Crank up the laptop or mobile device for another great episode of Truck Driver Songs. We love looking back at all the excellent examples of great trucking tunes for you to listen to during down time. This week, it’s another country classic.

This week’s song is also a song shout out to truckers from a former truck driver himself, LeLand Martin.

Although Martin keeps that classic feel to most of his breezy country ballads, he’s a modern thoroughbred entertainer. Martin’s debut album appeared in 1998 and gave country fans a real taste of how the radio waves used to sound like back in the AM days.

His style incorporates lots of balladry, honky tonk, narratives and lapsteel guitar to create a sense of yesteryear that traditional country fans love to revisit over and over.

The idea behind Shake a Truck Driver’s Hand is that drivers don’t get thanked enough (at least in person) for doing what they do to keep America rolling. This song is a direct thank you right through your speakers.

Enjoy, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

How many Truck Driver Songs do you know by heart? This week our installment takes a look at one of the most well-known of the musical trucker heroes.

David Allan Coe is a true original who sings about truck driving, but doesn’t seem to fall into the category of “novelty act” like so many before him. He’s done it his own way nearly from the beginning. He shunned Nashville and classic country fame by living on the edge of polite society, having also served two prison sentences early on in his career. Did we mention he also lived in a cave for a time? Yeah, Coe is that kind of guy.

Although he developed a cult following with his performances, he was not able to develop any mainstream success, but other performers achieved charting success by recording songs Coe had written, including Billie Jo Spears’ 1972 recording “Souvenirs & California Mem’rys” and Tanya Tucker’s 1973 single “Would You Lay With Me (In a Field of Stone),” which was a number one hit.

Later in his career, Coe turned to rock and metal icons to help him further his reputation. He worked with both Kid Rock and the aggro-metal pioneers Pantera for inspiration to varied effect. He still performs to this day.

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This sweet 1953 Mack W71 comes to us from Dr. Bill Comcowich who restored it out of an old yard. Dr. Bill is a dentist from Aspen, Colorado who loves old trucks and restores them as a hobby.

At CDL Life, we love our classic trucks. We’ve featured several from around North America. If you have pictures and videos of classic trucks from the golden age of trucking, we would love to see it. Just post it to our Facebook wall. We have thousands of professional truck drivers who have lots to say about them.

Enjoy, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Once again we help you clock the miles with a musical journey back in time with Truck Driver Songs. This is where we love to show you historical music that sings your praises for everything that you do for the American economy.

This week, it’s another classic country ballad from the legendary Del Reeves.

Del Reeves struggled to create his musical identity in Nashville in the 1950s – a time when the radio waves began to explode with new talent that crossed genre lines, with legends like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison. Their influence cultivated by media giants in the Grande Ole Opry tradition and emerging recording studios like Sun and Capitol.

Reeves found some success and identity creating road songs for the expanding truck driving industry, yet continued to suffer from the label of “novelty act” until his exit from music.

In 1979, Reeves left his musical career to pursue a career as a music executive and played a big role in the signing of Billy Ray Cyrus. He continued to record in the 1980s, just not as much and for smaller labels.

Reeves joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1966, where he continued to perform until his final years.

Here’s one of his most famous singles. Enjoy, truck drivers!

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This old warrior was rescued from the circus, if you can believe it. The owner, Don Whitby of Ontario bought it from the third owner, a farmer. The owner before the farmer found it retired on a lot after Barnum & Bailey Circus sold a crew of them to downsize their traveling caravan.

Whitby restored the truck to its full potential in Iowa over the course of about a year. During that time, it was converted from a day cab into a short sleeper. Cue up the video and listen to that old Detroit power plant growl! Enjoy, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Making a big change starts with small shifts. Truck drivers are constantly battling the bulge. They fight high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease since they occupy a job that has them in high-pressure situations at all hours, with relatively little physical movement. That’s a big red flag for health.

What next? Simple diet changes.

