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The song “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” was written by Roger McGuinn and Gram Parsons of The Byrds.
It was originally released on The Byrds’ 1969 album Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde. The song is a satirical critique of Ralph Emery, a Nashville country DJ who dismissed and mocked The Byrds when they appeared on his show. Parsons and McGuinn wrote it as a pointed response.
The Ralph Emery Incident In 1968, The Byrds (then featuring Gram Parsons) traveled to Nashville to record their Sweetheart of the Rodeo album, a pioneering country-rock record. As part of promoting it, they went on the influential country DJ Ralph Emery’s WSM radio show.
Emery, known as the “dean of country DJs,” was highly respected in Nashville.
When The Byrds arrived, he was openly dismissive. He didn’t like their long hair, their hippie image, or the idea of “outsiders” mixing rock with traditional country.
Reportedly, when they tried to get him to play their single “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” (a Bob Dylan song), Emery refused and instead criticized their music on air.
Parsons & McGuinn’s Response Gram Parsons, especially stung by the rejection (since he had pushed the band into country music), teamed up with Roger McGuinn to write a satirical retaliation.
Title meaning: A “drug store truck drivin’ man” was slang for a wannabe cowboy — someone who postured as a rural good ol’ boy but wasn’t the real thing.
The lyrics lampoon Emery as narrow-minded, provincial, and out of touch, portraying him as a fake country figure who “sure does think he’s a man.”
Fallout and Reception
The song appeared on Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde (1969), after Parsons had already left the band.
Emery, for his part, wasn’t amused — though he later admitted he may have been harsh with them.
The song became a kind of “revenge track,” and in some ways, a symbol of how difficult it was for The Byrds (and later Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers) to be accepted in the Nashville establishment at the time.
So the biting tone came directly from real frustration: Parsons and McGuinn were taking a shot at the Nashville gatekeepers who dismissed their country-rock experiment before it even had a chance
Key Lines & Their Targets
“He’s the head of the Ku Klux Klan” This is the most biting insult. Parsons and McGuinn were exaggerating Emery’s intolerance, equating his hostility toward “long-haired hippies” with outright bigotry. It was meant as pure provocation.
“He’s sittin’ at the top of the world” A sarcastic jab at Emery’s self-importance. As a powerful Nashville DJ, he controlled what music got airplay. They’re mocking him as though he thinks he’s a kingmaker.
“He don’t like the young folks, I know” Direct reference to Emery sneering at The Byrds and other youth-driven counterculture acts, dismissing their country-rock as inauthentic.
“He’s just a drug store truck drivin’ man” The title line itself. “Drug store cowboy” was a term for someone who posed as a cowboy without doing real ranch work. Parsons and McGuinn flipped it into “truck drivin’ man” — meaning Emery liked to associate himself with country authenticity, but they saw him as a phony.
Contextual Punch When The Byrds cut Sweetheart of the Rodeo, they were serious about country music. Parsons especially idolized Merle Haggard and George Jones. But the Nashville establishment wasn’t ready to accept rock outsiders. Emery became the symbol of that rejection, so this song was their revenge — biting satire dressed up as a country tune.
In short: every verse is a jab at Emery’s perceived narrow-mindedness, authority, and phoniness. The song took a humiliating encounter and flipped it back on the gatekeeper who had embarrassed them.
Immediate Aftermath (1969–1970s)
When Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde was released in 1969, Emery quickly realized he was the target of “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man.”
He was reportedly furious. Emery was old-school Nashville — he valued traditional country music and resented long-haired “hippie” acts like The Byrds coming in to claim country credibility.
The song reinforced the gap between the Nashville establishment and the West Coast “country-rock” movement.
Parsons’ Later Career
Gram Parsons left The Byrds before the song was even released, moving on to form The Flying Burrito Brothers.
While he still struggled to get mainstream Nashville acceptance, Parsons’ influence on country-rock (and later alt-country) grew legendary after his death in 1973.
Ralph Emery’s Perspective Later
In his later years, Emery mellowed somewhat in how he spoke about The Byrds.
He admitted that he may have been too dismissive of them on air, but he never really softened toward Gram Parsons’ style of country-rock. He felt it wasn’t “authentic” country.
In interviews, Emery often brushed off the song as a youthful act of rebellion, though he clearly wasn’t flattered.
Historical Irony
Over time, country-rock gained enormous influence — through Parsons, The Byrds, The Eagles, and later generations.
Nashville itself eventually embraced crossovers between rock and country. In retrospect, Emery came to look more like a stubborn gatekeeper resisting inevitable change.
Today, “Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man” is remembered as a time capsule of that culture clash — long-haired California country-rockers vs. conservative Nashville traditionalists.
So while Emery never made formal “peace” with The Byrds or Parsons, history vindicated Parsons’ vision. Ironically, the kind of music Emery dismissed in 1968 became a cornerstone of mainstream country and Americana later on.
