Chevy Van – Sammy Johns | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#5); 1975
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
As a member of the Devilles, Sammy Johns spent 10 years making rock ‘n’ roll and releasing several indie singles. When fame and fortune didn’t follow, Sammy struck out on his own.
Eventually, he was picked up by GRC, and ushered into the studio with Larry Knechtel – then playing keyboards for Bread – producing. Knechtel assembled a crack team of musicians for the sessions, which resulted in two failed singles before Early Morning Love cracked the chart at #68 in 1974.
Johns’ fourth 45, a steamy song of seduction in his tricked-out Chevy van, worked its wiles on Top 40 fans, who boosted it to #5 in ’75. Chevy Van even inspired an utterly forgettable film, The Van starring Danny DeVito, before driving off into the sunset.
Sammy tried for a second chart go-round in a re-recorded Chevy Van in 1988, however, the new model ran out of gas and stalled at #80 on the country chart.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Jay Senter
- Larry Knechtel
Lyrics Written by:
- Sammy Johns
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).