Surprisingly, we didn't receive a single response to our November contest.
Or maybe not so surprisingly, as the song title in that issue was perhaps a little obscure. It was "Truck driving woman" by Norma Jean, and it was mentioned in an item in the November issue's "Inbound" section about another truck-driver song—one written especially for the group Women In Trucking.
"Truck Driving Woman" is a country tune, with some slightly rock-ish elements (drums, electric guitar, the intro). The opening lyrics tell the story:
A little boy is what my daddy wanted.
A little girl just didn't fit his plans
To help him on the road when he was on it,
'Cause Daddy was a truck-driving man.
So I was raised on truck-driving stories.
I know every legend of the road
From Phantom 309 in all its glory
To the widow-maker's truck-driving code.
Norma Jean (given name Norma Jean Beasler) was a child when she started her career, performing with bands and on the radio in her native state of Oklahoma. By the age of 12, she had her own local radio show.
She moved on to become a regular on a TV show called Ozark Jubilee, where she met country singer Porter Wagoner. He invited her to be a cast member on The Porter Wagoner Show, where she became well known to TV audiences by the name Wagoner called her, "Pretty Miss Norma Jean." (The nickname became the title of her second album.) She left his show in 1967; her replacement was Dolly Parton.
Norma Jean's biggest hits included "Let's Go All the Way" and "The Game of Triangles." The latter was a love-triangle song in which she sang the role of the wife, while country singers Bobby Bare and Liz Anderson performed the parts of the husband and the other woman. (In a TV spoof, Norma Jean performs the song with the part of the other woman played by a man.) "Truck Driving Woman" appeared on her 1968 album Body and Mind. (There's at least one other song with a similar title. "Truck Drivin' Woman" was written by activist and musician Si Kahn and recorded on his 1974 album New Wood. A version was later released by Cathy Winter and Betsy Rose.)
According to Norma Jean's website, you can catch a live stream of her on Sunday mornings at 10: 30 Central time as she performs at the Cowboy Church of Branson, Mo.
This month's contest deadline extended
The December-issue contest should be much easier, because there are three possible answers. You only need to guess one of them in order to be entered into our drawing for a sampler pack of Joey Kramer's Rockin' & Roastin' Organic Coffee, which has received rave reviews from previous winners.
We know that since December is one of the busiest times of the year, you may not have had time to send in your answers, so we've extended the deadline for the December-issue contest. If you think you've spotted one or more of the song references, submit your answer to dcvrocks@dcvelocity.com by midnight Pacific time on Friday, Jan. 26.
Need a hint? Turn to page 9 of our December print issue, our digital edition, or our mobile version.
Editor's note: This article was updated to reflect the deadline change.
