Last week I wrote about fads and crazes and mentioned a few. One that was really big and needed its own column was the CB (citizens band) radio fad of the mid-1970s and early 1980s.
Many cars and trucks put in CB radios. You could see the ones because of the antennas sticking up in the air on the vehicles, which had to be installed to hook up to the radio.
The first “oil crisis” had hit the U.S. economy hard, creating widespread national gas shortages. The government set a nationwide 55 mph speed limit, which law enforcement actively enforced.
One way people used to find out where to get gas and if the police were running radar was with the CB radio. Many truckers had already used this communication, which bled over into the regular citizens.
Most people used the CB as entertainment. Remember this was before cellphone technology.
My good friend and neighbor, Joe Smith’s dad, had a CB in his car. We used to sit in the parked car and listen to people chattering and talking to different radio buffs.
I wanted a CB, and my sister Karen got me one for Christmas one year. That was a great gift that I got some use out of.
If you participated in the craze, you most likely learned some of the terminology: “Breaker, breaker,” “10-4,” and “What’s your handle?” Everyone had a nickname or user name when talking on the CB radio. Another slang term was “Kojak with a Kodak,” a police officer running radar. There were many more that truckers used as code.
It is easy to look back now and laugh off the CB radio boom as another novelty craze.
As the craze continued into 1975, a novelty Country and Western singer, who penned under the alias of C.W. McCall, released a popular tune called “Convoy.” The lyrics spoke of a group of rogue truckers battling to get their loads delivered. The song instantly topped the U.S. country and pop charts in January 1976.
The movie “Smoky and the Bandit” with Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed and Sally Fields also made CB radios more popular. It showed how truckers used the radio to communicate and ward off highway patrol units on the freeways.
But the CB was an important step along the path of our telecommunications revolution. Before the release of the first mobile phones in 1983, phones and communication were static for most people. The CB radio suddenly allowed everyone to talk to friends or even complete strangers for free while on the move.
This was way before the internet and social media. There was no Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.
Not only was it fun, but it also served as a great communication device during disasters. During the 1977 Tug River flooding, it was the only way many people had to call for help or to find out what was going on with the latest updates on the flood.
At one time, the Federal Communications Commission required those with CB radios to buy a license.
What might be termed official recognition of this cultural turning point came when the FCC announced it no longer would require CB radio owners to hold licenses. And with the end of licensing came the elimination of a requirement that license holders be at least 18 years old.
I doubt if many CB owners bought the license during the craze.
It was a fun hobby and continued for a few years before its popularity ended.
But the days of “breaker, breaker, what’s your 10-20 (location)?” and talking to friends and others on a 2-way radio are a thing of the past. Like most fads, it faded away.
There is always something new to come along and take its place, but the memories, the song and certain movies will always be around.
(Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.)