The best way to make big changes in your health is to make small changes in long-term habits, so says health expert Hannah McIntosh from Healthy Trucker. These changes may seem paltry at first, but once they become regular habits, the benefits become easy to spot. What are they?

1. Switch Out Soda – Soda is full of sugar (a can of regular Coke contains more than an entire day’s allotment of sugar) and does not offer any nutritional value whatsoever. Even diet soda is bad for you, as it still contains unhealthy ingredients like caffeine and aspartame.

2. Park For Health – Walking is healthy and even just a little can add up to a lot over time. Do it!

3. Whole Wheat for Health – White bread is heavily refined and hurts your system. Whole wheat contains more fiber, has a lower glycemic index, and is high in vitamins like B-1, B-3, and B-5.

4. Fresh Foods Instead of Prepared – Make a weekly pit stop at a nearby Walmart or grocery store and stock up on groceries. If you have a microwave, slow cooker, or portable stove in your truck, it’s easy to make home-cooked meals without even leaving your cab.

5. Salad Dressing on the Side – If you’re drenching your salad in fattening dressings and toppings like ranch, cheese, and bacon bits, you’re probably still taking in excess calories. Dressing on the side removes that option, at least a little.

6. Less Bulk, More Frequency – 5-6 smaller meals could be more beneficial to weight loss than 3 large meals. Eating smaller meals throughout the day helps to regular blood sugar and keep hunger at bay.

7. Shift Your Meal Focus – Reducing your meat intake can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke! An absence of meat will also force you to eat more fruits and veggies, at least for that one day.

Read the rest of this great plan at Healthy Trucker from Hannah McIntosh!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Truck Driver Songs are part of the CDL Life culture. We love them, we constantly try and bring you more that you may not have heard, and we hope that our Facebook community continues to suggest more for us to look into.

This week, it’s a classic country duo that did the truck driver song early and did it right. It’s from Jim & Jesse, an acoustic classic country duo who had several hits on the Grand Ole Opry circuit for years.

In 1952, Jim & Jesse were signed to their first major label, Capitol Records. They have also recorded for Columbia Records, Epic Records and Opryland USA. They also released under their own Old Dominion record label. In 1960, their first single for Columbia, “The Flame of Love” backed by “Gosh I Miss You All The Time” spent weeks climbing the top 100 national charts. Their other classic songs include “Cotton Mill Man”, “Diesel On My Tail”, “Are You Missing Me”, and “Paradise”.

“Ballad of Thunder Road” wasn’t their marquee hit by any means, but they were one of the first country bluegrass acts to embrace the trucking industry as food for thought about lyrics, outlaw culture and mythos. They loved the North American truck driver as inspiration for stories of the great American can-do attitude and blue collar contribution to the largest economy in the world.

How long has it been since you’ve heard this? Either way, enjoy your listen, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Heard any good Truck Driver Songs lately? We at CDL Life try and put as many trucker tunes on site as possible so we’re your one stop shop for great music that sings the praises of the North American truck driver.

This time, it’s another classic tune from the king of the road song, C.W. McCall. If you’re a truck driver that grew up in the 70s and 80s, McCall was well-known to you. He created the persona and the classic “road chatter” music that made CB lingo a household obsession during those decades. It all started with “Convoy” and kept going from there.

C. W. McCall began as a mysterious character that originally sold products on TV. Once his commercials were a hit, some record producers pitched the idea of a “real” person who would sing about the trials and tribulations of the road over the airwaves. It was an instant hit, and kept McCall creating stories of the road through song for decades after.

This week, his song “Long, Lonesome Road” comes to us from the underground of CB country, and it doesn’t disappoint. It was part of his live performances for years as a favorite of classic trucker culture. So have a look back at this truck stop standard, courtesy of one of the biggest trucking musician legends America ever knew.

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

We’re back with a modern take on our classic Truck Driving Songs series. When was the last time you heard a modern band shout out to truck drivers? Aside from a single here and there from country stars, the music community doesn’t get many trucking songs played these days. This band wants to change that.

The Road Hammers is a country rock band that only want to create new stories of the truckers of North America for a modern audience. It’s all they focus on. So far, they’re making quite an impression.

