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Sammy Johns - Chevy Van {HD}

Published on Jan 16, 2017
"Chevy Van" is a 1973 song, written and sung by Sammy Johns with instrumental backing provided by Los Angeles-based session musicians from the Wrecking Crew. The song was a hit single in the United States and Canada in 1975, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and becoming a million seller. It was played primarily on AM Top 40 stations in the 1970s; later re-recordings were done in a country vein.
It details how an unnamed male driver picks up an unnamed female, who then proceeds to eventually seduce him into a one-night stand in the back of his Chevrolet Van. At the end he drops her off "in a town that was so small, you could throw a rock from end to end. A dirt road mainstreet, she walked off in bare feet", and laments "It's a shame I won't be passing through again." The song struck a chord with listeners in the sexually liberated early 1970s when Johns released it.
In more recent years, country artists Eric Church, Waylon Jennings and Sammy Kershaw and rock artists Joe Pernice and Fu Manchu have each released covers of the song. The original 1973 version was also featured in the 1977 film The Van. Unlike Sammy Johns' original chorus that opens "Cause like a princess she was laying there...", the aforementioned artists sing "Cause like a picture she was laying there..."
Sammy Johns (February 7, 1946 – January 4, 2013) was an American country singer-songwriter, best known for his million-selling 1975 hit single, "Chevy Van".
Sammy Reginald Johns was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. Johns' father gave him a guitar when he was nine, and he founded his first band (the Devilles) in his teenage years. The group performed locally and made a few records for Dixie Records. Johns moved to Atlanta, where he signed with General Recording in 1973. His first solo recording was "Early Morning Love" (1973).
"Chevy Van" (1975) reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and remained in the chart for 17 weeks. It was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. on 4 May 1975. The titular song had been recorded in 1973, but was initially shelved and only released after 18 months with the album. It became very popular. The song sold about three million copies, and is credited for an increase in van sales the following year.
The song and an album (also titled "Chevy Van") led to a contract with Warner Curb Records to produce a soundtrack for the 1977 film The Van at the height of the Vansploitation genre. In an interview with WBT radio personality Keith Larson, Johns was parphrased as saying "the song wasn’t about a specific woman he met – but a compilation of events."
Johns switched to the Elektra label, where he issued singles such as "Common Man" and "Love Me off the Road". In his later career, he was mainly known as a composer rather than as a performer, as many covered versions of his songs became successful. John Conlee's cover version of "Common Man" reached number 1. Conlee made the song his theme song. Johns' songs have also been covered by Waylon Jennings, Sammy Kershaw, Conway Twitty and Fu Manchu. After Jennings sang Johns' song "America" at a celebration of the restoration of the Statue of Liberty in 1985, the single was nominated for country song of the year.
Johns died on January 4, 2013, at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, North Carolina, at the age of 66.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zu0WrAw6H8