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

C. W. McCall
Birth name
Billie Dale Fries
Also known as
William Dale Fries Jr.
Born
November 15, 1928
Audubon, Iowa, U.S.
Died
April 1, 2022 (aged 93)
Ouray, Colorado, U.S.
Genres
Countryoutlaw countrytruck-driving country
Occupation(s)
Singer-songwriter
Years active
1944–2003
Labels
MGM, Polydor, Mercury, American Gramaphone
Mayor of Ouray, Colorado
In office
1986–1992
Contents
Biography Edit
McCall was born Billie Dale Fries[1] on November 15, 1928, in Audubon, Iowa.[2] As a child, he enjoyed listening to country music.[3] He later legally changed his name to William Dale Fries, Jr.[1] He married Rena Bonnema on February 15, 1952; the two remained married for 70 years until his death.[4] At the time of his death he had three children, four grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.[1]

In 1973, while working as a creative director for Bozell & Jacobs, an Omaha, Nebraska, advertising agency, Fries created a Clio Award-winning (1974) television advertising campaign advertising Old Home Bread for the Metz Baking Company. The advertisements featured a truck driver named C. W. McCall,[2] who was played by Dallas, Texas, actor Jim Finlayson. The waitress named Mavis Davis was played by Dallas actress Jean McBride Capps. The commercial's success led to songs such as "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep on a-Truckin' Café", "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, a genre he is not fond of. [5]

McCall is best known for the 1976 No. 1 hit song, "Convoy", which came at the peak of the CB radio fad in the United States.[2] It sold over two million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in December 1975.[6] 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.

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).

In 1986, Fries was elected mayor of the town of Ouray, Colorado, ultimately serving for six years.[7]

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.[8]

Fries died on April 1, 2022, at age 93 from complications of cancer.[9] 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.[4]

Discography Edit
Studio albums Edit
Year Album details Peak chart positions Certification
(sales threshold)
US Country US AUS[10] CAN NZ
1975 Wolf Creek Pass
Released: January 1975
Label: MGM Records
4 143 — — —
Black Bear Road
Released: September 1975
Label: MGM Records
1 12 49 16 19
US certification: Gold
1976 Wilderness
Released: 1976
Label: Polydor Records
9 143 — — —
Rubber Duck
Released: 1976
Label: Polydor Records
29 — — — —
1977 Roses for Mama
Released: 1977
Label: Polydor Records
22 — — — —
1979 C. W. McCall & Co.
Released: 1979
Label: Polydor Records
— — — — —
1990 The Real McCall: An American Storyteller
Released: 1990
Label: American Gramaphone
— — — — —
2003 American Spirit (with Mannheim Steamroller)
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
Released: 1978
Label: Polydor Records
45
1989 Four Wheel Cowboy
Released: 1989
Label: PolyGram Records
—
1991 The Legendary C. W. McCall
Released: 1991
Label: PolyGram Records
—
1997 The Best of C. W. McCall
Released: 1997
Label: PSM Records
—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles Edit
Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US Country US CAN Country CAN CAN AC UK
[11] AUS[10] NZ AUT
1974 "Old Home Filler-Up an' Keep On-a-Truckin' Cafe" 19 54 12 44 44 — — — — Wolf Creek Pass
"Wolf Creek Pass" 12 40 46 — — — — — —
1975 "Classified" 13 101 45 — — — — — —
"Black Bear Road" 24 — 42 — — — — — — Black Bear Road
"Convoy" 1 1 4 1 13 2 1 1 19
1976 "There Won't Be No Country Music
(There Won't Be No Rock 'n' Roll)" 19 73 8 77 37 — 77 — — Wilderness
"Crispy Critters" 32 — — — — — — — —
"Four Wheel Cowboy" 88 — — — — — — — —
"'Round the World with the Rubber Duck" 40 101 40 — — — — — — Rubber Duck
1977 "Audubon" 56 — — — — — — — —
"Roses for Mama" 2 — 5 — — — 74 — — Roses for Mama
1978 "Outlaws and Lone Star Beer" 81 — — — — — — — — C. W. McCall & Co.
1980 "Kidnap America" — — — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
References Edit
"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.
Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 247. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
"C.W. McCall". Oldies.com.
"'Convoy' Singer C.W. McCall is in Hospice".
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.
Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 361. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
"'McCall' Leaves Office", Rocky Mountain News, January 14, 1992. Accessed March 25, 2008
"98. C.W. McCall, 'Convoy' (1975) Photo - 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. June 1, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
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.

[sunshine11]

I still have the single. 1975 good times.

[clockwise1965]

10-4 good buddy.

[sunshine11]