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Latin | Mid-East Links below are to the Hyp Records guide to records & artists: 
Pertinent records listed & rated: See the Odd Pop section for the Truck Driver page for a list of all pertinent trucker records, Steel Guitar, & pages on related idioms. Only Hip Wax items are for sale! |
The Word: Can corn-fed, "Hee Haw" music be hip? Does a wild pope poop in the woods? Why, there's nothing quite so hip as old Starday-King records (James Brown's first major label, after all). It's only contemporary country (blech!) that's stuck in the trough of Squaresville. Old truck-driver songs are among the least-known and least-appreciated gems of true Americana, as no less a "sagebrush swinger" than Jello Biafra tells us. Comedy, sentiment, pathos, drivin' beats, seat covers, hard livin', pill poppin', law breakin' -- you name it, buster! Trucker songs have it all, unfiltered, and how. Here you'll find the very best of the lot plus choice steel-guitar and even the odd rockabilly, country-western, hunter-instructional, etc. record of note. So get hip, gas up, and put your ears on for the long haul.
See also, below: Truck/Hunter/Steel/CW 45s
Discount: usually free mailing offered; possibly more if multi-item order
Images: for identification purposes only; photo may not be of the exact copy listed/purchased (but usually is)
Kay Adams: Wheels & Tears; Capitol/Tower ST-5033; cutout E+/N- S $50 -- trucker/country; rare!; "Little Pink Mack," "That'll Be the Day," "Six Days A'Waiting" (answer to "Six Days on the Road"), & "Big Mac" are the four "holy grails" for truck-song fans, and the rest is top-notch country; sure, it's on the major label Capitol, yet it's very tough to find (and so worth it, now that you have found it)
Kay Adams: Make Mine Country; Capitol/Tower T-5069; cutout N/N $40 -- trucker/country; has the terrific "Six Days A'Waiting" (answer to "Six Days on the Road" from the lady left at home's perspective)--one of the biggest holy grails of the idiom & a real prize for the collector
Johnny Cash [Sings Ballads of the American Indian]: Bitter Tears; Columbia CS-9048; N/E- shrink S $15 -- perfect except one little mark on "The Talking Leaves" which sounds (light pop for a short minute); this, of course, is the heroic Cash LP that sold in the dozens & pissed off all his right-wing country fans while disappointing most of the rest; Cash celebrates his part-Cherokee heritage & proves a real man doesn't wimp out just because most country music fans like the cavalry to win; if you like America, you like the people who got here first [and didn't ruin it]
Country Road: Big Rig Hits; Pickwick JS-6185; 1976; E-/E S $15 -- trucker/CB; scarce & fascinating LP from the CB era gives decent covers of smash hits "Convoy" and (even better!) Cledus Maggard's "The White Knight" plus a CB glossary & other juicy covers: Phantom 309, Old Home Filler-Up An' Keep On-A-Truckin' Cafe, Me & Ole C.B., Wolf Creek Pass, Movin' On, Roll On Big Mama, A Tombstone Every Mile
Dave Dudley: Truck Drivin' Son of Gun; Mercury MG-21028; 1965; 1st E-/N- S $20 -- trucker; a stone killer, w/a full dozen terrific, new/original trucker songs (essential for all trucker-record collectors); the best is "[My Baby's Just] Two Six Packs Away" (which, out of sheer perversity, we like sometimes even more than 1963's smash hit "Six Days on the Road"); but the whole thing is terrific, and it's a full album of trucker stuff, as opposed to the one or two you get with all his later albums
Dave Dudley's Greatest Hits; Mercury SR-61046; N/N shrink S $15 -- trucker/country; perfect, uncut, stereo original!!!; [My Baby's Just] Two Six Packs Away (best-ever trucker tune, about drinking & driving), Six Days on the Road, I Got Lost, Mad, If I Had One, Cowboy Boots, Big Ole House, Last Day in the Mines..
Wanda Jackson; Capitol T-1041; [Capitol logo at top] N-/N- $100 -- rockabilly; while not a 1st press, you can't beat its spectacular condition (jacket & disc)--plays flawlessly; Long Tall Sally, Let's Have a Party, Money Honey..
