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In the song, the little boy, who refers to himself as "Teddy Bear", gets on the CB radio and asks for somebody to talk to him. The narrator (also an over-the-road truck driver) answers Teddy Bear's call, and listens as the boy tells a heart-rending tale. Aside from his health and the father being deceased, his mother has been forced into the workplace to provide a meager income. Teddy Bear then says his wish had been to go for a ride in a tractor-semitrailer truck (he and his mother were to have joined the father on the road that summer), and is resigned to never getting to realize his dream.
The narrator is so taken by his tale that he decides to risk being late with his delivery to answer the boy's dream. However, when he arrives at the boy's home ("Jackson Street, 229"), numerous truck drivers — who also have been listening to Teddy Bear's call — are lined up at the boy's home, giving him rides in their trucks. The boy thoroughly enjoys his experience.
At the end of the day, the truckers take up a collection for Teddy Bear's mother. Later, his mother ("Mama Teddy Bear") goes on the air to express her gratitude, telling them Teddy Bear's dream had just come true. She offers a special prayer to the truckers for their act of kindness.
Sequels
Two different singles — one by Sovine — were billed as sequels to "Teddy Bear". The two songs told conflicting stories about the boy's future.
Not long after "Teddy Bear" peaked in popularity, singer Diana Williams (who was signed to Capitol Records) released a song called "Teddy Bear's Last Ride." This story, told from the point of view of a friend of Teddy Bear's mother (who cared for the lad while the mother was at work), suggests that the boy's paraplegia is part of a terminal health condition, one that eventually kills him. The song's ending has a group of truck drivers attending the boy's funeral, with one of the semitrailer trucks serving as the hearse. This song was also recorded by Nev Nicholls.
Sovine's follow-up-of-sorts to "Teddy Bear" is "Little Joe" (the tale of a truck driver's dog, who saves his master's life after an accident). In this song, in which Teddy Bear is a character, Sovine says that there was a miracle and that the boy — now older and apparently healthy — could now walk. Teddy Bear is instrumental in helping reunite Little Joe with his now-blinded master. This song was also recorded by Ferlin Husky and Dave Dudley.
Neither song reached the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles Top 40.
Chart success
Released in June 1976, "Teddy Bear" was the last of three Billboard Hot Country Singles No. 1 hits in Sovine's 25-year recording career. [2] "Teddy Bear" climbed to #1 in five weeks and was his first since 1966's "Giddyup Go". In addition, "Teddy Bear" was a crossover hit, peaking at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. [3] In Canada, the song reached No. 1 on the country charts on its second week.
"Teddy Bear" was certified gold for sales of 1 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America. [4]
The song charted in the United Kingdom five years after its original release, in 1981, peaking at #4 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming a much bigger hit than in america. [5] Diana Williams' song also charted in the UK in the same year, reaching number 54.
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Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck driving songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples are "Giddyup Go" (1965) and "Teddy Bear" (1976), both of which topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
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"Giddyup Go" is a country music song made famous by Red Sovine. Released in 1965, the song was the title track to Sovine's album released that same year.
"Teddy Bear Song" is a 1973 single written by Don Earl and Nick Nixon, and made famous by country music vocalist Barbara Fairchild. Released in December 1972, the song was Fairchild's only No. 1 song on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart in March 1973. The song also became a modest pop hit, peaking at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1973.
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