Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)

Last updated
"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)"
Roll On Eighteen Wheeler cover.jpg
Single by Alabama
from the album Roll On
B-side "Food On the Table"
ReleasedJanuary 6, 1984
RecordedNovember 10, 1983
Genre Truck-driving country
Length3:42 (single edit)
4:21 (album version)
Label RCA Nashville
Songwriter(s) Dave Loggins
Producer(s) Harold Shedd
Alabama
Alabama singles chronology
"Lady Down on Love"
(1983)
"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)"
(1984)
"When We Make Love"
(1984)

"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" is a song written by Dave Loggins, and recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in January 1984 as the first single and title track to the band's album Roll On . It was the group's 12th straight No. 1 single on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart. [1]

Contents

Content

"Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" was the story of a trucker who drives an over-the-road semitrailer truck to support his wife and three children.

In the song's first verse, the man (referred to only as "Daddy") leaves for a several-day trip through the Midwest. When the children gather around their mother in sadness, she says all they need to do is remember the song their father had taught them ("Roll on highway, roll on along, roll on Daddy 'til you get back home, roll on family, roll on crew, roll on mama like I asked you to do"); those lyrics serve as the refrain of the song. In some versions, the song begins with a CB radio call saying "How about ya, Alabama, Roll On", which was recorded from an actual CB call placed to Alabama's bus in the late 70s.

In the song's second verse, the man's wife receives a late-night phone call from an unnamed source, informing her that the highway patrol had found a semitrailer truck jackknifed in a snowbank along an interstate highway in Illinois. Despite learning that the search for her husband had been called off due to the fierce blizzard, and that Daddy had not been found at any of the local houses or motels, Mama remains confident that Daddy will be found alive. The woman and her children are left to pray for Daddy's safety, and in sadness and anticipation of a long night of worrying, sing the refrain to the song to comfort them.

In the song's third and final verse, Mama and the children wait up all night long, thinking that the next phone call will bring the worst possible news. However, "the Man upstairs" (an American reference to God) was listening when the phone rings and Mama answers it, the voice on the other end is that of Daddy, apparently safe and sound. He asks if they had been singing that song during the search for him.

Single Edit and Alternate Versions

The album version of "Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)" is approximately 40 seconds longer than the 7-inch single released for radio airplay and retail sale. The album version can be distinguished by sound effects of a semitrailer truck (both the engine starting and, at the song's end, traveling down the highway), CB radio chatter and — toward the end of the song — an extra repetition of the refrain.

Much like the Greatest Hits 3 version of "If You're Gonna Play in Texas (You Gotta Have a Fiddle in the Band)", the version of "Roll On" on Greatest Hits 2 is slightly different as well, featuring a quick fadeout to omit the truck sounds at the end.

On the Livin' Lovin' Rockin' Rollin' box set, the album version is presented in its entirety with no crossfade to "Carolina Mountain Dewe", as well as a slight extension of the opening truck sound effects.

Other versions

"Roll On" was originally recorded by Randy Parton in 1982 on RCA JK-13309.

A version by David Allan Coe appears on the album "20 Greatest Hits".

The song was also covered by Saddle Tramps and appears on the multiple-artist compilation album "Nev Nicholls Presents Truckin Towards 2000". [2]

It has also been covered by Aaron Tippin on his 2009 album "In Overdrive".

Chart positions

Chart (1984)Peak
position
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [3] 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks1

Related Research Articles

Kay Adams (singer) American country singer

Kay Adams is an American country singer.

Convoy (song) 1975 single by C. W. McCall

"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US and is listed 98th among Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts. The song went to number one in Canada as well, hitting the top of the RPM Top Singles Chart on January 24, 1976. "Convoy" also peaked at number two in the UK. The song capitalized on the fad for citizens band (CB) radio. The song was the inspiration for the 1978 Sam Peckinpah film Convoy.

In the Ghetto Single

"In the Ghetto" is a 1969 song recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Mac Davis. It was a major hit released in 1969 as a part of Presley's comeback album, and also on the single release of "Any Day Now" as the flip side.

Wagon Wheel (song) 2004 single by Old Crow Medicine Show

"Wagon Wheel" is a song co-written by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show. Dylan recorded the chorus in 1973; Secor added verses 25 years later. Old Crow Medicine Show's final version was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in April 2013. The song has been covered numerous times, including charting versions by Nathan Carter in 2012 and Darius Rucker in 2013.