Wanda Jackson: Wonderful Wanda; Capitol T-1776; 3rd press N-/E+ $20 (or later cutout E/E+ $15, specify) -- one of her earliest country LPs is one of the toughest to find; has hit "In the Middle of a Heartache"
Wanda Jackson: The Best of; Capitol Starline ST-2883; Singapore issue N/E+ S $20 -- the one to have if you're not going to get all her great country LPs; Santo Domingo (in German!), Let's Have a Party, Right or Wrong, Reckless Love Affair, Tears Will be the Chaser for Your Wine..; and, as a bonus, nice EMI-Singapore inner sleeve shows Malay LPs
Lonesome Valley Singers: Truck Driving Songs; Diplomat DS-2620; E-/E S $15 -- trucker; 10 mercifully fresh songs (mainly uptempo originals); excellent studio group has a terrific Dave Dudley soundalike & all the requisite chops on guitar, steel, etc.; priced low for being on a budget label, it's nevertheless one of the best little pleasures in the trucker idiom; Big Wheels A-Hummin', One Million Miles, Runnin' Rig, What a Heck of a Way to Go, Fast Moving Machine, It's the Highway for Me, Curve Tanker, Lonely Road, Up & Down the Road Again, Sneaky Radar
C.W. McCall: Wilderness; Polydor PD-1-6069; 1976; gatefold; E+/N S $15 -- trucker/CB; as with all his LPs, it's terrific!; all good, with greatest hits/standouts galore: Wilderness, Jackson Hole, Riverside Slide (hip, sinister song about snow plows at night), Crispy Critters (another "Convoy"-like number, but better, about hippies!!!), Roy (w/mouth harp!), There Won't Be No Country Music--There Won't Be No Rock 'N Roll, Telluride Breakdown (instrumental), Four Wheel Cowboy, Silver Iodide Blues, Columbine, Arora Borealis
Leon McAuliffe & his Swingin' Western Band: The Dancin'est Band Around; Capitol T-2016; N/N $15 -- steel guitar; ex-Bob Wills steel-guitar/Western swing hero; I Fall to Pieces, Walk on By, Under Your Spell Again, Still, From a Jack to a King, Cozy Inn, Ramblin' Rose..
Old & in the Way; Round BX-103 (w/UA distribution sticker but original); 1975/1973; E/N- S $20 -- bluegrass; classic bluegrass with the "high lonesome" sound made by San Francisco scenesters; unique!; David Grisman, Vassar Clements, Jerry Garcia, Peter Rowan, John Kahn; live SF recording by Owsley
Reno & Smiley: Another Day With; King 816; black label N/E+ $15 -- bluegrass; it's on the King flavor of the label, and it sure is a Starday classic
Alvino Rey, his Guitars & Orchestra: Ping-Pong!; Capitol T-1262; E/N $25 (or E-/N- $20, specify) -- console steel guitar; one of a scarce pair for the label (we're not counting a couple of others that are pure E-Z mush) by beloved bandleader, guitar pioneer/tinkerer/inventer, and later Esquivel [slide/steel] guitarist; this LP has all that signature Esquivel sound, w/bongos and some vocals on some cuts, all serving up the slick arrangements of far-out exoticist Warren Barker; topped off by fetching cheesecake jacket of two exhuberant ping-pongers, it's first-rate "space-age pop" all the way!; Twelfth Street Rag, Temptation, Aloha Oe, Mama's Gone Good Bye, Autumn Leaves, After You've Gone, The Peanut Vendor, The Man I Love, Sentimental Journey, Tenderly, Begin the Bequine, Blues in the Night
Alvino Rey: His Greatest Hits; Dot DLP-25391; 1st E/E S $35 (or deep groove mono DLP-3391; E/E+ $20, specify) -- steel guitar; WOW! not a compilation at all but a new album of early hits (78s) remade in glorious, modern, hi-fi stereo w/top orchestration, arrangements, & playing; this is not a "lazy" steel-guitar album but an exciting, unique, mainly uptempo pop wonder; features some of the instrument adaptations for which the steel-guitar pioneer is famous (besides leading top orchestras, backing the King Sisters, and playing guitar for Esquivel); on top of all that, it's the greatest stereo showcase on quirky/scarce Dot; Steel Guitar Rag, Mama Blues (the original talking-guitar tune), Rose Room, Hindustan, Bloop Bleep, Tiger Rag, St. Louis Blues, Cement Mixer, Idaho, On the Alamo, Near You, Guitar Boogie
Jeannie C. Riley: The Generation Gap; Plantation PLP-11; N/N S $15 -- countrypolitan queen in one of her best mod/sitar/miniskirt wonders; love that psychedelic jacket!; even some funky drums; He Made a Woman Out of Me (GREAT), To the Other Woman, Games People Play, My Man..
