The Legend-News

The Year In Review
This may be the last-ever issue of The Legend-News. The Y2K Problem® may, if we're lucky, cause a few brief days of confusion as the clocks return to zero. Or it may doom us all to a life with no electric power, no computers, and the continuing proliferation of McDonald's restaurants. Of course, I could be wrong. :)

What happened in 1999? In summary:

• C.W. McCall is not dead; his real name is Bill Fries, he lives in Ouray, Colorado, and he's 71.
• Bill is rumored to be considering a "year 2000" update to "Convoy".
• Billings Artworks is selling copies of the rubber duck hood ornament from the movie "Convoy". See the 22 November issue of The Legend-News for details.
• We haven't found any record company that's interested in producing a box set of C.W.'s albums.
• Even American Gramaphone isn't considering that idea. In fact, when they've sold out of their stock of The Real McCall: An American Storyteller, they're not pressing any more CDs or copying any more tapes.
• Some people don't think that songs about cross-dressing truckers are funny.
• The "Lost Lake" in Colorado, referred to in "Aurora Borealis", remains unidentified. It seems that every puddle in Colorado is known as "Lost Lake".
• In August, The Silverton train was out-of-service for a few days, due to a mudslide that was caused by heavy rains.
• C.W. McCall albums on vinyl can still be found, but you've got to search a bit.
• Some guy named "techren0" keeps throwing away his pizza money on eBay bids for C.W. McCall advertisements.
• How many trucks could a rubber duck truck, if a rubber duck could truck trucks?
• The preceeding item was a spur-of-the-moment addition. Please ignore it.
• In an obviously non-representative survey, Wall of Sound respondents did not select any C.W. McCall recording as one of the so-called "Best 100 Singles/Albums of the Century". The only possible conclusion is that Wall of Sound was not referring to the 20th century.
• C.W. McCall fans are everywhere. Norway, Brasil, even Canada. :)
• Several members of the Other Wild Places have expressed an interest in running a real L.A. to Jersey convoy this June, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Greatest Trucking Song Ever Made(TM).
• And I (a.k.a. 'Ed.') will finally take a trip to southwestern Colorado. I need to make the pilgrimage.

Until 2000 starts, hasta luego.

Song A’ Th’ Week
While you're sitting in your living room, with the cold wind howling outside and the television glowing warmly inside, think about going somewhere else.

Jackson Hole

(C.W. McCall, Bill Fries, Chip Davis)
From the album Wilderness.

"But darling, how can I miss you if you won't go away?" -- The Trickster