Hummin' Cummins (mp3s)

1. Hummin' Cummins (3:15)
2. Instrumental Theme (3:30)

Here's a gorgeous piece of promotional trucker music from America's Bicentennial year. Country fans, promo music fans, and CB culture fans will love this one. For everyone else, be warned that this is one catchy beast, and you'll be singing, "Reserve power for constant speed" for the rest of the day.

The vocalist is country legend Ed Bruce, best known for writing, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys," in 1957. In 1976, Bruce hit #20 on the Country Music charts with his version of "Cowboys," and along the way he wrote songs for Charlie Louvin, Tommy Roe, Tanya Tucker and Crystal Gale while putting out his own albums and doing voice-over work.

The prolific Bruce turned to acting in the 1980s, landing a role on Bret Maverick and later hosting a TV show called Truckin' USA. His most recent album was released in 2007, and you can find the details at the Ed Bruce Web site. Ed looks the part of the trail-worn cowboy just as well as he sings it. His performance here ranks up there with the best trucker music, although this number's a good bit happier than Red Sovine's brand of trucker tunes.

The flip side turns the song into a country-tinged, MUZAK-worthy piece of easy listening. It's listed as the "Original Sound Track from the Film 'Hummin' Cummins'" on the vinyl, so somewhere there's an 8mm or 16mm industrial floating around. I haven't found any other recordings attributed to this group, so it's likely a one-off collection of studio musicians put together by Nashville producer Criag Deitschmann, who also holds the songwriting credit.

Cummins Engine Company of Columbus, Indiana, has a strong association with Dodge, although their engines are available as an option for semis and buses. I've heard from one source that the film and the single would have been available at trade shows and dealerships to help truckers decide what to buy. And for those of you who hate the thought of burning fossil fuel, you'll be happy to know that Cummins supports the use of B20 Biodiesel in its newer engines.

Comments

[Ross Cummins]

Thanks for this post...you've made my bloody day !!!
If i were a trucker, that would be my theme tune for sure !
RC

[Mike Deitschmann]

That's my dad's work. He wrote and produced it for Cummins and yes it was a bunch of the most talented studio musicians you can imagine. It was as you say for dealerships and at trade shows. My father passed away in August 2007. You'd be surprised to know how many of his commercials you'd recall.

[Hear It Wow]

Sorry to hear that your father's no longer with us. He left behind a very impressive roster of work. I'd love to know about more of his commercial work. A lot of entertainers just mail it in on those jobs, but that clearly wasn't the case here.