C. W. McCall | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Billie Dale Fries |
| Also known as | William Dale Fries Jr. |
| Born | November 15, 1928 Audubon, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | April 1, 2022 (aged 93) Ouray, Colorado, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1945–2022 |
| Labels | |
| Mayor of Ouray, Colorado | |
| In office 1986–1992 | |
William Dale Fries Jr. (November 15, 1928 – April 1, 2022) was an American commercial artist who won several Clio Awards for his advertising campaigns. He was also a musician remembered for his character C. W. McCall, a truck-driving country singer that he created for a series of bread commercials while working for an Omaha advertising agency as an art director. Fries performed as McCall in a series of outlaw albums and songs in the 1970s, in collaboration with co-worker Chip Davis who also founded Mannheim Steamroller.
McCall's most successful song was "Convoy", a surprise hit in 1975, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two in the UK Singles Chart in March 1976. After a successful spell of touring, Fries retired to Ouray, Colorado where he was elected as mayor, serving from 1986 to 1992. The "Convoy" song became an anthem for the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022 and Fries enjoyed this revival before he died of cancer at the age of 93.