Convoy – C. W. McCall | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#1) & Country (#1 for 6 weeks); 1976
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
An early pioneer in music and advertising cross alliances was Bill Fries, who – as part of his job as ad man at Bozell and Jacobs – created C.W. McCall to be featured in ads for the Mertz Bread Company.
The first installment in the ad campaign became such a Midwest sensation that its theme song, Old Home Filler-Up An’ Keep On-A-Truckin’ Cafe, was released on vinyl and reached #19 on the country chart in 1974. Fries/McCall placed three more records on the country list, yet, nothing prepared him for the success of Convoy.
Fueled by the nationwide fascination with CB radio, which spread from truckers to middle class suburbanites, Convoy sped to the peak of the country and pop lists, selling an amazing six million copies (nothing else in 1976 was even close), and served as the inspiration for a like-titled movie starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw.
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:
- Don Sears
- Chip Davis
Lyrics Written by:
- Bill Fries
- Chip Davis
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).