"Hard Candy Christmas" is a song written by composer-lyricist Carol Hall for the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

<i>Greatest Hits Vol. II</i> (Alabama album) 1991 album by the American band, Alabama

Greatest Hits Vol. II is the second greatest hits package released by the American country music band Alabama. The album was released by RCA Records in 1991, and has since been certified platinum for sales of 1 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America.

<i>For the Record</i> (Alabama album) 1998 album by the American band, Alabama

For the Record is a two-disc, 44-track greatest hits package released by the American country music band Alabama.

Teddy Bear (Red Sovine song) 1976 single by Red Sovine

"Teddy Bear" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Red Sovine. It was released in June 1976 as the title track to Sovine's album of the same name.

Dixieland Delight 1983 single by Alabama

"Dixieland Delight" is a song written by Ronnie Rogers, and recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in January 1983 as the lead-off single from their album The Closer You Get....

"The Closer You Get" is a song recorded by American country music band Alabama. It was released in April 1983 as the title track and second single from Alabama's album The Closer You Get....

Smoky Mountain Rain

"Smoky Mountain Rain" is a song written by Kye Fleming and Dennis Morgan, and recorded by American country music singer Ronnie Milsap. It was released in September 1980 as the first single from his Greatest Hits compilation album. The single became one of his best-known songs.

Six Days on the Road

"Six Days on the Road" is an American song written by Earl Green and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio songwriter Carl Montgomery, made famous by country music singer Dave Dudley. The song was initially recorded by Paul Davis and released in 1961 on the Bulletin label. In 1963, the song became a major hit when released by Dudley, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and cracking the Top 40 (#32) on the Hot 100, leading to it being hailed as the definitive celebration of the American truck driver.

"Detroit City" is a song written by Danny Dill and Mel Tillis, made famous by Billy Grammer, country music singer Bobby Bare and Tom Jones. Bare's version was released in 1963. The song — sometimes known as "I Wanna Go Home" — was Bare's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that summer, and became a country music standard.

Your Mama Dont Dance

"Your Mama Don't Dance" is a hit 1972 song by the rock duo Loggins and Messina. Released on their self-titled album Loggins and Messina, it reached number four on the Billboard pop chart and number 19 on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart as a single in early 1973.

<i>Mama Tried</i> (album) 1968 studio album by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

Mama Tried is the seventh studio album by American country music singer and songwriter Merle Haggard and The Strangers, released on Capitol Records in 1968. It reached number 4 on Billboard's country albums chart. The title song was one of Haggard's biggest hit singles and won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

"I Don't Call Him Daddy" is a song written by American songwriter Reed Nielsen. It was initially recorded by Kenny Rogers on his 1987 album I Prefer the Moonlight, and was released in October 1993 by Doug Supernaw as the third single from his debut album Red and Rio Grande. Supernaw's version was his only number-one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, peaking there in December 1993.

<i>The Fine Print: A Collection of Oddities and Rarities</i> 2009 compilation album by Drive-By Truckers

The Fine Print is a collection of unreleased material by the Drive-By Truckers mostly recorded throughout the making of their albums Decoration Day and The Dirty South; a highly prolific period for the band. It features album artwork and a sample of concert posters from 2009 by Wes Freed, and is produced by David Barbe.

Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) 1971 single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers

"Daddy Frank " is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in September 1971 as the first single from the album Let Me Tell You About a Song. The song was Haggard and the Strangers tenth No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles. The song topped the chart for two weeks around Thanksgiving 1971, and spent 13 weeks in the chart's Top 40.

"To Daddy" is a country song, written by Dolly Parton. It was performed by Emmylou Harris in the 1970s, included on her album Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town and released as a single. Having reached number three on Billboard's Hot Country chart, Harris's version is the most familiar to most people.

Los 12 Discípulos 2004 song by Eddie Dee

"Los 12 Discípulos" (English: The 12 Disciples) or "Quítate Tu Pa' Ponerme Yo" (English: Move So I Can Come) is a song by Eddie Dee featuring various artists from his fifth studio album, 12 Discípulos (2004). It features eleven other reggaeton musicians, who were among the most requested in the genre at the time. These include Eddie Dee along with Daddy Yankee, Ivy Queen, Tego Calderón, Voltio, Vico C, Zion, Lennox, Nicky Jam, Johnny Prez, Gallego, and Wiso G.

References

  1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 19.
  2. Allmusic:http://www.allmusic.com/search/all/Roll+On+%2818+Wheeler%29+
  3. "Alabama Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.