C. W. McCall

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"William Fries" redirects here. For the American football offensive guard, see Will Fries.

C. W. McCall
Bill Fries.jpg
Background information
Birth nameBillie Dale Fries
Also known asWilliam Dale Fries Jr.
Born(1928-11-15)November 15, 1928
Audubon, Iowa, U.S.
DiedApril 1, 2022(2022-04-01) (aged 93)
Ouray, Colorado, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Graphic artist and set designer, Art director, Singer-songwriter
Years active1944–2003
LabelsMGM, 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.

Early life[edit]

McCall was born Billie Dale Fries[1] on November 15, 1928, in Audubon, Iowa.[2] He later legally changed his name to William Dale Fries, Jr.[1]

His family was musical as his father performed with his two brothers in The Fries Brothers Band. His father played the violin while his mother played the piano and the two also played ragtime together at dances. Their son, Billy, first performed at the age of three in a local talent contest, singing "Coming ' Round the Mountain" while his mother played the piano. He studied music at school, playing the clarinet and the music of John Philip Sousa and became the drum major for the school's marching band. As a child, he enjoyed listening to country music,[3] but he was even more interested in art, having started copying the cartoon characters of Walt Disney as a child. He went to the Fine Arts School at the University of Iowa where he majored in commercial art and also performed in the university's symphony orchestra. But he had to leave the university after one year as he could not afford to compete with the many demobbed soldiers who were going through college on the GI Bill of Rights.[4][5]

In 1950, he got a job as a commercial artist with KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska. He worked for them for ten years, doing graphic work, lettering and set design. He also supported the local ballet and opera societies, doing work which won an award from the Omaha Artists and Art Directors Club. This attracted the attention of Bozell & Jacobs which was a local advertising agency and they gave him a job as an Art Director, doubling his salary.[4][5]

He married Rena Bonnema on February 15, 1952; the two remained married for 70 years until his death.[6] At the time of his death he had three children, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.[1] His hobbies included model railroading and working on his old military jeep.[7]

Advertising[edit]

In 1973, while working as a creative director for Bozell & Jacobs, 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.[7]

Singing[edit]

The commercial won a Clio Award and its success led to other trucking songs such as "Wolf Creek Pass" and "Black Bear Road".[2] 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.[8]

McCall is best known for the 1976 No. 1 hit song, "Convoy".[2] 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.[9] 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)".[2] "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).[2]

In 1978, the movie Convoy was released, based on the C. W. McCall song.[2] The film starred Kris Kristofferson, Ali MacGraw, Burt Young, and Ernest Borgnine and was directed by Sam Peckinpah.[2] 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.[10]

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[edit]

In 1986, Fries was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado, ultimately serving for six years.[11]

Fries died on April 1, 2022, at age 93 from complications of cancer.[12] 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.[6]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certification
(sales threshold)
US Country US AUS[13] CAN NZ
1975 Wolf Creek Pass[14] 4 143 — — —
Black Bear Road[15]
  • Released: September 1975
  • Label: MGM Records
 1 12 49 16 19
1976 Wilderness[16] 9 143 — — —
Rubber Duck[17]
  • Released: 1976
  • Label: Polydor Records
 29 — — — —
1977 Roses for Mama[17]
  • Released: 1977
  • Label: Polydor Records
 22 — — — —
1979 C. W. McCall & Co.[17]
  • Released: 1979
  • Label: Polydor Records
 — — — — —
1990 The Real McCall: An American Storyteller[17] — — — — —
2003 American Spirit (with Mannheim Steamroller)[17]
  • Released: May 20, 2003
  • Label: American Gramaphone
 — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Compilation albums[edit]

Year Album details Peak positions
US Country
1978 C. W. McCall's Greatest Hits[17]
  • Released: 1978
  • Label: Polydor Records
 45
1989 Four Wheel Cowboy[17] —
1991 The Legendary C. W. McCall[17]
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: PolyGram Records
 —
1997 The Best of C. W. McCall[17]
  • Released: 1997
  • Label: PSM Records
 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b T Church (October 5, 2011), "From Iowa to Ouray: The Life of C.W. McCall", The Bigfoot Diaries
  5. ^ a b Miles Lumbard (November 17, 2010), Tales of the Four Wheel Cowboy
  6. ^ a b "'Convoy' Singer C.W. McCall is in Hospice".
  7. ^ a b The All-American Truck Stop Cookbook, Thomas Nelson, 2002, pp. 79–81, ISBN 9781418557829
  8. ^ 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)
  9. ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 361. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
  10. ^ "98. C.W. McCall, 'Convoy' (1975) Photo - 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 1, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  11. ^ "'McCall' Leaves Office", Rocky Mountain News, January 14, 1992. Accessed March 25, 2008
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1975". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top Country Albums – Year-End 1976". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  16. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r123058
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i "C.W. McCall, 'Convoy' Country Singer, Dead at 93".

Bibliography[edit]

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

External links[edit]

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