The Road Hammers was founded in 2004 as a project by lead singer and guitarist Jason McCoy, a multiple Canadian Country Music Association male vocalist of the year winner. He stated the idea was to play trucker music, and came together with two other musicians with similar views on music – country-rocker Clayton Bellamy, whose father is a truck driver, and bassist Chris Byrne, both Albertans.

Their first release was only classic truck driving and southern rock songs. These days, they’re doing more to create original trucker tunes that help drivers click off the miles while stomping their feet. Their last release was put out in 2009, and made quite a stir. The album’s first single, “Homegrown,” has reached the Top 20 of the Canadian country singles chart. They’re currently working on a new full-length album, so look for it. Enjoy, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Are you ready for another version of Truck Driver Songs from CDL Life? This time, we’ve got a great modern country ballad that puts it all on the line.

Earl Clifton is a singer songwriter out of Chesapeake, Virginia. His love for the traditional country music started as early as the 70′s with the outlaw movement and all the truck driver movies and TV shows.

Earl is something of an anomaly in the country genre, avoiding the spotlight whenever he could. He made music on his own terms and made sure that his songs were represented the way they should be on labels that went light on executives and heavy on taking care of their artists. Even still, Clifton never made the kind of money he was hoping for with his music. The country music establishment made sure that his truck driver anthems made money towards the top and kept the creative soul of his band kept in check. If that’s not the story of a trucker’s life, then we don’t know what is.

Enjoy, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

How about another dose of Truck Driver Songs to keep your toes tapping and gears grinding? It’s one of the best ways we know at CDL Life to give our thanks to all the truckers who do what they do.

This week, it’s a classic country talking tale of a special driver that helped a down-and-out hitchhiker clock some much-needed miles. Trouble is, he wasn’t sure that the trucker was really there. It’s called Phantom 309.

Red Sovine gets in and tells the story in a straightforward and businesslike way, without much emotional display, letting the words speak for themselves.

The song was originally recorded by Red Sovine in 1967. It was one of the hits that cemented Sovine as a singer who would identify himself with the North American trucker, complimenting hits like Teddy Bear, Little Joe and Giddy Up Go.

Enjoy, truck drivers!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Life in mobile conditions that also have elements of hazardous weather, shocks, and temperature fluctuations can be extremely hard on your normal everyday Android or Windows tablet computer. Many truck drivers have already found this out under unfortunate circumstances, often to the tune of hundreds of dollars of repair. GammaTech is trying to even the field a bit in favor of those who need a tougher work tablet on the road.

Enter the GammaTech TA10 Tablet computer. It’s a direct shot at the latest offering from the Panasonic ToughPad line, the FZ-G1 in particular.

The GammaTech Durabook TA10 will occupy the high-end side of things where tablets are concerned, and it boasts of a 10.4” display with a high performance CPU, carry an ultra-high brightness LCD display, and runs on an Intel Ivy Bridge processor. All this comes at a hefty price, but it still rings in under the lofty price of the Panasonic Toughpad. The TA10 will cost around $2,100 street.

Expect the 10.4” XGA TFT LCD display with LED backlight to work well under any lighting conditions, where the resistive multi-touch panel with tempered glass will be ideal for the viewing of drawings, files, and web pages.

A couple of six-cell battery packs offer longer battery life on the move, and just to make sure you have an easy time with in-the-field identification and tracking purposes, the Durabook TA10 will feature an optional UHF RFID reader and Barcode scanner.

Security is always a concern with computers used in off-site locations. For that reason, the TA10 boasts features such as TPM 1.2 data security technology, Kensington lock connector, and Intel anti-theft technology (AT) or Computrace asset management and data protection. A FIPS 201 fingerprint scanner for digital imaging of fingerprint patterns is also available.

Find out more about the GammaTech TA10 Tablet Computer here.

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

We’re back with another episode of Truck Driver Songs. Musicians love to sing about the open road and the people who live there, and we find some of the best examples of trucking songs based on history and our readers’ input.

