Black Bear Road is an album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 musician C. W. McCall

C. W. McCall

C. W. McCall is the pseudonym of William Dale Fries, Jr. , an American singer, activist and politician known for his truck-themed outlaw country songs.-Biography:...

, released on MGM Records

MGM Records

MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...

 in 1975 (see 1975 in music

1975 in music

-January–April:*January 2 - New York City U.S. District Court Judge Richard Owen rules that former Beatle John Lennon and his lawyers can have access to Department of Immigration files pertaining to his deportation case....

). It is largely considered the album which gave him the most significant boost of his career, almost entirely due to the hit novelty song

Novelty song

A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...

, "Convoy

Convoy (song)

"Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts...

", that hit the number one spot on both Billboard's Country charts and its Pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 charts. The song itself was largely responsible for starting a nationwide citizens' band radio

Citizens' band radio

Citizens' Band radio is, in many countries, a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27-MHz band. Citizens' Band is distinct from the FRS, GMRS, MURS and amateur radio...

 craze. The song "Black Bear Road

Black Bear Road

Black Bear Road is a notorious jeep trail that starts from summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. Highway 550 to Telluride, Colorado. The Black Bear Road crests at Black Bear Pass, elevation . The road descends over a set of infamous switchbacks as it navigates the heights above Telluride. The road...

" in turn popularized the now-infamous road itself, along with its "You don't HAVE to be crazy to drive this road - but it helps" sign.

Track listing

1. "Black Bear Road" (Bill Fries*, Chip Davis
   Chip Davis
   Louis F. "Chip" Davis, Jr. is the founder and leader of the music group Mannheim Steamroller.He also wrote the music for C.W. McCall, including the 1975 hit "Convoy".-Biography:...
   
   ) – 2:00
2. "The Silverton" (Fries, Davis) – 2:56
3. "Lewis and Clark" (Fries, Davis)
4. "Oregon Trail" (Fries, Davis)
5. "Ghost Town" (Fries, Davis) – 4:01
6. "Convoy
   Convoy (song)
   "Convoy" is a 1975 novelty song performed by C. W. McCall that became a number-one song on both the country and pop charts in the US. Written by McCall and Chip Davis, the song spent six weeks at number one on the country charts and one week at number one on the pop charts...
   
   " (Fries, Davis) – 3:48
7. "Long Lonesome Road" (Fries, Davis) – 2:10
8. "Green River" (Fries, Davis) – 3:10
9. "Write Me a Song" (Fries, Davis)
10. "Mountains on My Mind" (Fries, Davis)

* "Bill Fries" is C.W. McCall's legal name.

Personnel

• C. W. McCall - Vocals, Design
• Sarah Westphalen, Carol Rogers (The Puffys), Dick Solowicz, Milt Bailey, Dick Ronelle, Tom Sinclair - Background Vocals
• Ron Cooley - Guitar
• Bobbie Thomas - Guitar, 5-String Banjo, 4-String Banjo, Pedal Steel Guitar
• Ron Steele - Guitar, 4-String Banjo
• Steve Hanson - Mandolin, 5-String Banjo
• Jackson Berkey - Keyboards, Timpani, Percussion
• Eric Hansen, Jimmy Johnson, Brian Sampson - Bass
• Chip Davis - Drums, Producer, Arranger
• Bill Berg
  Bill Berg (musician)
  Bill Berg is a noted drummer in jazz and fusion music, best known for his work with the group Flim & the BB's, as well as guitarist Wayne Johnson. He also served as the drummer for fellow Hibbing, Minnesota native Bob Dylan's notable record Blood on the Tracks.Berg has also recorded and worked...
  
  , Don Simmons - Drums
• Gene Badgett - Trumpet
• Dave Kappy - French Horn
• Bill Buntain - Bass Trombone
• Jim Schanilec - Tuba
• Hugh Brown, Dorothy Brown, Merton Shatzkin, Martin Pearson, Alex Sokol, Joe Landes, Beth McCollum, Miriam Duffelmeyer - Strings

Additional personnel

• Don Sears - Producer, Engineer, Design, Photography
• John Boyd - Engineer
• Sheri Leverich - Art Director
• Dudycha, Schirck & Assoc., Inc. - Art/Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1975	Country Albums	1
1975	Pop Albums	12

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1975	"Black Bear Road"	Country Singles	24
1975	"Convoy"	Hot 100 Singles	1
1975	"Convoy"	Country Singles	1

External links

• NarrowGauge.org album information for Black Bear Road