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C. W. McCall
Background information
Birth name	Billie Dale Fries
Also known as	William Dale Fries Jr.
Born	(1928-11-15)November 15, 1928 Audubon, Iowa, U.S.
Died	April 1, 2022(2022-04-01) (aged 93) Ouray, Colorado, U.S.
Genres	Country outlaw country truck-driving country
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1944–2003
Labels	MGM, Polydor, Mercury, American Gramaphone
Mayor of Ouray, Colorado
In office 1986–1992

William Dale Fries Jr. (November 15, 1928 – April 1, 2022), best known by his stage name C. W. McCall, was an American singer who wrote truck-themed outlaw country songs. Prior to his musical career, he worked in advertising, and won several Clio Awards. His most successful song was "Convoy", a surprise pop-crossover hit in 1975, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He was elected mayor of Ouray, Colorado, and served in that position from 1986–1992.

Personal life

McCall was born Billie Dale Fries on November 15, 1928, in Audubon, Iowa. As a child, he enjoyed listening to country music. He later legally changed his name to William Dale Fries, Jr. He married Rena Bonnema on February 15, 1952; the two remained married for 70 years until his death. At the time of his death he had three children, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. His hobbies included model railroading and working on his old military jeep.

Advertising

In 1973, while working as a creative director for Bozell & Jacobs, an Omaha, Nebraska, advertising agency, Fries created an television advertising campaign for Old Home Bread. The bread was trucked across the Midwest from the Metz Baking Company's plant in Sioux City, Iowa. As the big semi-trailer trucks carrying the Old Home Bread logo were a familiar sight on the highway, this suggested a trucking theme. The advertisements featured deliveries of the bread to the Old Home café, whose name expanded to become the "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Café". Its waitress was named Mavis after a real waitress at the White Spot café in Audubon where Fries grew up. Her role was to flirt with the truck driver who was named C. W. McCall. The name McCall was inspired by McCall's magazine, which Fries had on his desk at the time. A James Garner movie, Cash McCall, was also an influence. To complete the name, Fries added initials, shown embroidered on the trucker's shirt, and chose "C. W." for country and western.

Singing

The commercial won a Clio Award and its success led to other trucking songs such as "Wolf Creek Pass" and "Black Bear Road". Fries wrote the lyrics and sang while Chip Davis, who would later create Mannheim Steamroller, wrote the music. Classically-trained Davis would win Country Music Writer of the Year in 1976, despite not liking the genre.

McCall is best known for the 1976 No. 1 hit song, "Convoy". Its theme of using CB radio to rebel against the new Federal speed limit of 55 mph was popular and topical so the single sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in December 1975. Though McCall is not a one-hit wonder, "Convoy" went on to become his signature song. McCall first charted the song "Wolf Creek Pass", which reached No. 40 on the U.S. pop top 40 in 1975. Two other songs reached the Billboard Hot 100, "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", as well as the environmentally-oriented "There Won't Be No Country Music (There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)". "Classified" and "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck" (a pirate-flavored sequel to "Convoy") bubbled under the Hot 100. A dozen McCall songs appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, including the sentimental "Roses for Mama" (1977).

In 1978, the movie 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.

The song "Convoy" is featured in Grand Theft Auto V. In 2014, Rolling Stone ranked "Convoy" No. 98 on their list of 100 Greatest Country Songs.

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 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, one of the Royals' players).

Politics and later life

In 1986, Fries was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado, ultimately serving for six years.

Fries died on April 1, 2022, at age 93 from complications of cancer. In an interview he conducted on February 9 while in palliative hospice care, he gave his blessing for the use of his signature song "Convoy" for the Freedom Convoy protests in Canada, with Taste of Country noting that he was "energized and enthusiastic" about the revival of interest in the song and its message.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

References

1. ^ "Bill Fries, who had No. 1 hit as C.W. McCall with 'Convoy,' dies at 93". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
2. ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 247. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
3. "C.W. McCall". Oldies.com.
4. ^ "'Convoy' Singer C.W. McCall is in Hospice".
5. ^ The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook, Thomas Nelson, 2002, pp. 79–81, ISBN 9781418557829
6. Contemporary musicians : profiles of the people in music. Michael L. LaBlanc, Gale Research Inc. Detroit, Mich.: Gale Research. 1989. ISBN 0-8103-2211-0. OCLC 20156945.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
7. Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 361. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
8. "98. C.W. McCall, 'Convoy' (1975) Photo - 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 1, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. "'McCall' Leaves Office", Rocky Mountain News, January 14, 1992. Accessed March 25, 2008
10. Brodsky, Greg (April 2022). "C.W. McCall, Who Had a #1 Novelty Hit, 'Convoy,' During CB Craze, Dies". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 183. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
12. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
13. "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1976". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
14. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r123058
15. ^ "C.W. McCall, 'Convoy' Country Singer, Dead at 93".

Bibliography

• Bernhardt, Jack. (1998). "C.W. McCall" in The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 333.

External links

• C.W. McCall Old Home Bread ads
• C.W. McCall: An American Legend
• Bozell Jacobs
• C. W. McCall at IMDb
• C. W. McCall discography at Discogs
• C. W. McCall discography at Discogs as Bill Fries
• C.W. McCall obituary in Best Classic Bands

• 1928 births
• 2022 deaths
• American country singer-songwriters
• American male singer-songwriters
• People from Audubon, Iowa
• Polydor Records artists
• MGM Records artists
• Mayors of places in Colorado
• Musicians from Iowa
• People from Ouray, Colorado
• Singer-songwriters from Colorado
• Singer-songwriters from Iowa
• Deaths from cancer in Colorado
• 20th-century American male singers
• 21st-century American male singers