Red Simpson: Truck Drivin' Fool; Capitol T-2691; promo N/N shrink $20 -- trucker; one of the classics of full trucker albums, it's essential & great (as you'd expect from Red Simpson); a top copy such as this is hard-to-find, so don't let it pass you by
Red Simpson: I'm a Truck; Capitol ST-881 (or SM-881); N/N shrink S $15 -- trucker; great new title track plus his very best trucker hits; whole package one of the best from Capitol & you can't beat the price/shape/value; Nitro Express, Old Sam, Runaway Truck, Black Smoke Blowin' over 18 Wheels, Big Mack, Roll Truck Roll..
Frank Sorrell [& his 4 Guitars]: The Magic Sounds of Frank Sorrell; Coral CRL-757324; deep groove E-/E- $15 -- steel/guitar/pop; one of our all-time favorite, Roy Smeck/Billy Mure -style records but far rarer & more obscure; 3 electric guitars back a steel lead (plus rhythm, natch), w/much at a very rockin', uptempo, Frank Virtue-esque pace; textured jacket; Goofus Cha-Cha (fans of "Stereo Action"-era Three Suns will love!), On the Beach at Waikiki, Blue Moon, Cloudy Night (original), Blue Shuffle (original)..; priced low for small press bumps & a little noise but plays well, FUN!
Red Sovine: Teddy Bear; Starday/Gusto SD-968X; 1976/1975; N/N shrink S $15 -- trucker; great one (won Gold Recording Award); light on the trucking (just 2 or 3 cuts) but VERY heavy on the hanky-wetting stories (particularly Teddy Bear & Daddy), whew!
Johnny Stewart: Secrets of Successful Varmint Calling; Johnny Stewart Wildlife Calls GC-501; 1967/1966 (Waco, Texas); E-/V+ $90 -- hunter instructional/spoken w/sounds; yep, it's one of the rarest & most fantastic items in the proverbial Jacket Art Hall of Fame; it's also one of the very greatest LP titles (literally), not to mention one of only a tiny handful of hunter-instructional LPs (none of which you can expect to find); great liner notes by Stewart plus 3 more photos of dopey animals lured by successful (correct techniques only, please!) varmint calls, which "provides the outdoorsman with many exciting hours of off-season pleasure. The thrill...can be enjoyed year-round, day or night."
Speedy West: West of Hawaii; Capitol T-956; 2nd/spectral V+/V- $15 -- steel guitar/Hawaiian; wonderful, scarce LP full of charm, including the jacket art; wear but plays nicely on the whole just the same
Speedy West: Guitar Spectacular; Capitol T-1835; N-/N- shrink $60 (or cutout E+/E $40, specify) -- steel guitar/space/Hawaii/Western Swing; start with the fact Speedy West is one of the greatest men of steel, then know that this is probably his best record (all fantastic and nice variety, as a glance at the sensational original titles will tell you), and finally dig that it's one of the best things on Capitol (right up there with Wanda's 3rd and Jerry Cole & the Spacemen); Space Man in Orbit, Sunset at Waikiki, Lazy Summer Evening, Totem Pole Dance, Afternoon of a Swan, Speedy's Special, Double or Nothing, Slow and Easy, Reflections from the Moon, Tulsa Twist, Rippling Waters, Wild and Woolly West
The Willis Brothers: Road Stop--Juke Box Hits; Capitol/Starday SLP-353 (T-90585); N-/N- $25 -- trucker/country; Capitol repress gives you all the superior mono sound and a better jacket you'd get with the pricier original in top shape, so grab it up!
