Truman Lankford was a longtime performer, from the 1960s until the 1980s and probably has traveled many highways through Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Texas. He played every roadhouse and honky tonk among those roads but in the end, never found the recognition that this talented singer deserved.
Truman McCoy Lankford was born on November 15, 1929, in Gentry, located in the northwestern corner of Arkansas near the growing metropolis of Bentovnville/Rogers/Fayetteville. By 1948, Lankford had married Elsie Jean "Jeanne" Montgomery and the couple had at least one daughter. Lankford served in the US Army during the Korean War.
Lankford was probably active as a musician before the mid 1960s but he did not record until 1965, when he was already 36 years old. He came to the attention of Skipper Records, founded the same year by Si Siman (who also co-owned Earl Barton Music with Ralph Foster and John B. Mahaffey) in Springfield, Missouri. Produced by M.A. Box, Lankford recorded the snotty country rocker "Arkansas Man" plus "Here-Comes-Heaven-Again" and both found release on Skipper #828S-1241 in 1965.
He had another three releases on local labels during the mid to late 1960s, including "Freightliner Fever" b/w "Watch Me" on the Big Orange label (#651) in 1968, which eventually became his claim to fame.Written by Lankford and L. D. Allen, "Freightliner Fever" was covered in 1970 by Red Sovine for Starday. It entered Billboard's Hot Country Songs in July that year and peaked at #54. Thought not a major hit, it became a minor classic among trucker country artists and was further covered by artists like Dave Dudley and Boxcar Willie. It also meant some welcomed income from the royalties for Lankford.
Lankford moved into a mainstream trucker country style himself in the 1970s and was a cast member of the 70s edition of the Louisiana Hayride. He continued to release singles on small labels well into the 1980s and had one of his few album releases in the late 1970s or early 1980s, "True Man" on the Louisiana Hayride label. He also appeared in the independent movie "Cody" in 1977, which was filmed in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
Today's selection came from one of his early 1980s recordings that were released on the Stockyard label around 1982. The disc featured "Belly Up" and "Every Road Leads to Texas". While the A side was in a more 80s contemporary country style, "Every Road Leads to Texas" was a throwback to the old western swing days. Fiddle and steel guitar both take nice solos and Lankford supplies good, deep voiced vocals. Of course, it did not become a hit as country audiences had set their minds on other styles.
It seems this was Lankford's last release. He passed away November 17, 1987, at the age of 58 years. He is buried at Friendship Cemetery in Cale, Nevada County, Southwest Arkansas.
Sources
• Find a Grave entry
• 45cat entry
• Discogs
• SecondHandSongs
• Internet Movie Database: Cody
• Praguefrank's Country Music Discographies entry
• Garage Hangover: Skipper Records history
• Locals Only
• Red Sovine - Freight Liner Fever 45cat entry
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