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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = C. W. McCall| image =| alt =| caption =| image_size =| landscape =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = William Dale Fries, Jr.| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1928|11|15| birth_place = Audubon, Iowa | origin =| genre = Country music|Country | occupation = Singer-songwriter | instrument =| years_active = 1974-present| label = MGM Records|MGM , Polydor , Mercury Records|Mercury | associated_acts =| website = | notable_instruments =Refimprove|date=February 2009 C. W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries, Jr. (born November 15, 1928, Audubon, Iowa|Audubon , Iowa , United States ), an American singer, activist and politician known for his truck-themed outlaw country songs.
Biography
In 1973, while working as a creative director for Bozell & Jacobs, an Omaha, Nebraska|Omaha , Nebraska advertising agency, Fries created a Clio Award -winning (1974) television advertising campaign advertising Old Home Bread for the Metz Baking Company. The advertisements featured a truck driver named C. W. McCall, who was played by Dallas, Texas|Dallas , Texas , actor Jim Finlayson. The waitress named Mavis Davis was played by Dallas actress Jean McBride Capps. The commercial's success led to songs such as "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Café", " Wolf Creek Pass (album)|Wolf Creek Pass " and " Black Bear Road ". Fries sang and wrote the lyrics and Chip Davis , later of Mannheim Steamroller , wrote the music .
McCall is best known for the 1976 #1 hit song " Convoy (song)|Convoy ", which came at the peak of the CB radio|CB fad in the United States. It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a music recording sales certification|gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in December 1975.cite book | first= Joseph | last= Murrells | year= 1978 | title= The Book of Golden Discs | edition= 2nd | publisher= Barrie and Jenkins Ltd | location= London | page= 361 | isbn= 0-214-20512-6 Though McCall is not a one-hit wonder , "Convoy" has since become his signature song . McCall first charted the song "Wolf Creek Pass", which reached #40 on the U.S. pop top 40 in 1975. At least three other songs reached Billboard's pop Hot 100, including "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", " 'Round the World with the Rubber Duck " (a pirates in popular culture|pirate -flavored sequel to "Convoy"), as well as the environmentally-oriented "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)". A dozen McCall songs appeared in '' Billboard (magazine)|Billboard's Hot Country Songs|Hot Country Singles chart, including the sentimental " Roses for Mama (song)|Roses for Mama " (1977).
In 1978, the film|movie Convoy (1978 film)|Convoy was released, based on the C.W. McCall song. The film starred Kris Kristofferson , Ali MacGraw , Burt Young and Ernest Borgnine and was directed by Sam Peckinpah . It featured a new version of the song, written specially for the film.
In addition to the "original six" McCall albums released between 1975 and 1979, two rare singles exist. "Kidnap America" was a politically/socially-conscious track released in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis , while "Pine Tar Wars" referred to Pine Tar Game|an event that actually happened in a New York Yankees - Kansas City Royals baseball game during 1983 (a dispute concerning the application of a large quantity of pine tar to a baseball bat used by George Brett (baseball)|George Brett , one of the Royals players).
In 1986, McCall (William Fries) was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado|Ouray , Colorado , ultimately serving for six years. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives? p_product=RM& p_theme=rm& p_action=search& p_maxdocs=200& p_topdoc=1& p_text_direct-0=0EB4D999410879D3& p_field_direct-0=document_id& p_perpage=10& p_sort=YMD_date:D& s_trackval=GooglePM "'McCall' Leaves Office", Rocky Mountain News , January 14, 1992. Accessed March 25, 2008
In 1990, American Gramaphone|American Gramaphone Records issued a Compact disc|CD containing a number of old McCall tracks re-recorded for the digital CD age, plus a new song, "Comin' Back For More", which was inspired by Alferd Packer , an alleged 19th century cannibal .
Discography
Studio albums
Year
Album details
Peak chart positions
Certification ( List of best selling music artists
US Country
US
CAN
NZ
1975
Wolf Creek Pass (album)
Released: January 1975
Label: MGM Records
4
143
—
—
Black Bear Road (album)
Released: September 1975
Label: MGM Records
1
12
16
19
RIAA|US certification : Gold
1976
Wilderness (C. W. McCall album)
Released: 1976
Label: Polydor Records
9
143
—
—
Rubber Duck (album)
Released: 1976
Label: Polydor Records
29
—
—
—
1977
Roses for Mama (album)
Released: 1977
Label: Polydor Records
22
—
—
—
1979
C. W. McCall & Co.
Released: 1979
Label: Polydor Records
—
—
—
—
1990
The Real McCall: An American Storyteller
Released: 1990
Label: American Gramaphone
—
—
—
—
2003
American Spirit (album)
Released: May 20, 2003
Label: American Gramaphone
—
—
—
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilation albums
Year
Album details
Peak positions
US Country
1978
' C. W. McCall's Greatest Hits
Released: 1978
Label: Polydor Records
45
1989
Four Wheel Cowboy
Released: 1989
Label: PolyGram Records
—
1991
The Legendary C. W. McCall
Released: 1991
Label: PolyGram Records
—
1997
The Best of C. W. McCall
Released: 1997
Label: PSM Records
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles
Year
Single
Peak chart positions
Album
US Country
US
CAN Country
CAN
CAN AC
NZ
AUT
1974
"Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep On-a-Truckin' Cafe"
19
54
12
44
44
—
—
Wolf Creek Pass
"Wolf Creek Pass"
12
40
46
—
—
—
—
1975
"Classified"
13
101
45
—
—
—
—
"Black Bear Road"
24
—
42
—
—
—
—
Black Bear Road
" Convoy (song)
1
1
4
1
13
1
19
1976
"There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)"
19
73
8
77
37
—
—
Wilderness
"Crispy Critters"
32
—
—
—
—
—
—
"Four Wheel Cowboy"
88
—
—
—
—
—
—
" 'Round the World with the Rubber Duck "
40
101
40
—
—
—
—
Rubber Duck
1977
"Audubon"
56
—
—
—
—
—
—
" Roses for Mama (song)
2
—
5
—
—
—
—
Roses for Mama
1978
"Outlaws and Lone Star Beer"
81
—
—
—
—
—
—
C. W. McCall & Co.
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Notes
Reflist
References
Bernhardt, Jack. (1998). "C.W. McCall" in The Encyclopedia of Country Music . Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p.& nbsp;333.
External links
http://www.cw-mccall.com/ C.W. McCall: An American Legend
http://www.bozell.com Bozell Jacobs
http://www.convoytm.com/ Convoy The Movie
Persondata| NAME = McCall, C. W. | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Fries, William Dale, Jr. (birth name) | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American singer, activist and politician | DATE OF BIRTH = November 15, 1928 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Audubon, Iowa , USA | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:McCall, C. W. Category:1928 births Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:Songwriters from Iowa Category:People from Audubon County, Iowa Category:Polydor Records artists Category:MGM Records artists
da:C.W. McCall de:C. W. McCall
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