On This Day in 1988, Kathy Mattea Was at No. 1 With a Game-Changing Trucking Song

On this day (May 28) in 1988, Kathy Mattea entered her second consecutive week at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart with “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses.” While the truck-driving country fad had died roughly a decade before she released the song, its wholesome story and surprise ending made this a hit. Moreover, it remains one of the most popular country songs about truckers.

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Truck-driving country music rose to prominence in the mid-1960s and largely faded by the end of the 1970s. Songs like Dick Curless’ “A Tombstone Every Mile” and Dave Dudley’s “Six Days on the Road,” and others that lifted up the trucker as a working-class hero. Moreover, they highlighted grueling hours at the wheel, homesickness, and the dangers lurking around every curve in the road. Red Sovine’s “Phantom 309” tells a tragic ghost story. Then, there were songs like C.W. McCall’s “Convoy” that celebrated the freedom of the open road. “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” stands out from the rest, though.

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It isn’t only an outlier because it came out at a time when those truck-driving songs seemed like novelties of a bygone era, though. Songwriting siblings Gene and Paul Nelson took a different exit when they penned “Eighteen Wheels.” According to Songfacts, they looked to their Uncle Hop and Aunt Louise. He was a long-haul trucker. Both were waiting for the day when he could retire and they could travel the country in an RV. The result is a song that delivers a heartwarming story. The sentimentality of the lyrics truly sets this chart-topper apart.

Kathy Mattea Brought the Story to Life

Kathy Mattea released “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” as the second single from her 1987 album Untasted Honey. It was her second single to reach the top of the Hot Country Songs chart. Her delivery took a set of great lyrics and made them timeless.

The song tells the story of Charlie, a trucker who has been driving for 30 years. He has just received a gold watch from his former employer as a retirement gift and is on his way home to start a new chapter of his life with his wife. The opening verse mentions how good his wife and life are. In other words, it sounds like a setup.

Anyone familiar with truck-driving songs probably believed that this one would end in a fiery crash a few miles from Charlie’s house the first time they heard it. That’s not the case, though. While the lyrics never discuss what happens when he gets home, there’s no indication that Charlie and his wife didn’t get the Winnebago and hit the road to find America. After all, that’s what happened for the couple that inspired the song.

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