C. W. McCall
Encyclopedia
C. W. McCall is the pseudonym
of William Dale Fries, Jr. (born November 15, 1928, Audubon
, Iowa
, United States
), an American
singer, activist and politician known for his truck-themed outlaw country
songs.
, Nebraska
advertising agency, Fries created a Clio Award-winning (1974) television advertising campaign advertising Old Home Bread for the Metz Baking Company. The advertisements featured a truck
driver named C. W. McCall, who was played by Dallas
, Texas
, actor Jim Finlayson. The waitress named Mavis Davis was played by Dallas actress Jean McBride Capps. The commercial's success led to songs such as "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Café", "Wolf Creek Pass
" and "Black Bear Road
". Fries sang and wrote the lyrics
and Chip Davis
, later of Mannheim Steamroller
, wrote the music
.
McCall is best known for the 1976 #1 hit song "Convoy
", which came at the peak of the CB fad in the United States. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
by the R.I.A.A. in December 1975. Though McCall is not a one-hit wonder
, "Convoy" has since become his signature song
. McCall first charted the song "Wolf Creek Pass", which reached #40 on the U.S. pop top 40 in 1975. At least three other songs reached Billboard's pop Hot 100, including "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck
" (a pirate
-flavored sequel to "Convoy"), as well as the environmentally-oriented "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)". A dozen McCall songs appeared in Billboard's
Hot Country Singles
chart, including the sentimental "Roses for Mama
" (1977).
In 1978, the movie
Convoy was released, based on the C.W. McCall song. The film starred Kris Kristofferson
, Ali MacGraw
, Burt Young
and Ernest Borgnine
and was directed by Sam Peckinpah
. It featured a new version of the song, written specially for the film.
In addition to the "original six" McCall albums released between 1975 and 1979, two rare singles exist. "Kidnap America" was a politically/socially-conscious track released in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis
, while "Pine Tar Wars" referred to an event that actually happened in a New York Yankees
-Kansas City Royals
baseball game during 1983 (a dispute concerning the application of a large quantity of pine tar to a baseball bat used by George Brett
, one of the Royals players).
In 1986, McCall (William Fries) was elected mayor of the town of Ouray
, Colorado
, ultimately serving for six years.
In 1990, American Gramaphone Records
issued a CD
containing a number of old McCall tracks re-recorded for the digital CD age, plus a new song, "Comin' Back For More", which was inspired by Alferd Packer
, an alleged 19th century cannibal.
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of William Dale Fries, Jr. (born November 15, 1928, Audubon
Audubon, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 2,176 in the city, with a population density of . There were 1,106 housing units, of which 961 were occupied....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, activist and politician known for his truck-themed outlaw country
Outlaw country
Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...
songs.
Biography
In 1973, while working as a creative director for Bozell & Jacobs, an OmahaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
advertising agency, Fries created a Clio Award-winning (1974) television advertising campaign advertising Old Home Bread for the Metz Baking Company. The advertisements featured a truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
driver named C. W. McCall, who was played by Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, actor Jim Finlayson. The waitress named Mavis Davis was played by Dallas actress Jean McBride Capps. The commercial's success led to songs such as "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Café", "Wolf Creek Pass
Wolf Creek Pass (album)
Wolf Creek Pass is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released in 1975 on MGM Records. It was recorded after the success of a song included in the album, "Old Home Filler-up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", which was used in a popular television commercial that helped make McCall famous...
" and "Black Bear Road
Black Bear Road
Black Bear Road is a notorious jeep trail that starts from summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. Highway 550 to Telluride, Colorado. The Black Bear Road crests at Black Bear Pass, elevation . The road descends over a set of infamous switchbacks as it navigates the heights above Telluride. The road...
". Fries sang and wrote the lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
and Chip Davis
Chip Davis
Louis F. "Chip" Davis, Jr. is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller.He also wrote the music for C.W. McCall, including the 1975 hit "Convoy".-Biography:...
, later of Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller
Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...
, wrote the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
McCall is best known for the 1976 #1 hit song "Convoy
Convoy (song)
"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts...