The Willis Brothers: Hey Mister Truck Driver!; Capitol/Starday SLP-428; V+/E- S $15 -- trucker/country; Moonlight Ride in a Diesel, White Lines & Roadside Signs, Too Many Stops, Motorcycle Bill, The Old Sleeper Cab, I'm Quitting While I'm Still Alive, Diesel Drivin' Donut Dunkin' Dan, The Only Shoulder (A Trucker Can Cry On), Truck Driver Blues, Highway Patrol, Pinball Anonymous, Alcohol & #2 Diesel
Uncredited: How to CB [500 CB Terms for Quick On-the-Road Reference]; Doodah/Pickwick CBLP-001; 1976; sealed w/extensive brochure S $20 -- truck/spoken/instruction; "the new record that makes it easy to learn the new slanguage of CB"; narrated guide to CB talk, gear, rules, etiquette, etc., plus glossary that takes up the whole back door of the jacket; e.g.: a volkswagen bug is a pregnant roller-skate
Various: Heavy Haulers; Starday/Gusto/Power Pak PO-290; 1975; E+/E+ S $15 -- trucker; great, scarce comp of Starday classics w/some later surprises; cartoon jacket is another rare treat; GiddyUp-Go, Big Casey, Endless Black Ribbon, Long Lonesome Road, Truck Driving Buddy, That's Truck Driving, Gears, Give Me 40 Acres, 18 Wheels, The Last Mile
Various: Let's Hit the Road!!; Starday SLP-306; yellow/mono N/N- shrink $20 -- truck; "More truck driving favorites to keep the big rigs rolling"; nothing beats an original Starday of 12 fantastic tracks, particularly when so many come from obscure 45s or LPs you probably wouldn't have as truck-record collector; Willis Brothers: Give Me 40 Acres, Truck Drivers Blues, Truck Stop Cutie; Bob Wills/Tommy Duncan: Bubbles in My Beer; Lonnie Irving: Trucker's Vitous; Frankie Miller: Truck Driving Buddy; Hank Locklin: Pinball Millionaire; Joe Maphis: Riding Down Old 99, Big Rig Guitar; The Homesteaders: Leavin' But Won't Be Long; Betty Amos: 18 Wheels; Jimmy Dean: Bummin' Around
Various: Overloaded Diesel; Starday/Gusto/Power Pak PO-222; 1973 (Gusto pressing); N/N- S $15 -- truck; later Starday artists, prod. Tommy Hill, seems not to overlap other records!; Benny Martin (Don't Let Your Deal Go Down), Pam Gilbert (I'm Movin' On), Calhoun Twins (Midnight Cowboy), Jimmy Griggs, Bobby Hodge, Tiny Harris, Earl Scott..; Endless Black Ribbon, Truck Driver's Blues, Double Clutchin' Truck Line, Truck Stop Cafe, Bus Drivin' Son of a One..
Various: Put the Hammer Down!; Capitol Special Products/Realistic SL-8017; 1976; N/N S $15 -- trucker; great jacket (5 rigs shown); 10 solid tracks, including Cledus Maggard: "White Knight," McCall: "Convoy," Red Simpson: "Nitro Express" as well as lesser-knowns (such as Merle Haggard's Movin' On, White Line Fever)
Various: Radar Blues; Starday/King KSD-1050; sealed ES $50 (or N-/N- shrink ES $45, specify) -- trucker; rarer & better-pressed than the classic (King 866) but similar, & if you have that one, you know you need this too!; more bluegrass/less rockabilly than the earlier LP, but it's all the real thing (early & GREAT!) & the top songs & truck-driver narrations are absolutely priceless
Various: The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame; Starday/Nashville NLP-2055 (budget version of SLP-233); E/E- $15 -- steel guitar; "memorable instrumentals by master performers"--the real deal; missing from the Starday version, apart from a change in liner photos, are notes about each cut & 4 lesser tunes (by Deacon Brumfield, Cousin Jody, Tommy Hill/Wiggins, & Speedy West) but you gain good shape, low price, & (most important!) availability; Jerry Byrd: Hilo March, Jimmy Day: Steel Driver, Pete Drake: Pleading, Buddy Emmons: Singing Strings, Don Helms: Opry Express, Shot Jackson: Salty Dog, Leon McAuliffe: Columbus Stockade, Bashful Brother Oswald: Beneath the Willow, Herbie Remington: Nashville Glide, Little Roy Wiggins: Tennessee Plowboy)
