1975/1976: Convoy became C.W. McCall's greatest hit |
- C.W. McCall's (aka Bill Fries) Convoy was released in the US in November 1975, but it peaked at Number 2 in the UK in mid-March 1976.
- It remained in the runners-up position for a solitary week during its 10-week run on the British charts - Tina Charles' I Love to Love blocking its progress.
- It is McCall's only hit record in the UK.
- It topped the American Billboard Hot 100 in early 1976, staying there for a single week.
- It also climbed to Number 1 on the US Country charts over Christmas 1975 and New Year 1976 for a total of six weeks.
- Its success was as a direct consequence of the popularity of CB radio at the time.
- It became a global hit, entering the charts in several European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
- McCall's record label, MGM, demanded a similarly themed follow-up. McCall reluctantly wrote and recorded 'Round the World With the Rubber Duck - an international version of Convoy - which promptly flopped.
- Convoy itself sold in excess of two million copies and spawned the 1978 action movie of the same name starring Kris Kristofferson and Ali MacGraw.