Overdrive Radio

Songs of the Highway, No. 8: 'Little Pink Mack,' by Kay Adams


Listen Later

It’s been decades since the influx of women into truck driving was considered news, at least among trucking media. But look long enough in the rear-view and you’ll reach a time when it was truly a novelty.
One of the first – if not the very first – entertainers to use music to highlight that change was Kay Adams, with “Little Pink Mack.” Released in 1966, the song was written by Chris Roberts, Jim Thornton and Scott Turner.
It wasn’t a strident feminist statement bucking the establishment in the way that, say, “Convoy” traded in themes of rebellion. But it did blend, in a light-hearted way, the singer’s femininity with her absolute confidence in handling a truck as well as any man could, said Todd Uhlman, a specialist in American socio-cultural history at the University of Dayton in Ohio and our guest for this "Songs of the Highway" edition of Overdrive Radio.
“It was the first song that really talked about women truckers. It really framed them as both feminine and also very tough, very capable,” he said. Uhlman pointed to the song’s opening lines:
"Everybody calls me the girl in the little pink Mack /
The bumpers are chrome and so are the wheels and the stacks /
It's got polka dot curtains hanging in a sleeper of pink /
Ah, this Mack's a dandy, some kind of truck, they think.”
Hear more in the "Songs of the Highway" series, part of Overdrive's 2021 60th-anniversary commemoration, via this link: http://overdriveonline.com/trucking-history
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Overdrive RadioBy Overdrive

  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8
  • 3.8

3.8

27 ratings


More shows like Overdrive Radio

View all
The Ramsey Show by Ramsey Network

The Ramsey Show

38,742 Listeners

This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,886 Listeners

The Joe Rogan Experience by Joe Rogan

The Joe Rogan Experience

226,206 Listeners

THE SAVAGE NATION by Michael Savage

THE SAVAGE NATION

12,158 Listeners

Rolling Toe by Mike and Kevin Beckett

Rolling Toe

8 Listeners

The Ben Shapiro Show by The Daily Wire

The Ben Shapiro Show

153,924 Listeners

Land Line Now by Land Line Now News Team

Land Line Now

44 Listeners

American Greed Podcast by CNBC

American Greed Podcast

2,140 Listeners

Unashamed with the Robertson Family by Tread Lively

Unashamed with the Robertson Family

24,928 Listeners

Hodgetwins by Keith & Kevin Hodge

Hodgetwins

5,879 Listeners

Shawn Ryan Show by Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan Show

42,398 Listeners

The Oakley Podcast by Oakley Trucking

The Oakley Podcast

70 Listeners

Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel by Ramsey Network

Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel

3,134 Listeners

Trucking Business & Beyond by Kevin Rutherford

Trucking Business & Beyond

34 Listeners

Trucking Technology & Efficiency by Kevin Rutherford

Trucking Technology & Efficiency

3 Listeners