Trucking Songs for the Road

Trucking Songs: Artists
Trucking Songs: Collections
Trucking Songs: Artist of the Month
MP3 Information and Resources
Other Music Information and Options
Trucking Songs

Listening to trucking songs and other music while driving down the road has always been a trucker favorite. You'll find trucking songs of the past, as well as the most popular hits of today. In addition, the newest and best ways to enjoy music in the truck are discussed.

Trucking Songs: Artists

kay adams Kay Adams: Wheels & Tears Her voice fused Loretta's sassiness and Tammy's mournful "catch," yet she never found comparable success. Kay Adams made history anyway. Country trucker records had been an exclusively male province, but 25-year-old Adams changed that with her 1966 hit single, "Little Pink Mack," and the release of this twang-filled album, fueled with the full-on sound of Bakersfield!

bobby bare Bobby Bare: Essential Bobby Bare There are many country artists who are better known than Bobby Bare. Many are more commercially successful. However, very few are more talented. Give a listen to The Best of Bobby Bare and let his refreshing, unadorned vocals take you on a guided tour of the classic sounds of country music.

boxcar willie Boxcar Willie: Truck Driving Favorites Country music artist Boxcar Willie and his original hobo style of music will always be an important part of American history. His tales of travel and freedom of the rails tell of a time gone by.

dick curless Dick Curless: The Drag 'Em Off The Interstate, Sock It To 'Em Hits The Baron of Country Music's burly baritone was forceful enough to rattle your walls yet agile enough to scale them. Dick Curless is best remembered for his pulsating trucker hits, many of which are included here, but it's his incredible versatility that raises him to the next level. Classic blues, rich ballads, and pop standards all found a way into his repertoire

dave dudley Dave Dudley: Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun: The Mercury Hit Singles 1963 - 1973 Dave Dudley founded his own label, Golden Wing, in 1963, and released the up-tempo song "Six Days on the Road", originally recorded in 1961 to please a friend, which made him a superstar over night. "Six Days on the Road" did, in fact, spawn an entire new subgenre within country music, telling tales of the lives of truckers and depicting them as hard-working, hard-living men.

slim dusty Slim Dusty: The Very Best of Slim Dusty During his 60 years on the road entertaining Australians everywhere, Slim Dusty took the culture of the Australian bush to ordinary people through his unique style of Country Music.

bill kirchen Bill Kirchen: King of Dieselbilly: Classic Kirchen "Bill Kirchen rules. It's just that simple. [His] no-nonsense diesel guitar attack, powered by great booming, bottom-heavy licks still covered with axle grease, is undoubtedly the real thing, scattering scorching guitar runs in all directions, it's all immediate, in your face and more than a little dangerous.?

cw mccall C.W. McCall: C.W. McCall - Greatest Hits In 1975, Bill and band cut the album, Wolf Creek Pass. It included the Old Home Café, and nine other songs, three of which were about Colorado. Black Bear Road followed in 1976, with Convoy hitting number 1 on every chart known to man. Bill toured on the fairgound circuit with the Old Home Band, now callin' themselves "The Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant Boys." (more info.)

nev nicholls Nev Nicholls: Great Nev Nicholls Truckin' songs from Australia. Nicholls has released 29 albums, gaining five gold records. For ten years from 1968, Nicholls & the Country Playboys were resident at the Texas Tavern in Sydney's Kings Cross. 54 tracks packaged in three standard jewel cases & housed in a gold embossed, die-cut slipcase Rajon Music. 2004.

jerry reed Jerry Reed: The Essential Jerry Reed Sung "Eastbound and Down" and was also the "Snowman" of Smokey and the Bandit fame. Reed's hard-driving rhythm runs and staccato lead licks were a groundbreaking force in country music. Here's a worthwhile body of "The Alabama Wild Man"'s guitar pickin' delights, and is thus worthy of being in any music collector's CD library.

red simpson Red Simpson: The Best Of Red Simpson: Country Western Truck Drivin' Singer This 20 song anthology features songs from each of his 1960's-1970's albums released on Capitol and does include his only top 5 hit, "I'm a Truck." All of the songs, except for 2 tracks which are "Johnny Law" and the top 40 hit which Junior Brown would later cover entitled "Highway Patrol," are about truck driving.

red sovine Red Sovine: Honky Tonks Truckers and Tears: 1964-1980 "Giddy-Up Go" was a #1-hit on the charts, and became the first of several big "truckdrivin'" theme songs that Red recorded. In 1967 Red recorded his second truckdrivin' hit, "Phantom 309."


