Tag: Turntable Talk

Red Sovine – Phantom 309

Dave posted this on TurnTable Talk on November 1, 2025. The subject was:  to either pick a song about a spooky or scary person or event, or else just highlight a song that sounds that way to them.. 

I never thought I would ever post a trucker song, but here I am, posting a trucker song! It was one of the first singles I remember playing as a child. When I was a kid, this story scared me to death. There’s something about a good ghost story that never leaves you, especially when it’s told in a Southern drawl through the crackle of a CB radio. This Red Sovine song is one of those perfect country songs that is Americana, part Twilight Zone, and part 1960s country storytelling at its finest.

An eerie monologue about a hitchhiker picked up by a kind-hearted trucker named Big Joe. The kid hops out at a truck stop, orders a cup of coffee, and the waitress gives him the shocker: Big Joe died ten years ago, crashing his rig to save a school bus full of children. The twist lands like a punchline from beyond the grave. “Son, you just met Big Joe and the Phantom 309.” 4-year-old Max got goosebumps every time.

How this record was in my house when I was 4 is a mystery to me. My dad had Merle Haggard music, and my mom had Elvis albums, and my sister would never have this. Not one of them was into trucking songs…but there it was all the same. It was released in 1967… The song peaked at #9 on the Country Charts.

It inspired covers by artists from Tom Waits to the punkabilly of Mojo Nixon. Even Pee-wee’s Big Adventure tipped a hat to it when Pee-wee hitched a ride with “Large Marge.” That alone belongs in the Twilight Zone.

Phantom 309

I was out on the West Coast, tryin’ to make abuckAnd things didn’t work out, I was down on my luckGot tired a-roamin’ and bummin’ aroundSo I started thumbin’ back East, toward my home town.

Made a lot of miles, the first two daysAnd I figured I’d be home in week, if my luck held out this wayBut, the third night I got stranded, way out of townAt a cold, lonely crossroads, rain was pourin’ down.

I was hungry and freezin’, done caught a chillWhen the lights of a big semi topped the hill Lord, I sure was glad to hear them air brakes come onAnd I climbed in that cab, where I knew it’d be warm.

At the wheel sit a big man, he weighed about two-tenHe stuck out his hand and said with a grin“Big Joe’s the name”, I told him mineAnd he said: “The name of my rig is Phantom 309.”

I asked him why he called his rig such a nameHe said: “Son, this old Mack can put ’em all to shameThere ain’t a driver, or a rig, a-runnin’ any lineAin’t seen nothin’ but taillights from Phantom 309.”

Well, we rode and talked the better part of the nightWhen the lights of a truck stop came in sightHe said: “I’m sorry son, this is as far as you go‘Cause, I gotta make a turn, just on up the road.”

Well, he tossed me a dime as he pulled her in lowAnd said: “Have yourself a cup on old Big Joe.”When Joe and his rig roared out in the nightIn nothin’ flat, he was clean out of sight.

Well, I went inside and ordered me a cupTold the waiter Big Joe was settin’ me upAw!, you coulda heard a pin drop, it got deathly quietAnd the waiter’s face turned kinda white.

Well, did I say something wrong? I said with a halfway grinHe said: “Naw, this happens every now and thenEver’ driver in here knows Big JoeBut son, let me tell you what happened about ten years ago.

At the crossroads tonight, where you flagged him downThere was a bus load of kids, comin’ from townAnd they were right in the middle, when Big Joe topped the hillIt could have been slaughter, but he turned his wheel.

Well, Joe lost control, went into a skid And gave his life to save that bunch-a kidsAnd there at that crossroads, was the end of the lineFor Big Joe and Phantom 309

But, every now and then, some hiker’ll come byAnd like you, Big Joe’ll give ’em a rideHere, have another cup and forget about the dimeKeep it as a souvenir, from Big Joe and Phantom 309!”

Favorite Beatle

Dave at A Sound Day invited me to write a post in his series Turntable Talk. He wanted to know either our favorite Beatle or someone close to them. I picked the only choice I could.

Ever since I was 8 years old I was always drawn to the long-haired guy with those round glasses on the album cover. When I heard his songs and heard about his personality, I knew he was The Beatle I looked forward to in interviews and songs.

On the surface the reasons are many. The man’s voice was one of the best rock voices I’ve ever heard. I favored his voice over McCartney, Harrison, and Starr. He probably could write better rock songs than the other Beatles and he also had a great sense of melody that could keep up with Paul and at times surpass him on ballads. Yes, he could be witty, sharp, and downright hateful at times. A little about his childhood will say a lot.

