Mannheim Steamroller is an American neoclassical new-age music group founded by percussionist/composer Chip Davis that is known primarily for its Fresh Aire series of albums, which blend classical music with elements of new age and rock, and for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.
Christmas Extraordinaire is Mannheim Steamroller's sixth Christmas album overall and the group's fourth Christmas studio album. The album was originally released in 2001. The song "O Tannenbaum" features a lead vocal by Johnny Mathis.
Wolf Creek Pass is the debut album by country musician C. W. McCall, released in 1975 on MGM Records. It was recorded after the success of a song included in the album, "Old Home Filler-up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe", which was used in a popular television commercial that helped make McCall famous. McCall himself was the pseudonym of Bill Fries and was convened by Fries along with Chip Davis of Mannheim Steamroller fame. The album concentrated predominantly on themes related to trucking, with many of them based on events in Fries' life. The album also contained the eponymous song "Wolf Creek Pass", which helped popularize the actual mountain pass itself. The actual "Old Home Filler-up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Cafe" was located in Pisgah, Iowa.
Black Bear Road is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on MGM Records in 1975. It is largely considered the album which gave him the most significant boost of his career, almost entirely due to the hit novelty song, "Convoy", that hit the number one spot on both Billboard's Country charts and its Pop charts. The song itself was largely responsible for starting a nationwide citizens' band radio craze. The song "Black Bear Road" in turn popularized the now-infamous road itself, along with its "You don't HAVE to be crazy to drive this road - but it helps" sign.
Wilderness is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, a pseudonym of singer and advertising executive Bill Fries, released on Polydor Records in 1976. As its title suggests, it focuses on subjects connected with nature, the environment and humans' impact on them. "There Won't Be No Country Music ", for example, is a statement on the environment's bleak-looking future and the effects of over-commercialization bordering on propaganda. "Crispy Critters", on the other hand, is the humorous telling of a true tale involving a group of hippies riding into a town and being forced away and threatened by the mayor.
Rubber Duck is an album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on Polydor Records in 1976. It is his fourth album, released the same year as Wilderness, but concentrating on the themes the McCall character was popular for – trucking, as opposed to the various depictions of nature that could be found in Wilderness. Among others, the album contains the song "'Round the World with the Rubber Duck", a sequel to McCall's earlier wildly popular hit "Convoy", with many humorous and absurd elements added. "Audubon" is a quasi-autobiographical song, while "Ratchetjaw" is a take on trucker slang, with a multitude of CB-related terminology included in the lyrics.
Roses for Mama is the fifth album by country musician C. W. McCall, released on Polydor Records in 1977. The album saw McCall singing several songs that were written by others, as opposed to his previous albums, which were written entirely by himself and Chip Davis. In fact, only three songs were written by the McCall and Davis; these are "I Don't Know ", "The Gallopin' Goose" and "Old Glory". "The Battle of New Orleans" is a cover version of Johnny Horton's popular 1959 song.
American Spirit is an album released on American Gramaphone in 2003 as a collaboration between Mannheim Steamroller and country musician C. W. McCall. The album focuses on American patriotic songs, hence the title. McCall contributed to a number of spoken word songs on the album and rerecorded his 1976 hit song "Convoy" for it; this was also the case with another song of his, "Wolf Creek Pass," which can be found on the album. McCall is a persona created by Bill Fries and Manheim Steamroller leader Chip Davis; Fries provides the vocals as McCall. This was the last album to feature C. W. McCall.
The Best of C. W. McCall is a greatest hits album released by country musician C. W. McCall on the PSM label in 1997. As with all "best of" releases from McCall, the album contains the wildly popular song "Convoy", as well as eleven others. The cover is almost identical to that of McCall's second album, Black Bear Road.
Four Wheel Cowboy is a greatest hits album by country musician C. W. McCall, released in 1989 on Polydor Records. All of the songs found on it, as well as three more, can be found on a later "best of" album, The Best of C. W. McCall. The release itself takes its name from a McCall song by the same name, which is featured on the album.
Fresh Aire is the first album by new-age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. It was originally released in 1975.
Fresh Aire II is the second album that new-age musical group Mannheim Steamroller originally released in 1977. Each of the first four Fresh Aire albums is based on a season; Fresh Aire II's theme is fall.
C. W. McCall & Co. is country musician C. W. McCall's sixth and last album of original songs, released on Polydor Records in 1979, before McCall announced his retirement from the music industry. Out of the ten tracks, only one was written as a collaboration between McCall and Chip Davis, Fries's songwriting partner, while one other, "Silver Cloud Breakdown", was composed by Davis several years earlier and was featured in the movie Convoy, though it was not present on its soundtrack.
Something to Believe In is a 1980 album by Curtis Mayfield.
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Live is Mannheim Steamroller's fourth Christmas album overall and was first released in 1997. It is a recorded live performance which includes variations on the arranged tracks featured in previous Steamroller albums.
Fresh Aire VI is an album by Mannheim Steamroller, released in 1986. The music is inspired by Greek mythology. The album was the band's seventh album and first Fresh Aire album to appear on the Billboard album chart, reaching #155 in January 1987.
Christmas Song is Mannheim Steamroller's eighth Christmas album overall and the group's fifth Christmas studio album. It was released in 2007 on CD by American Gramaphone, and features twelve Christmas songs. It is notable that Steamroller co-founder Jackson Berkey doesn't appear on the album.
"Who Said I Would" is a song performed by Phil Collins that was originally recorded for his 1985 album No Jacket Required but was released in 1991 as a single from his live album Serious Hits... Live! in the United States and Japan.
Bird Song is part of Mannheim Steamroller's Ambience collection. It was released in 2001 on CD by American Gramaphone and features 8 bird song tracks.
Working Girl is the soundtrack album to the 1988 Mike Nichols film Working Girl, released by Arista Records, on August 29, 1989.
