Here's a collection of three songs about a little crippled boy and the truck drivers who loved him. The CB radio craze conspired with Red Sovine's penchant for mawkish 18-wheeler-oriented recitations to make this one of the surprise hits of the mid-70s. Even more surprisingly, Diana Williams' amateurish sequel was picked up by a major label and became an international hit. John Texas Rocker unsuccessfully attempted to jump on the TB bandwagon with his unauthorized sequel, but seemed to be too preoccupied with having Teddy Bear interact with the star of a previous Sovine hit, "Phantom 309," to advance the story in a meaningful way. At least we get to find out that (1.) Gawd himself has a CB and (2.) he doesn't mind letting little Teddy Bear use it to stay in touch with his gear-jammin' buddies.
1. Red Sovine - Teddy Bear (5:13)
Gusto Records 45 SD-142 (1976)
2. Diana Williams - Teddy Bear's Last Ride (4:11)
Capitol Records 45 4317 (1976)
3. John Texas Rocker - Teddy Bears' Epitaph (4:51)
CGS/Beck Records 45 CGS-1002 (Date Unknown)
Pardon the surface noise. My copy of "Teddy Bear" isn't in bad shape, but the sequels are pretty rough. I think, however, that the scratches add something to the listening experience. And lest this little collection of maudlin tripe reflect too poorly on the South (which has a rich and varied cultural history of which the majority of its current residents are blissfully unaware), bear in mind that "Teddy Bear's Last Ride" was also a huge hit in the U.K. Not only is bad taste timeless, it's also apparently universal.
- Contributed by: Perry Amberson
Images: Red Sovine, Diana Williams, John Texas Rocker
I seem to remember someone in my neighborhood had a hand in writing Teddy Bear or one of its sequels (or some other CB-era hit). Does anyone know the songwriters for these three songs?
This guy was set from a young age, at least relative to his antipated financial prospects.
Posted by: Kay | November 24, 2007 at 11:01 AM
Lest we forget, shlock-master Red Sovine recorded a few other songs incorporating the Teddy Bear character, including one called "Little Joe", in which--thanks to an unnamed miracle--Teddy Bear can walk again.
Praise the lawd! Thanks for putting up "Teddy Bear's Last Ride"... heard of it (but never heard it) before.
Posted by: Rev. Joe Roberts | November 24, 2007 at 11:27 AM
Omigod, I dedided to hit a couple of thrift stores for some Black Friday shopping yesterday, and I came home with perhaps one of my best scores ever, a pristine, virgin, still in the cellophane copy of Red Sovine's Teddy Bear, complete with the liner notes by Mike Hanes of WKDA Radio in Nashville, Tenn. Woo Hoo ! Now that's syncronisity ! Kay - The songwriting credits on this copy show (D. Royal, B.J. Burnette, T. Hill, and Red Sovine, published under Cedarwood Publishing BMI. Other cuts on this album include Little Rosa, It Ain't No Big Thing, Last Mile Of The Way, Bootlegger King, Daddy, Love Is, 1460 Elder Street, Does Steppin out Mean Daddy Took A Walk, 18 Wheels Hummin Home Sweet Home and Sad Violins.
Posted by: Less Moore | November 24, 2007 at 07:53 PM
Mike Judge, as Hank Hill, recorded a truly creepy version of "Teddy Bear."
Posted by: Aengus | November 24, 2007 at 08:33 PM
Great stuff - Are there further Teddy Bear sequels out there? Red Sovine is a legend of these narrative trucking songs. Check out Irish singer Pat Campbell's cover of one of them on his album (day 243, Aug 31).
Posted by: David Noades | November 24, 2007 at 09:29 PM
Yes, bad taste is truly universal. Jonny Hill had a huge hit with this song in Germany in 1979. It was basically a word for word translation called "Ruf Teddybär eins-vier".
The German Amazon still sells Jonny Hill's records (apparently he covered a lot of English-language songs from that era) and even has a sound sample:
http://www.amazon.de/Ruf-Teddyb%C3%A4r-Eins-Vier-Jonny-Hill/dp/B000025VNY
Posted by: Sven | November 26, 2007 at 01:33 PM
You should definitely check out Jonny Hills version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xehmEdsYhzQ
Posted by: Murnau | December 26, 2007 at 06:43 AM
Are the Teddy Bear songs based on a true story?
Posted by: SamLovesTonyHatter | January 26, 2008 at 10:46 PM
Red Sovine: Age 61
(b. Woodrow Wilson Sovine, 17 July 1918, Charleston, West Virginia, d. 4 April 1980).
Sovine acquired the nickname of The Old Syrup Sopper following the sponsorship by Johnny Fair Syrup of some radio shows, and the title is apt for such narrations as Daddy's Girl. From 1954 Sovine was a regular at GRAND OLE OPRY and, in all, he had 31 US country chart entries. He particularly scored with maudlin narrations about truckdrivers and his successes include Giddyup Go (a US country number 1 about a truck driver being reunited with his son), Phantom 309 (a truck-driving ghost story!) and his million-selling saga of a crippled boy and his CB radio, Teddy Bear (1976). Sequels and parodies of Teddy Bear abound, Sovine refused to record Teddy Bear's Last Ride, which became a US country hit for Diana Williams. He retaliated with Little Joe to indicate that Teddy Bear was not dead after all. In 1980 Sovine died of a heart attack at the wheel of his car in Nashville.
Posted by: cynthiaphillips | April 21, 2008 at 01:29 AM
can any one tell me where i can get the record teddy bears last letter i done know who sang it
thank you
tommy
Posted by: THOMAS PITT | October 26, 2008 at 12:11 PM
PLEASE HELP. I am sure I once heard a parody of these soppy Red Sovine songs in which the 'Lil Cripple Boy' ends up getting run over by one of the big rigs trying to help. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO SANG IT. Does anyone know the song and who sang it?
Posted by: Laurie Howell | October 27, 2009 at 06:17 AM