You remember the song, of course. It came out in 1975, during the CB radio craze, and centered around two truck drivers: Rubber Duck and Pig Pen. I’m not sure how Rubber Duck got his name, but Pig Pen was named so because he was hauling a load of hogs. There were numerous references to the hogs, and their smell, during the song. That’s why it is surprising that 9-year old me was so convinced that C.W. McCall was singing “Big Ben” and not “Pig Pen.” It was like I never even listened to the lyrics.
One day, my brother and I started arguing about whether it
was “Pig Pen” or “Big Ben”. Kids
nowadays have it so easy. Any 9-year old
can just google the lyrics to any song.
To settle our argument, instead, my mom suggested that I call the local
radio host, specifically Larry Stewart on WDWS’ Penny for Your Thoughts. I took up the challenge, cowering on the
phone behind the recliner in the front room, while my mom and brother listened in
the kitchen. The host knew the song but,
surprisingly, couldn’t definitively say what the lyric was. It was disappointing because, up until then,
I thought Larry Stewart was the smartest man in the world.
It didn’t take long, though, for the calls to come flooding
in. One after another, Central Illinois
listeners settled the argument for good.
“Pig Pen” the first said, followed by another, and another. It seemed like the rest of the show was
dedicated to the dumb kid in Philo. There
were even a few sarcastic comments mixed in, like “Why in the world would he
think it was Big Ben? Like in London? That
makes no sense.”
42 years later, I just wanna say “Screw you WDWS
listeners. I was 9 years old. Give me a
break.” Back then, my only dealings with
18 wheelers was standing in the front yard, pumping my arm up and down, trying to
get the drivers to honk as they drove by.