His childhood was tragic in many ways, but he wasn’t poor. He was the most middle-class out of all of the Beatles. He was abandoned by his father and then his mother gave him to her sister and brother-in-law to raise. John drew close to his aunt and uncle, especially his Uncle George. They were building a strong bond but when John was 14 Uncle George died suddenly at age 52.

He then just had his Aunt Mimi, and she was very strict…and strict didn’t go well with Lennon at that time or anytime. Uncle George was friendly with John while the black or white Mimi didn’t stand for anything out of line. Lennon’s mother came back in his life when John was 16. He got to know her more and they visited each other. As soon as they were getting close in 1958, she was hit by a car by an off-duty policeman walking back home from Mimi’s house.

Later on, one of his best friends was Stuart Sutcliffe who played bass for the Beatles and was one of the best artists in Liverpool at the time. Stuart would stay close to John even when he quit The Beatles. Stuart would die at 21 years old when John was 21. He felt like when people got close to him they would die or be abandoned. This can help explain the rude and crude Lennon of the sixties. By the seventies, he seemed to be much calmer and more relaxed. By many fans’ accounts…he was the most fan-friendly out of all of them. There are multiple stories of him inviting fans into his home talking to them and showing them around.

The main reason though…I just think his songwriting was the most powerful out of them all. Yes, Paul was the most successful after The Beatles, but you are only as strong as your weakest album tracks. That is where John had Paul beat, to me anyway. It’s not all about hits. Songs like Working Class Hero, God, Gimme Some Truth, and I Know (I Know) were better than many of his and Paul’s hits. John was the leader, the muscle, and the architect of The Beatles.

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Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced Album

On March 9th of this year Dave at A Sound Day published this post I wrote for his Turntable Talk series. Dave stated: Let’s look at an artist whose debut really impressed you. It can be one that just knocked you out first time you heard it when it was brand new, or one you went back & discovered later.

I went through some debut albums before I came to this. I already wrote up Big Star’s debut for another blogger but the other that came to mind was The Cars. For me, that was their best album although they had some great albums later. I then thought of Jimi’s debut…and that was that. There is more than one version of Jimi Hendrix’s debut album released. I will go by the one I first owned when I was around 11…the US version.

I think about 1967 and what people must have thought when they heard this strange new artist. It must have sounded like an alien coming down from another planet. Being at the ripe old age of 4 months old…I don’t quite remember it. His guitar playing was first felt by other guitarists. Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, and the other huge guitarists back at that time. They were shocked when they saw him perform on stage.  He was “found” by Animals bassist turned manager Chas Chandler in New York. He took Jimi to England and formed a band around him…it didn’t take long after that.

Jimi’s debut album was released on May 12, 1967. The tracklist is incredible. A lineup of songs that still get played over 50 years later on the radio. To make it even stronger…Hendrix wrote all of the songs but one…Hey Joe, his breakout hit in the UK.

Purple Haze
Manic Depression
Hey Joe
Love or Confusion
May This Be Love
I Don’t Live Today
The Wind Cries Mary
Fire
Third Stone from the Sun
Foxy Lady
Are You Experienced?

The album had many now-rock classics. They were not rock songs easily accessible to the audience as other performers. He mixed experimental technics along with well-written and performed songs. Before Zeppelin came along, Hendrix gave rock its sonic boom. The album peaked at #5 on The Billboard Album Charts, #15 in Canada, and #2 on the UK Charts in 1967.

I’ve never heard a guitar player take the guitar to a far-off place like Hendrix. It wasn’t just his playing which was some of the best…it was his vision and the sounds he got out of the guitar that was so amazing. Every guitar player that came after him would get unfairly compared. He wasn’t just a guitar player though…he was a singer/songwriter who created 3 classic rock albums that still are revered. He was the complete package…not a traditional voice, but he got his point across and wrote his songs to fit him…and it worked.

He also evidently had a huge backlog of recordings and live concerts that keep being released. The man must have recorded in his sleep.

The “new” Jimi Hendrix tag has been unfairly placed on many guitar players. From Stevie Ray Vaughn to Eddie Van Halen, many more faded out. Hendrix would mess with this guitar…changing pickups and recording techniques. He had a sound all his own…when you hear a Hendrix record you know it’s him by just his guitar playing. Now when I listen to him…I hear the guitar players that followed…from the finger tap from Eddie to the straight-in-your-face riffs of Stevie Ray Vaughn…Jimi had done it all before.

Like Janis Joplin and Bruce Springsteen…they would let themselves go on stage. They would take it as far as they could and if they messed up…they messed up but the fans got to see an electrifying performance. When Joplin and Hendrix left us…they left a huge hole in rock performers and when both were peaking in making albums. Both Hendrix and Joplin left and their last studio albums peaked at #1. Jimi’s came two years before his death and Janis just a few days after she passed.

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