", which came at the peak of the CB fad in the United States. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the R.I.A.A. in December 1975. Though McCall is not a one-hit wonder
One-hit wonder
A one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
, "Convoy" has since become his signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
. McCall first charted the song "Wolf Creek Pass", which reached #40 on the U.S. pop top 40 in 1975. At least three other songs reached Billboard's pop Hot 100, including "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck
'Round the World with the Rubber Duck
"Round the World with the Rubber Duck" is the 1976 novelty song performed by C.W. McCall that was the sequel to the similar truck-driving country hit, Convoy. "Round the World with the Rubber Duck" continues the story about the fictitious truck convoy from the song Convoy...
" (a pirate
Pirates in popular culture
In American and British popular culture, the modern pirate stereotype owes its tradition mostly to depictions of Captain Hook and his crew in theatrical and film versions of Peter Pan, Robert Newton's portrayal of Long John Silver in the film Treasure Island, and various adaptations of Sinbad the...
-flavored sequel to "Convoy"), as well as the environmentally-oriented "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)". A dozen McCall songs appeared in Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Country Singles
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart, including the sentimental "Roses for Mama
Roses for Mama (song)
"Roses for Mama" is a song recorded and by both country music artists Red Sovine and C.W. McCall, and was a top 5 hit for McCall in 1977. The song was also covered in German language by Austrian singer Johnny Hill....
" (1977).
In 1978, the movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Convoy was released, based on the C.W. McCall song. The film starred Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, Ali MacGraw
Ali MacGraw
Elizabeth Alice "Ali" MacGraw is an American actress. She is known for her role in Love Story, for which she won a Golden Globe and received an Academy Award nomination.-Early life:...
, Burt Young
Burt Young
Burt Young is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.-Personal life:...
and Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
and was directed by Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
. It featured a new version of the song, written specially for the film.
In addition to the "original six" McCall albums released between 1975 and 1979, two rare singles exist. "Kidnap America" was a politically/socially-conscious track released in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis
Iran hostage crisis
The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States where 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran in support of the Iranian...
, while "Pine Tar Wars" referred to an event that actually happened in a New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
-Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
baseball game during 1983 (a dispute concerning the application of a large quantity of pine tar to a baseball bat used by George Brett
George Brett (baseball)
George Howard Brett , nicknamed "Mullet", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th...
, one of the Royals players).
In 1986, McCall (William Fries) was elected mayor of the town of Ouray
Ouray, Colorado
The historic City of Ouray is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 813 at the U.S. Census 2000 and 1,000 as of the U.S. Census 2010...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, ultimately serving for six years.
In 1990, American Gramaphone Records
American Gramaphone
American Gramaphone is an American record company, and was formed in 1974 by Chip Davis. It is best-known for releasing Davis' solo and Mannheim Steamroller albums...
issued a CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
containing a number of old McCall tracks re-recorded for the digital CD age, plus a new song, "Comin' Back For More", which was inspired by Alferd Packer
Alferd Packer
Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer was an American prospector who was accused of cannibalism during the winter of 1873-1874. First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter...
, an alleged 19th century cannibal.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales threshold) |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
CAN | NZ | ||||||
| 1975 | Wolf Creek Pass Wolf Creek Pass (album) Wolf Creek Pass is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released in 1975 on MGM Records. It was recorded after the success of a song included in the album, "Old Home Filler-up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", which was used in a popular television commercial that helped make McCall famous...
|
4 | 143 | — | — | ||||
| Black Bear Road Black Bear Road (album) Black Bear Road is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on MGM Records in 1975 . It is largely considered the album which gave him the most significant boost of his career, almost entirely due to the hit novelty song, "Convoy", that hit the number one spot on both Billboard's Country...
|
1 | 12 | 16 | 19 |
|
||||
| 1976 | Wilderness Wilderness (C. W. McCall album) Wilderness is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on Polydor Records in 1976 . As its title suggests, it focuses on subjects connected with nature, the environment and humans' impact on them...
|
9 | 143 | — | — | ||||
| Rubber Duck Rubber Duck (album) Rubber Duck is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on Polydor Records in 1976 . It is his fourth album, released the same year as Wilderness, but concentrating on the themes the McCall character was popular for - trucking, as opposed to the various depictions of nature that could be...
|
29 | — | — | — | |||||
| 1977 | Roses for Mama
|
22 | — | — | — | ||||
| 1979 | C. W. McCall & Co. C. W. McCall & Co. C. W. McCall & Co. is country musician C. W. McCall's sixth and last album of original songs, released on Polydor Records in 1979 , before McCall announced his retirement from the music industry...
