Overdrive Magazine (1972-1973): Voice of the American Trucker

In the 1950s, American kids idolized cowboys – in the 1970s it was truckers.  There was an endless supply of movies painting truckers as anti-establishment heroes of the highway (Convoy, Breaker Breaker, Smokey & the Bandit, etc.), and God-knows their tool of the trade, the CB radio, was the coolest thing ever. (See Your Official Guide To 1970s CB Slang).  Truckers were seen as rebels, interstate outlaws, cowboys of the open road who didn’t answer to “the man”…. but the public’s fascination waned by the early 1980s.

So, let’s have a look at the start of the Golden Age of the trucker in the covers and pages of the 1972-1973 issues Overdrive Magazine: The Voice of the American Trucker. Enjoy.

 

1972

April 1972

Ah, the truck stop.  There’s still around today, but nothing like the 1970s.  Back then, these diners dotted the US highways from coast to coast – each unique, each a sanctuary for grizzled truckers to sexually harass waitresses (and, in the movies, start a brawl).

1973

This is how truckers do Easter issues.

So this takes us to the end of 1973.  Stay tuned for the rest of the seventies issues.