Dave Dudley may have created the truck driver song with this song. The lyrics capture that highway spirit, his baritone makes for the perfect truck driver and the drumming gives it the feel of the road.
Dudley released this song in May 1963 and it reached number two on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts. I discovered it in high school listening to a Long Island band called Possum. Sawyer Brown had a hit with it again in 1997. I’m partial to the version cut by the Flying Burrito Brothers, though Steve Earle and Taj Mahal have both cut their own versions and the Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan have both sang it in concert. In fact, it has become a staple on Dylan’s’ tour this summer.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/otkytn8L-Cw?si=fs6deDdqf-SA5BPg Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/track/0LpmpBulMgAwtdC3YYgkql?si=403edb466ef040e2