Tag: Austin City

TOP FIVE: TRUCKIN' SONGS

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I gave AIV the train song idea and ended up not being to get my shit together and my head above water at work to do the post and I was a little disappointed by that. So I decided that this week I’d drop another classic country and western song genre on you guys and write the post before I told AIV the idea so I would get to post this time. This week is Truckin’ Songs. My daddy was a trucker when I was born and somewhere there is a picture of me knee high to him standing beside his rig. I came up listening to Jerry Reed and watching Smokey and the Bandit so I guess I have a romanticized view of the OTR trucker. I know some of the truckin’ songs out there are a little bit cheesy but I love the genre so it’s this week’s Top 5. I hope some of you are also fans of truckin’ songs. Here’s my five, can’t wait to see yours…

Diana William’s – Teddy Bear’s Last Ride | Maybe the saddest truckin’ song in existence
C. W. McCall – Convoy | My first thought when it comes to truckin’ songs and what defined the genre for me
Jerry Reed – Caffeine, Nictotine, Benzedrine (and Wish Me Luck) | Jerry Reed did the Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack but this is so much better a song than Eastbound and Down
Dale Watson – Truckin’ Man | Much like Jerry Reed no truckin’ song list would be complete with Dale and this is a great track
Jason Boland and the Stragglers – Truckstop Diaries | While not technically a song about driving trucks I think this one counts

So there’s my list, let’s see yours. I do fully expect to see Alabama in someone’s list…
(Cover picture by SoulRider.222.)

AIV SAYS:

Jerry Reed – Eastbound and Down: RSV can go deep cuts…I’m playing the obvious. I also wanna take this opportunity to say, if you’re not watching Eastbound and Down on HBO then you’re seriously fucking up.

Drive-By Truckers – 18 Wheels Of Love (Live from Austin City Limits): One could argue that this is a love song and not a trucker song….and one could suck my fucking dick too.

Scott H. Biram: These really were the first 3 songs that popped into my vacant little head.

Scott H. Biram – 18 Wheeler Fever
Scott H. Biram – Reefer Load
Scott H. Biram – Truckdriver

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS ODDS AND ENDS:

Patterson Hood sent out an email recently that contained a lot of interesting information I thought I’d pass along:

  • Patterson’s second solo album, Murdering Oscar (and other love songs) is available for pre-order. One of the available pre-order packages includes an autographed 180 gram vinyl album, a digital download and a signed (by Wes Freed) and numbered giclée of the album artwork.

  • Summer dates are scarce but Patterson hopes to take his merry band of Screwtopians (David Barbe, Will Johnson, Scott Danbom, John Neff and Brad Morgan) on a coast to coast tour somtime later this year. (PATTERSON! YOU GUYS REMEMBER WHERE FLORIDA IS?????)

  • July 7 will see the DVD release of the Trucker’s appearance on PBS’s Austin City Limits. The DVD contains the complete show (only approx. 1/3 aired) which features on of the last ever performances of “18 Wheels Of Love”, featuring the full monologue and the sequel monologue. (I NEED A COPY OF THIS!)

  • On Sept. 7, DBT’s former label, New West Records, will be releasing The Fine Print (A Collection of Oddities and Rarities 2003-2008). The album will contain many hard to find tracks such as “George Jones Talkin’ Cell Phone Blues”, “Rebels”, “Play It All Night Long”, “TVA” and the original version of “Goode’s Field Road”. (FINAL MONEY GRAB BY NEW WEST OR LEGIT RELEASE? THE REST OF THE TRACKLIST WILL TELL)

  • And finally, sounds like the band is in the studio this month recording the as of yet untitled follow-up to Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. They hope to release it sometime in early 2010. (HOPEFULLY THE LABEL CHANGE WILL LEAVE THE BAND FEELING ENERGIZED)

Drive-By Truckers – 18 Wheels of Love
Drive-By Truckers – The Great Car Dealer War