We Got Us A Convoy

One of the strangest fads in the 70’s was the explosive growth of CB (Citizens Band) Radios---the mainstay of truckers both then and now, the CB Radio made its way into passenger cars (driven mostly by teenagers and 20-something men).

Long before the cell phone, this was THE way to talk while driving—and it had to be cool, because truckers did it.

So…what started it all?

One of the embers that ignited the craze was a song called “Convoy” by C.W. McCall, which hit #1 on the pop charts this week in 1976.

No trucker, C.W. McCall (you could say that was his “handle”)—was actually Bill Fries, an advertising executive in Omaha, who cashed in on the craze to communicate using wacky lingo and silly ID slogans-“handles”- that would single you out as among the coolest to rule the road.

Yeah, right.

I too, was one of those knuckleheads talking about “bears in the air” (police helicopters) and wrapping my statements with “10-4” and “good buddy”—all from the cockpit of my fearsome Mercury Capri 1600cc 4 cylinder “rig”

Ahem.

Anyway, if you don’t recall the song, here it is—enjoy!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWO_AIh8drk

Radio Shack made a killing selling radios and whip antennas to the likes of me—and REAL truckers no doubt winced as their formerly pristine airwaves were clogged with boobs like yours truly, spouting trucker drivel for no good reason.

Well, MOSTLY no good reason other than to know that someone—usually LOTS of someones outside my passenger compartment actually heard my insanely cool banter. It’s a wonder that a convoy of Kenilworths didn’t hunt me down and force me and my Capri into a bridge abutment.

The CB craze lasted for a few years—after which time we collectively realized how silly we sounded and how we had virtually nothing to add to the conversation. I suppose that some of us used the CB for roadside assistance—and perhaps those damn things saved a life or two.

“Convoy” sold over two million copies—and inspired a movie of the same name starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali McGraw.

Landfills across America are now the home to many of these formerly indipensible devices—and thankfully, most of our familiar “handles” are buried as well.

10-4, good buddy, over and out.


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