C. W. McCall was the nom-de-hick of Iowa ad-man William Dale Fries, Jr., who came up with the truck-driving McCall character as part of an ad campaign he was working on in the early 1970s. The fictional McCall persona clicked with TV audiences, and later with radio listeners as the "CB radio" fad took hold in America, and McCall became the face of the fad, scoring a huge hit in 1976 with his CB-themed comedy song, "Convoy," off his second album. He parlayed that fame into a few more records, then mostly dropped out of the music business, and into retirement. All of his original albums have been out of print for years, but there are always greatest hits packages to make up for that... Here's a quick look.

C. W. McCall "Greatest Hits" (Polydor Records, 1978)
Well, yeah, we all know "Convoy," right? How could you not...?? It was actually THE number one Country song in 1975, believe it or not. What's even more amazing is that McCall had so many other hits, minor as they may have been, stretching his detail-laden humorous recitations to their limit on songs like "Four Wheel Cowboy," "Wolf Creek Pass," "Black Bear Road," and "Classified Ads." There are some interesting moments, like the hippie references on "Crispy Critters," and the apparent environmentalism of "There Won't Be No Country Music." His delivery is perfect for what he's trying to achieve -- that's what makes these songs listenable -- but this is definitely the type of comedy material you know you only wanna hear once, particularly with the soundalike, repetitive themes that stretch from song to song.

C. W. McCall "The Best Of C. W. McCall" (Universal Records, 1997)

C. W. McCall "Wolf Creek Pass" (MGM Records, 1975) (LP)

C. W. McCall "Black Bear Road" (1975) (LP)

C. W. McCall "Wilderness" (Polydor Records, 1976) (LP)

C. W. McCall "Rubber Duck" (Polydor Records, 1976) (LP)

C. W. McCall "Roses For Mama" (Polydor Records, 1977) (LP)

C. W. McCall "C. W. McCall & Co." (Polydor Records, 1979) (LP)

C. W. McCall "The Real McCall: An American Storyteller" (American Gramaphone Records, 1990)

C. W. McCall & Mannheim Steamroller "American Spirit" (American Gramaphone Records, 2003)

• CW-McCall.com is a fan website with some good info...

• Wikipedia has info, too... Guaranteed to be at least 73% accurate!

Hick Music Index