Wolf Creek Pass
 | Wolf Creek Pass
Night Rider Classified Old 30 I've Trucked All Over This Land Four Wheel Drive Rocky Mountain September Old Home Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe Sloan Glenwood Canyon |
The first album from C.W. McCall. Its full title, according to the album cover, is Wolf Creek Pass, The Old Home Filler-Up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe (and Other Wild Places). The John Denver-esque guy on the cover, holding the chicken, is Bill Fries, the real C.W. McCall.
As the Old Home Bread commercials became regional favorites, Bill Fries wrote "Old Home Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe", which was basically a condensation of the songs which Bill performed in the commercials. The major characters of the C.W. McCall universe are here: C.W. himself, Mavis the waitress, C.W.'s dog Sloan, and Mavis' mother, all set in the world of the Old Home Cafe at which Mavis worked.
"Old Home Cafe" was released as a 45 RPM single on the American Gramaphone label. To everyone's surprise, it quickly sold 30,000 copies; not bad for a record which was only available in the six-state area in which Old Home Bread was advertised.
Seeing the popularity of "Old Home Cafe", Bill Fries and Chip Davis created an entire album of C.W. McCall songs. These songs told of C.W. the trucker, his life, and his favorite places to be: on the road, western Iowa and southwestern Colorado. Several of the songs are autobiographical, based on events which actually ocurred to Bill Fries and his family.
On This Album
The title song, "Wolf Creek Pass", is a harrowing tale of too much descent and too little brake on a Colorado mountain pass. "Night Rider" experiences the hallucinating effects of highway hypnosis and stimulants; C.W. buys a half-ton Chevy pickup truck in "Classified"; "Old 30" is a memoir of roads past; and "I've Trucked All Over This Land", says C.W., "from Maine to the Rio Grande".
C.W. takes his "Four Wheel Drive" Jeep CJ-5 off-road in an attempt to avoid a ticket for speeding; "Rocky Mountain September" is a lament for a lost love.
"Old Home Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe" (mentioned above) is the introduction to C.W. McCall, and in "Sloan" his dog takes a vacation.
Finally, "Glenwood Canyon" is an angry complaint against the ever-proliferating Interstate highways.
Releases
| Date | Distributor | Format | Catalog number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | MGM Records, Inc. | LP | M3G-4989 |
| 1975 | MGM Records, Inc. | Cassette | M5H-4989 |
LP
Track listing
-
Side One
- Wolf Creek Pass *† 3:55
- Night Rider 2:30
- Classified 2:28
- Old 30 **† 2:20
- I've Trucked All Over This Land 2:46
-
Side Two
- Four Wheel Drive 2:58
- Rocky Mountain September 3:10
- Old Home Filler-up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe *† 2:45
- Sloan *† 3:08
- Glenwood Canyon 3:10
Credits
Produced by Don Sears, Chip Davis
Arranged by Chip Davis
All songs written by Bill Fries, Chip Davis
Published by American Gramaphone SESAC
*Terry Waddell/drums, *Curtis McPeak/banjo, *Larry Morton/guitar, *Chuck Sanders/bass, Ron Steele/12-string, 6-string, electric, Bobbie Thomas/banjo, Jackson Berkey/keyboards, Bill Berg/drums, Eric Hansen/bass, **Ron Agnew/guitar, **Gregg Fox/12-string, **Chip Davis/drums, strings/Kansas City engineered by Ron Ubel, Carol Rogers, Liz Westphalen (The Puffys)/Vocals, Steve Kline/photography.
Recorded & mastered at Sound Recorders, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska
Engineered by Don Sears
Album design, Bill Fries, Don Sears
Special thanks to Dick Solowicz for the chicken, Mike Post (as in fence post) Glen Glenda Rena Jerry and Ron for the inspiration and to whoever owned the old building behind the car wash for the lumber..................yeah we did.
(P)1975 MGM Records, Inc. (P)1974 MGM Records, Inc., except†
©1975 MGM Records, Inc./All rights reserved./Printed in U.S.A.
Manufactured by MGM Records, Inc., 7165 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, California 90046
Cassette
Track listing
- Program One (15:08)
- Program Two (15:28)
Credits
*(P)1974 MGM Records, Inc.
(P)1975 MGM Records, Inc.
Manufactured and Distributed by Polydor, Incorporated
810 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10019
And the name of that song is...
What is the correct spelling of the third cut on side two, anyway?
| Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep On-a-Truckin' Cafe | (On the cassette, both on the external box and the cassette itself) |
| The Old Home Filler-Up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe | (On the front cover of the LP) |
| Old Home Filler-Up An' Keep On A-Truckin' Cafe | (On the back cover of the LP) |
| Old Home Filler-Up An' Keep On-a-Truckin' Cafe | (On the LP disc's label) |
So, is it "The…" cafe, or not? And more importantly, is it "…On-A-Truckin'…" or "…On A-Truckin'…"? Sure, it's trivia, but that's why you're reading this page. :)