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On April 1st, 2022, Bill Fries passed away.
Of course, the obvious question is: "Who was Bill Fries?
In the early '70s, Bill was creative director at the Bozell and Jacobs Advertising Agency in Omaha, when he was asked to come up with a campaign for Old Home Bread.
The bread was distributed across the Midwest in trucks featuring the Old Home Bread logo, so Bill decided on a trucking theme. The ads featured bread deliveries to the Old Home Café, which was later expanded to become the "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Café". The waitress at the café, Mavis, would flirt with the truck driver: C. W. McCall.
And now you know who Bill Fries was!
Bill won a Clio Award (Advertising's Oscar) for his work, and after a while, to keep the persona going, Bill--I mean C.W.-- worked with musician- composer Chip Davis to write and record full length country songs. Several became hits... most notably, 1975's "Wolf Creek Pass," and today's "Great Novelty Song of "1975-76:" "Convoy!"
The song was a world-wide hit, and if it didn't start the C.B. Radio Craze of the mid-70s, it certainly kicked it into high gear!
Not only did the song hit #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 and Country Charts, it also reached #1 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand! In the UK and Ireland, it peaked at #2.
"Convoy" was all over the radio in late '75/early '76, and the result was a massive increase in C.B. radio usage (much to the annoyance of truckers). It also sparked a movie by the same name, starring Kris Kristofferson ...and inspired other films, like "Smokey & The Bandit:" the #2 film at the box office in 1977 behind "Star Wars."
And by the way, if the name Chip Davis sounds familiar...it's because he went on to form the group Mannheim Steamroller.
And for my Toledo area friends, you might be interested to know that Chip is from Sylvania.
"Convoy" by the late C.W. McCall (Bill Fries) and Chip Davis: a "Great Novelty Song of 1975-76."
Just for Fun, Here's 1974's "Wolf Creek Pass" (#12 on the Country Chart):
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