Record Rummage – 18: 20 Great Truck Drivin’ Songs

… and so we slip into the compilations, usually fertile territory…

VARIOUS
20 Great Truck Drivin’ Songs
(K-tel, 1977)
First things first. The inner fucking sleeve! A K-tel classic, showcasing their “space age device for storing and selecting your favourite records”, a sort of… thing that takes yr budget comps and flips ‘em forward for easy selection, not to mention their patented Record Cleaner and the Cassette Selector, a priceless possession for the trucker of the day, one hand on the wheel, the other clasping a chunky choc bar and flippin’ cassettes at the same time. The outer sleeve tells you this has been advertised on TV. No shit. Put the hammer down (floor the accelerator pedal) and let’s move on. We digress. This being K-tel, you get no frills, value for money, solid packaging, and hell, even a few original versions of these bona fide eighteen wheeler (five-axle truck) and rocking chair (middle rig in a convoy) classics. This LP was a tie-in with 1977’s obsession with CB radio, “Convoy” and other matters of the long open road, and it doesn’t bullshit. Here are 20 great truck drivin’ songs – perfect for picking up a pavement princess (a hooker who works truck stops), seat covers (girls in cars) and evading a plain wrapper (unmarked police car). Harks back to a time when men were men, trucks were trucks and small furry hairballs were small furry hairballs. Includes Red Sovine’s incomparable tale of ghostly daring do “Phantom 309” and Dave Dudley’s incomprehensible “Wave At ‘Em Billy Boy”. The back sleeve features a photo of the Great Dane trailer used in the K-tel TV advert. These men were serious about their trucks. And that is exactly as it should be.
Cost £1, bargain value 5 (much better comps available), inner sleeve 6