'Six Days on the Road' singer Dudley dies

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DANBURY, Wis., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Singer Dave Dudley, 75, best known for trucker songs such as "Six Days On The Road," has died at his Wisconsin home, CMT.com reported Wednesday.

Dudley died Monday of an apparent heart attack.

Throughout his career, Dudley charted 41 singles on the Billboard country chart, including "Truck Drivin' Son-of-a-Gun," "There Ain't No Easy Run," "One More Mile," "Trucker's Prayer" and "Truck Driver's Waltz." He had his only No. 1 hit with "The Pool Shark," a duet with Tom T. Hall.

Dudley was instrumental in helping create the American trucker image prevalent in a number of films and TV shows during the 1970s, including "Smokey and the Bandit" and "Movin' On."

His song "Six Days on the Road" also affected a second generation of musicians, with Gram Parsons, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Sawyer Brown, George Thorogood & the Destroyers and Steve Earle recording their own versions of the classic tune.