You might have missed the news in all the holiday hubbub, but a pioneer of truck-driving country songs died in December. Dave Dudley, who recorded more than 40 country hits from 1961 to 1980, died on Dec. 22, 2003, in Danbury, Wis. He was 75 and the cause was a heart attack.

Dudley is best known for his 1963 hit "Six Days on the Road," which described the challenges and heartbreaks facing truckers. It became a much-covered standard, with artists including Johnny Cash, Steve Earle, Gram Parsons and George Jones recording later versions.

The song's success ushered an era of truck-driving songs. Other hits by Dudley include "Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun," "What We're Fightin' For" and "There Ain't No Easy Run."