There are trucker songs about driving, about drinking, about getting home to a woman, and some about screwin' around while out on the road. And then there are trucker songs by women. Those are usually about waiting for a man to get home or worrying about what hijinks they're getting into while on the road. Maybe some longing for this or that. But there are few songs about women truckers. That's where Kay Adams comes in. Her "Little Pink Mack" was, for lack of a better comparison, something akin to a 1966 version of Riot Grrrl gone trucking. It might not seem like a big deal, but if you want to look at a good ol' boy network, you'd be hard pressed to find a tighter, more male dominated group.
Besides the subject matter, the song is notable for the period perfect guitar. It was recorded in 1966, and Kay Adams was hovering around Bakersfield. Yeah, that means some clean succinct pickin' including the clickity sound of a Bakersfield guitar (presumably a Telecaster), some tasty pedal steel and some rogue fuzz. Yee haw.
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Listen:Kay Adams - Little Pink Mack mp3 at Rocky 52
Norma Jean - Truck Driving Woman (streaming) at YouTube Two years later, Norma Jean picks up on it.
Kay Adams and Dick Curless - Devil Like Me (With an Angel Like You) mp3 at Rocky 52
1 comment:
I recently discovered "Cocaine and Rhinestones," a podcast about 20th century country music written/hosted by David Allen Coe's son. In one of the episodes, about Buck Owens and Don Rich, he mentions that Kay Adams toured with them around this time - and became seriously involved with Don. Some of the other episodes deal with the Louvin Brothers, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and Ernest Tubb. Check it out if you have the time.
Marc
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