The 1970s. There was a whole bunch of wackiness going on back then and BangShifter Joel Nystrom reminded us of a song we had not heard in many years in the comments section the other day. After listening to Six Days On The Road, he dropped the link to this crazed gem of a truck song called, The White Knight. Recorded by the immortal Cledus Maggard it centers around two things that were huge in the 1970s. Trucking culture and CB radios. We have showed you the movies and talked lots about how 1970s truckers were viewed as the last American cowboys. They lived an adventurous life, they spoke their own language, there was sex and drugs, and for many that was the attraction.
This song tells the story of a trucker who is cooking along the highway and is using pretty much every piece of either trucker slang or CB clang he can conjure up. There had to be plenty of booze and plenty of unidentified pills involved in this production because it is about as far out there as it gets.
This will be a love it or hate is Daily Tune Up. If it makes you crack a smile we think you’ll dig it. If you are tuning in for musical talent and something that makes sense you may want to move along.
Haha! That’s a fun song. It makes perfect sense if you know all the lingo. back in the mid-seventies when I was in high school the CB radio craze was in full swing. Me and all my buddies had cb’s. Remember the only phones at the time were attached to the kitchen wall! So for those of you who never had a chance to get in on all the CB jargon here are some translations that will help you understand the song. It’s pretty fast moving so you have to listen to it a few times.
Smokey at 43 means a cop at exit 43 or mile post 43
Bears out there flip-flopping means a cop talking back and forth on the CB radio not letting people know he’s a cop.
Seat covers cover the seat of another vehicle that you can get a good view of from the elevated cab of a semi truck. Similar to a beaver or hot biscuits.
Wall to wall means a CB message that is coming through with a very strong clear signal. Usually means that the transmitter is very close to you.
Of course double nickels is 55 miles per hour, and a smokey taking pictures is a cop with a radar.
Front door is a trucker that you are communicating with who is in front of you, back door is a trucker that you are communicating with who is behind you, and a rocking chair is someone in between. All speeding and trying to protect each other from tickets.
A plain white wrapper is an unmarked white squad car.
Bubble gum machine is the cops flashing lights.
This album was a part of my childhood. My Dad and both Grandfathers were truckers. I grew up listening to Dave Dudley, Red Divine, CW McCall, and yeah, even Cletus Maggard. Cletus was Ray Stevens on Speed in a Peterbilt. If you can lay hands or hyperlinks on the complete album, check out, Dad I Gotta Go. No, really.
Auto correct turned Sovine into Divine