C.W. McCall
b. William Fries, 15 November 1928, Audubon, Iowa, USA. Fries loved country music as a child, but had a successful career in advertising in Omaha, culminating in a 1973 campaign for the Metz bread company which involved a truckdriver called C.W. McCall. ‘It was just a name that came out of thin air,’ says Fries. He had done the voice-over himself and developed the character on record. McCall had a US country hit with The Old Home Filler-Up And Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe, and then made the pop chart with a tale of brake failure on Wolf Creek Pass. President Nixon had imposed a 55-mph speed limit during an oil shortage; CB radio, which had been confined to farmers and radio hams, was in demand so that motorists could warn each other of radar traps. McCall told the story of Convoy in CB jargon and the accompanying press release enabled DJs to explain the song to their listeners. Convoy took the hammer down and soared to number l on both the US pop and country charts, also making number 2 in the UK. A parody Convoy G.B. by Laurie Lingo And The Dipsticks (in actuality, BBC Radio l disc jockeys Dave Lee Travis and Paul Burnett) made number 4. McCall's record was the inspiration for a film of the same name, directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Kris Kristofferson. The soundtrack featured Convoy and previously released material by other artists. McCall went to number 2 on the US country charts with the narration, Roses For Mama, and scored a minor US pop hit with There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock‘n’Roll), but he soon returned to advertising. In 1982, he moved to Ouray, Colorado and was elected mayor in 1986.