The Road Hammers are a Canadian

country rock Country rock is a genre of music which fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal s ...

group composed of

Jason McCoy Jason McCoy (born Jason Dwight Campsall on August 27, 1970) is a Canadian country singer-songwriter. He has won the 2001 Male Vocalist of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards, 3 SOCAN Song of the Year awards, 19 CCMA nominations and ...

, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne. Formed by McCoy as a side project, the trio's music is influenced by 1960s and 1970s

trucker A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

music and

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

. Their first self-titled album included remakes of several classic truck-driving songs. It was recognized with a

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

in 2006, along with numerous

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a g ...

awards. After five years together, the group went on hiatus after one last show on December 31, 2010, in Langley, British Columbia.The group reformed in 2013 and released ''

Wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

'' in 2014. In May 2017, The Road Hammers released their latest album, ''The Squeeze''.

History

The Road Hammers was founded in 2004 as a project by lead singer and guitarist

, a multiple-time winner of Canadian Country Music Association male vocalist of the year. He stated the idea was to play trucker music, and came together with two other musicians with similar views on music - country-rocker Clayton Bellamy, whose father is a truck driver, and bassist Chris Byrne, a Newfoundlander. In addition to recording their self-titled album, the Road Hammers was also the subject of a

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

of the same name on

Country Music Television Country Music Television (CMT) is an American pay TV network owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched on March 5, 1983, as Country Music Television, CMT was the first nationally available channel devoted to coun ...

in Canada. The album

The Road Hammers The Road Hammers are a Canadian country rock group composed of Jason McCoy, Clayton Bellamy and Chris Byrne. Formed by McCoy as a side project, the trio's music is influenced by 1960s and 1970s trucker music and Southern rock. Their first self-ti ...

was released in 2005, and received strong reviews for its Southern rock sound and covers of classic songs. It debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian country albums chart. Covers on the album included "Girl on the Billboard," the 1965 number-one hit for

Del Reeves Franklin Delano Reeves (July 14, 1933 – January 1, 2007) was an American country music singer, best known for his "girl-watching" novelty songs of the 1960s including "Girl on the Billboard" and "The Belles of Southern Bell". He is also known ...

, "

East Bound and Down "East Bound and Down" is a song written by Jerry Reed and Deena Kaye Rose, and recorded by Reed for the soundtrack for the film ''Smokey and the Bandit''. The song features Reed on the lead vocal, and vocalist Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires on ...

" by

Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...

, and

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

's "Willin'." In the wake of the album release, The Road Hammers swept to the upper end of the Canadian country charts; four songs reached the top 10 through 2005 and 2006, and the band was nominated for six CCMA Awards winning Group or Duo of the Year. It was also recognized at the

Juno Awards The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

for Country Recording of the Year. The album's success continued into 2006, with the Road Hammers receiving two CCMA awards, Group or Duo of the Year and Best Video. In July 2007, McCoy stated that the band will be part of a second season of its reality show, following its attempts to secure a recording deal with an American label. In late 2007, The Road Hammers signed to an American record label,

Montage Music Group Montage Music Group was an American independent record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, specializing in country music. Acts signed to the label include Andy Griggs, Matt King, Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand, Little Texas, Minnie Murphy, and ...

and the group's debut American single, "I Don't Know When to Quit" was released on December 10. Their second album, entitled '' Blood, Sweat, and Steel'', was released on June 24, 2008. The Road Hammers released their second Canadian album, ''

The Road Hammers II ''The Road Hammers II'' is the second studio album of Canadian country rock group The Road Hammers. It was released on February 24, 2009 on Open Road Recordings Open Road Recordings, a division of RGK Entertainment Group Ltd., is a Canadian recor ...

'', on February 24, 2009.All Roads Lead Home for the Hammers
CMT, January 20, 2009 The album's first single, "Homegrown," has reached the Top 20 of the Canadian country singles chart. Bellamy and McCoy were contestants on the reality show ''

Mantracker ''Mantracker'' is a Canadian reality TV, reality television series created by Ihor Macijiwsky and produced by Bonterra Productions. It premiered in Canada in April 2006 on the Outdoor Life Network. In the United States, the show aired on the Scie ...

'' on September 6, 2010, where they both beat the hunters to the finish line. On October 8, 2013, The Road Hammers released a single titled "Get On Down the Road" on iTunes in Canada and the United States.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

2000s

2010s and 2020s

Guest singles

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official HomepageClayton Bellamy's Solo Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Hammers, The Canadian country music groups Canadian country rock groups Juno Award for Country Album of the Year winners Open Road Recordings artists Montage Music Group artists Canadian Country Music Association Group or Duo of the Year winners