This song and the CB radio craze were omnipresent in 1975 and 1976. I remembered it well enough that I didn't really need to listen to it again.
"C. W. McCall" was a fictional character created by commercial artist William Dale Fries Jr. (1928-2022) for a series of televised advertisements for Old Home Bread. The character became popular enough that Fries embarked on a recording career with it.
"Convoy" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the UK singles chart early in 1976; it was also #1 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Its music was composed by Chip Davis, who won Country Music Writer Of The Year in 1976 despite not being a fan of country music. He used his success with "Convoy" to launch his own new-age music group, Mannheim Steamroller.
Fries released a number of singles under the C. W. McCall name between 1974 and 1980, reaching the US country Top 20 six times. In later years, he relocated to Ouray, Colorado, and became its mayor in 1986, remaining in the office for three terms of two years each.
Created May 5, 2026.