Trucking Songs: Collections

on the road again On the Road Again: 20 Great Truck Drivin' Hits There's a lot of good songs here -- like "40 Acres" and, of course, "Looking at the World through a Windshield," "Six Days on the Road," and "I'm a Truck", to name just a few of them.

truckin' on Truckin' On Probably stands as one of the most complete collection of trucker country to be found. At 52 songs on 2 discs the pluses are numerous, including most of the great hits from the likes of Red Sovine, the Willis Brothers, Del Reeves, and other giants of the genre.

bigrighits Truck Driver's Boogie: Big Rig Hits, 1939-1969 This one takes a historical approach, beginning with the original trucker lament, Western swing bandleader Cliff Bruner's "Truck Driver's Blues" from 1939. Other early rarities reflect varied styles and moods. The slick Hollywood Western sound of Dick Reinhart's 1941 "Truck Driver's Coffee Stop" contrasts with duo Karl and Harty's old-timey "Truck Driver's Sweetheart."

black dog soundtrack Black Dog Highlights on the CD include: the bluesy "Road Man" by Big House, "We Can't All Be Angels" by David Lee Murphy, the Bruce Robison penned "Drivin' All Night Long" (Jack Ingram), and "I Wanna Remember This" by Linda Davis. Another one is "Drivin' My Life Away" by Georgia boy Rhett Akins.

kickin asphalt Kickin Asphalt Joe Sun's "Lovin' you is like fryin' bacon buck naked" and Sheb Wooly's "I don't look good naked anymore" are a hoot. Combine this with some really good Bobby Bare and Del Reeves selections makes for a thoroughly enjoyable assembly of songs.

rig rock deluxe Rig Rock Deluxe: A Musical Salute To American Truck Drivers This fine collection contains a number of classics updated by contemporary artists as well as tunes by the original artists. Highlights of this CD are Junior Brown's collaboration with the great Red Simpson on Red's classic "Nitro Express"

truckersjukebox Trucker's Jukebox Trucker's Jukebox is a freewheelin' paradise chronicling life on the road as seen through the eyes of some of Country's big stars. Trucker's Jukebox covers the Country landscape: outlaw, honky tonk, country-rock, Bakersfield sound, country comedy, truck driving country and more.


Trucking Songs: Artist of the Month

American Trucker


MP3 Information and Resources

MP3s are a great way to listen to music while you're in the truck, but many people still don't know much about them. First you'll have to find and download MP3s:

Here's a handy chart to give you an idea of song capacities of the latest MP3 players:

MP3 Player Song Storage Chart
1 MB=1 minute of CD-quality (128 kbps) MP3 Music
1000 MBs = 1 GB
GBSongs
(@4 min./song)
MinutesHours
1250100016
2500200033
41000400067
51250500083
10250010000167
20500020000333
30750030000500
401000040000666
6015000600001000

Once you've figured out how you want to find and download MP3s, you'll need a way to play them. It's easy to just play them through your home computer, but to listen to MP3s while you're on the road, you'll need to either:

  • Copy the music from your computer's hard drive to CDs and play them:
    • on your truck's CD player (not all CD players can play MP3s)
    • on a portable CD player connected to your truck's stereo system
  • Download directly to a portable MP3 player (like the iPod), or from your computer's hard drive to the MP3 player, and connect the player to your truck's stereo system.
The Different Types of MP3 Players
If you're using an MP3 player to listen to a few songs while you jog around the truckstop, a flash-based MP3 player is all you'll need. These don't have any moving parts to get damaged by excessive motion. But these players have limited song storage capabilities.

However, if you're a trucker who's regularly on the road for weeks at a time, and up to 11 hours in just a single driving shift, you'll likely need an MP3 player with a lot more song storage capabilities. In this case, a hard-drive based MP3 player is for you.


The Lowest Prices on MP3 Players

Truckers need hours and hours of music and talk to listen to, so we've provided information to only the best quality, and longest playing MP3 players. The Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback (Black) can store enough music to last you another million miles or so, plus a number of other great functions. Look below for more information.

Apple iPod

Other Music Infromation and Options

Play Audio Devices Wirelessly through Your Stereo
Play all your audio devices wirelessly through your truck's stereo system with this MP3 FM Modulator. Use with your MP3 player, CD or DVD players.

The Xtatik FM transmitter with charger and holder for the iPod (also the iPod Mini, iPod Video and iPod Nano) can play your music through the FM radio in your truck and charge your iPod's battery at the same time.

The LCD Display shows the frequency of your choice. Multi-Channel (12) Frequency and memory function for up to 12 months. It's an all-in-one FM transmitter, charger, holder and cradle for your iPod.

Listening to Music at Home
RealRhapsody is a great way to listen to music at home, if you have good PC speakers, or have your PC connected to your stereo system. You can listen to any type of music, and instantly have what would take a lifetime to collect on your own. In addition, you can burn songs to CD.

For example, you can listen to Country Music on Rhapsody - check it out now.

Rhapsody
Playing Movies On the iPod
Play videos from your extensive collection on your iPod through your TV at home (as well as on your truck's TV!).
Click here for more information on the Trucking Movies Page.

Satellite Radio Essentials
Having a satellite radio enables you to listen to many different things while you're in the truck or at home. You can listen to any type of music, sports, talk, comedy, variety, weather and traffic, and more. Both XM and Sirius Satellite Radio providers also carry a channel for truckers. Click here to go to The Satellite Radio Page for music station information, links to XM and Sirius resources, and the lowest prices on receivers and accessories.




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