remember when Cats got about 7 mpg, and Cummins and GMC about 4 mpg.

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My initial response was to sue her for defamation of character, but then I realized that I have no character. -- Charles Barkley

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 26 Nov 2006 3:05 pm

I agree that one reason you don't hear trucking songs any more is because trucking is sooo different than it was 30, 40 and 50 years ago. For one thing, in the 50's and 60's truck driving jobs paid a lot more (relative to the average wage) than they have paid for the last 30 years or so. This is because trucking used to be regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission. That is, rates were set and only certain companies were allowed to haus certain freight certain places.

Consequently, because of the higher pay back then, trucking was able to attract a higher caliber individual. Also, after WWII and the Korean conflict, a lot of ex-service men went into trucking.

Nowadays, anyone can apply for and obtain (as long as you are fit) authority to haul anything anywhere.

Another thing that's different is that the trucks and roads are so much different now. Back in the 40's 50's and 60's trucks didn't have power steering, or A/C, or radial tires, or air-ride suspension or halogen headlights, or self-adjusting brakes, or 500 hp engines, or semi-automatic transmissions, or air-dryers, or other such features that make driving nowadays a cinch compared to what it used to be.

Also, roads, truckstops, regulations etc., were a lot different way back when. Driving from coast-to-coast on those old, narrow, twisting, steep two-lanes was a lot different than today's roads. Even the old, original interstate highways were a lot twistier, narrow and steeper than the newer rebuilt, regraded roads. In most areas of the country, truckstops were far and few between and those that were around were usually mom and pop types. Plus, with each state having its own set of laws, you pretty much had to have a law degree to figure out how to be legal. And, there were a lot more independent owner-operator truckers back then, both lease-operators and wildcatters. So, that's another reason why drivers used to be of a higher caliber individual.

Nowadays, the highways are so wide, straight and gradual that you can pretty much drive anywhere without so much as shifting gears and you only need one registration and one fuel tax sticker.

In other words, it was a lot more challenging than it is today.

Also, remember -- only 50 years ago, there were only half the number of of people there are now in the U.S., and there were correspondingly fewer trucks on the road. Most of the drivers were white males. I'm not being racist here -- I'm only stating the truth. It was very unusual 40 years ago to even meet someone from the middle east living in the US, let along a middle-eastern truck driver.

Now, as someone else stated above, there are a substantial number of foreign-born truckers out there on our roads. I have seen many eastern European drivers, middle eastern drivers, etc., who either didn't speak English or didn't want to speak English.

Yet another reason for the lack of truck driving songs is that the music is different today. I guess that pretty much goes without saying. "Country" music is marketed to a much broader segment of the population today, and that segment is made of a very different demographic than in the old days. Anyhow, just my two cents.