When you’re behind the wheel of a big rig, the long hours and relentlessly repetitive scenery can dull your mind badly. The trucker’s life can get repetitive, and the same routine can lead to all kinds of bad luck, even workplace injuries. Luckily there’s music.
There are many benefits to incorporating music while you’re at work. Music is a great stress reliever and has the ability affect our moods. It is also one of most cost effect ways to remain stress free whether you’re looking behind a desk or behind the wheel. Musicians have been singing songs about road life since road life existed. Trucking songs have a long and storied history within both the music and trucking businesses. Most trucks are equipped with decent enough stereos these days so that truck drivers are able to listen to their favorite music. Below you will find some of the most popular truck driving songs for those who thrive in their field of work. Enjoy.
Slim Dusty – “Highway Fever”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-zXSPkuuo4
Australia’s biggest country legend delivers a classic tale about life on the road. Dusty and his band rip through two easygoing minutes dedicated to the love a trucker has for his profession. Dusty sings about the strange way the road calls out to truckers; on one hand, the road is home, while on the other, the “Highway Fever” takes hold and prevents you from having the comfortable good life that so many non-truckers have. In the end, it’s worth it of course. And it’s all backed up by a breezy bluegrass tune.
Rose Tattoo: “Rock n’ Roll Outlaw”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnplgWkI6nM
Australia’s nastiest 70s rockers pulverize on this one. Every trucker knows the feeling of stepping into the cabin feeling mean, strong, and raring to go—this is what you’re going to want to play. Midtempo drive, ferocious slide guitar, and the swaggering, unhinged snarl of frontman Angry Anderson make this song one of Oz’s most notorious. It’s not hard to see why AC/DC swiped their drummer.
Tiny Harris – “Endless Black Ribbon”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru7X2I3CC98
One of the saddest trucker songs out there. To the tune of weepy pedal steels and barroom pianos, Harris sings about the lonesomeness faced by couples separated by the constantly changing distances caused by truck driving.
Gary Stewart – “Caffeine, Nicotine, Benzedrine”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce58AkrrmTE
Gary Stewart’s tune is a rush of a song, paying tribute to some of the highway’s less discussed hazards. It’s not pretty, but most truckers have been there: exhausted, overworked, and relying on chemicals to get through to the next stop. Truckers should, of course, learn to rely on other sources of comfort and energy, but realistically, bad habits are frequent methods of dealing with the hard times.
Kathy Mattea – “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ElCpHuiWkA
Another sad one about the toll the road takes on its drivers. Truckers spend a lot of time travelling long distances in the middle of the night, dreaming of loved ones back home. This song is for them.
Golden Earring – “Radar Love”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwqMKf7r7Xg
Couldn’t leave this one out. This classic rock staple has it all: a killer riffs, dynamic range, energetic performances, and lyrics about romance on the road. Every trucker knows the excitement of meeting a new person on their travels, whether via radio or just a simple meet at the lot.