This week, it’s another classic by a long-time trucking favorite, Jerry Reed. Reed began a long successful career in country music in Nashville’s golden era, writing hit songs for A-list performers like Elvis Presley and Chet Atkins. His popularity peaked in the mid-70s as a musician, but he had other plans to stay in the spotlight.

Soon Reed’s recording career began to take a back seat to his acting aspirations. In 1974, he co-starred with his close friend Burt Reynolds in the film W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings. While he continued to record throughout the decade, his greatest visibility was as a motion picture star, almost always in tandem with headliner Reynolds; after 1976′s Gator, Reed appeared in 1978′s High Ballin and 1979′s Hot Stuff.

He also co-starred in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films; the first, which premiered in 1977, landed Reed a Number 2 hit with the soundtrack’s “East Bound and Down.”

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Netflix Streaming is the king of online entertainment value. It’s only $8 bucks a month and their mobile apps perform really well in any truck stop that has a good WiFi connection. It’s a great choice for trucking families since it can be used on the road and at home, through TV set top boxes, mobile devices and laptops.

If you haven’t yet tried Netflix Streaming on your laptop or mobile device, you can start a free month-long trial of it here.

If you have a subscription, but haven’t tried the free Netflix Streaming app on your mobile device, you can find those for iOS and Android operating systems here.

Here’s some recommended titles for March 20113.

Carrie – dir. by Brian DePalma, starring Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Piper Laurie and William Katt. Rated R

Mousy teen Carrie White may be ostracized, but she has the ability to move objects with her mind. When the high school “in crowd” torments her with a sick joke at the prom, she lashes out with devastating and deadly power.

Starts on Netflix Streaming on March 31st.

Similar to movies like Salem’s Lot, Chronicle, Fire Starter, The Exorcist.

Hustle and Flow – dir. Craig Brewer, starring Terrence Howard, Ludacris, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, and Taraji P. Henson. Rated R

Terrence Howard turns in an Oscar-nominated performance in director Craig Brewer’s indie drama as DJay, a pimp with aspirations of grandeur who wants to make it as a rapper but discovers that fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Starts on Netflix Streaming on March 2nd.

Similar to movies like Colors, Walk the Line, Boyz in the Hood, Juice.

United 93 – dir. Paul Greengrass, starring J.J. Johnson, Gary Commock, Polly Adams, Opal Alladin, Starla Benford, and Trish Gates. Rated R

Re-creating the harrowing events aboard United Airlines Flight 93 in real time, filmmaker Paul Greengrass presents the devastating drama of Sept. 11, 2001, as experienced by those on board and by those watching in horror on the ground.

Starts on Netflix Streaming on March 1st.

Similar to films such as Twin Towers, Backdraft, Heat, Executive Decision.

Black Snake Moan – dir. Craig Brewer, starring Samuel Jackson, Christina Ricci, and Justin Timberlake. Rated R.

Blues musician Lazarus finds sex-addicted Rae beaten and near death, and acts as a father figure to help redeem her. But before saving anyone else, Lazarus — whose wife deserted him — must face his own demons.

Starts on Netflix Streaming on March 1st.

Similar to films like 8 Mile, Crazy Heart, Crossroads, Buena Vista Social Club

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers

Our buddies at Long Road Pro got to ride along in a classic Kenworth 2 Axle tractor with the owner, John Hickey from Silverthorne, Colorado.

John brought this old warrior back to life after purchasing it from a lumber company in Oregon. The lumber company needed to sell the damaged truck after a devastating fire. The lumber company mechanics took the damaged Kenworth standard 3 axle, then decided to cut the fire damaged portion away and make it a 2 axle custom truck instead. From then on it hauled short loads of wood chips.

When the company closed down, John came across this odd pup through a mutual friend and gave it a new home. It took 5 years for them to get this classic Kenworth in show truck shape, but we think it’s worth it. What a beauty!

For more trucking news, entertainment and lifestyle, visit CDLLife - News and Entertainment for Truckers