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| 1990 | The Real McCall: An American Storyteller The Real McCall: An American Storyteller The Real McCall: An American Storyteller is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on American Gramaphone in 1990 and rereleased in 1999 . It features revamped digital versions of some of McCall's better known songs, including "Convoy", "Wolf Creek Pass" and "Black Bear Road",...
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| 2003 | American Spirit American Spirit (album) American Spirit is an album released on American Gramaphone in 2003 as a collaboration between Mannheim Steamroller and country musician C. W. McCall. The album focuses on American patriotic songs, hence the title... (with Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:... )
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilation albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | |||||||||
| 1978 | C. W. McCall's Greatest Hits C. W. McCall's Greatest Hits C. W. McCall's Greatest Hits, as the title suggests, is a greatest hits compilation of country musician C. W. McCall's work, released in 1983 on Polydor Records, rereleased on September 21, 1993 and containing songs from the first five out of his six albums of original music, including the...
|
45 | |||||||
| 1989 | Four Wheel Cowboy Four Wheel Cowboy Four Wheel Cowboy is a greatest hits album by country musician C. W. McCall, released in 1989 on Polydor Records. All of the songs found on it, as well as three more, can be found on a later "best of" album, The Best of C. W. McCall...
|
— | |||||||
| 1991 | The Legendary C. W. McCall The Legendary C. W. McCall The Legendary C. W. McCall is a greatest hits album released on audio cassette only by country musician C. W. McCall in 1991 , on the PolyGram label. It does not contain any songs that cannot be found on the most well-known "best of" releases from McCall, The Best of C. W. McCall and C. W. McCall's...
|
— | |||||||
| 1997 | The Best of C. W. McCall The Best of C. W. McCall The Best of C. W. McCall is a greatest hits album released by country musician C. W. McCall on the PSM label in 1997 . As with all "best of" releases from McCall, the album contains the wildly popular song "Convoy", as well as eleven others...
|
— | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Country | CAN | CAN AC | NZ | AUT | |||
| 1974 | "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep On-a-Truckin' Cafe" | 19 | 54 | 12 | 44 | 44 | — | — | Wolf Creek Pass |
| "Wolf Creek Pass" | 12 | 40 | 46 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975 | "Classified" | 13 | 101 | 45 | — | — | — | — | |
| "Black Bear Road" | 24 | — | 42 | — | — | — | — | Black Bear Road | |
| "Convoy Convoy (song) "Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts... " |
1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 19 | ||
| 1976 | "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)" |
19 | 73 | 8 | 77 | 37 | — | — | Wilderness |
| "Crispy Critters" | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Four Wheel Cowboy" | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck 'Round the World with the Rubber Duck "Round the World with the Rubber Duck" is the 1976 novelty song performed by C.W. McCall that was the sequel to the similar truck-driving country hit, Convoy. "Round the World with the Rubber Duck" continues the story about the fictitious truck convoy from the song Convoy... " |
40 | 101 | 40 | — | — | — | — | Rubber Duck | |
| 1977 | "Audubon" | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Roses for Mama Roses for Mama (song) "Roses for Mama" is a song recorded and by both country music artists Red Sovine and C.W. McCall, and was a top 5 hit for McCall in 1977. The song was also covered in German language by Austrian singer Johnny Hill.... " |
2 | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | Roses for Mama | |
| 1978 | "Outlaws and Lone Star Beer" | 81 | — | — | — | — | — | — | C. W. McCall & Co. |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||