Various: Thunder on the Road!; Starday SLP-386; E/E- $25 -- trucker; "the excitement, danger, girls, & fun of the highways by Red Sovine, Johnny Bond, The Willis Brothers"; one of our favorite rare, early comps; worth it just for "Hell's Angels" (a great tune!) but you also get Minnie Pearl's "Giddyup Go Answer" & a whole lot more great ones not found elsewhere; great jacket too!; Thunder on the Road, Hitch Hiking Girl, Motorcycle Bill, Big Ben Dorsey the Third, Diesel Smoke on Danger Road, Giddyup Hobo, Hell's Angels, Soft Shoulders & Dangerous Curves, Wildcat Run, Taxicab Man, Highway Patrol, Giddyup Go Answer (the one cut by Minnie Pearl)
Various: Truck Driver Songs; King 866; black/mono in 1st jacket E/E+ $75 (or heavy vinyl, blue-label stereo N/V+ shrink [E?]S $50, specify) -- trucker/rockabilly; THE LP to have--on pre-Starday King!: first, best, classic, definitive truck LP (very little redundancy w/later comps & reissues) & one of the best things on the label; uniquely, several tunes really are trucker-themed rockabilly & they rock!; the final great thing is even the few standards (e.g., Six Days on the Road) are rare, early versions by other artists; Wild Catter, Gear Jammer, Haulin' Freight, A Green Truck Driver's First Experience w/Radar, Truck Drivin' Daddy, Truck Driver's Queen, Truck Driving Man, Passing Zone Blues..; expect a little noise w/the stereo; mono has the rare 1st jacket back w/illustrations & liner notes
Various: Truck Drivers Queen; Starday/Nashville NLP-2075; white-label promo cutout N/N shrink S $25 (or cutout--just 2 tiny staple holes N-/N- S $20, specify) (or white-label promo E/N- S $20, specify) -- trucker; great comp, top shape, groovy jacket; rare, early, fantastic classics by Jimmy Logsdon ("Gear Jammer" & "Truck Drivin' Daddy") w/the rest by Moore & Napier and Reno & Smiley; Truck Drivers Queen, Long White Line, Hot Rod Kids & Women Drivers, Truck Drivers Woman, Open Road, Cross Roads..
Various: Truck Stop; Starday/Nashville NLP-2052; white-label promo N-/E+ S $25 -- trucker; superior collection of relative rarities & top lesser-known material, including a couple of 1st-rate narrated weepers, full of the pathos that make this idiom so special (while other cuts rock!); mainly lesser-known artists not found much on other Starday/King LPs; Sleeper Cab Blues, Truck Driving Buddy, Big Rig Guitar, Big Footed Dan, Pinball Machine, Wheels a Turning, Gears, Hitch Hiking Girl, Long Haul Weekend, Man Behind the Wheel
Various: Truckin' On; Starday/Gusto GT-0054; 1979; N/N shrink S $15 -- trucker; nice compilation of Starday-King classics; Del Reeves-Girl on the Billboard, Sovine/Bond-Gear Jammer & the Hobo, Moore & Napier-Truck Driver's Queen, George Jones-One is a Lonely Number, Del Reeves-Looking at the World through a Windshield, Red Sovine-Giddyup Go, Grandpa Jones-8 More Miles to Louisville, Jimmy Martin-Truck Drivin' Man, Claude Gray-I'll Have Another Cup of Coffee, Red Sovine-Woman Behind the Man Behind the Wheel
[Herter's] Russell Hofmeister & Roy Miller, World's Greatest Duck & Goose Callers: Duck & Goose Calling Parts 1 & 2; Herter's, Inc. E- $15 -- hunter/instructional/calls -- announced by Rex Kastner, rec. by Ewald Schacht; Waseca, Minnesota
[Philip S. Olt] Duck Calling for Mallards & All Ducks of the Puddler Class Parts 1 & 2; Philip S. Olt, Manufacturer of Hard Rubber, Game & Bird Calls D-100; E- $15 -- hunter/calls(Illinois; spoken instruction w/calls) -- good one!
[Wightman Electronics] Instructions for Predator Game Calling Parts 1 & 2; WE WI-5; V+ $15 -- hunter/instructional; made for use w/Call of the Wild record player; Maryland; some wear and noise but listenable (all spoken anyway) and well worth it--after all, we're huntin' the big varmints here!
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