The Road Hammers - Wheels (2014)

A gritty Canadian country-rock outfit, the Road Hammers blend '60 and '70s trucker culture with an updated take on outlaw country and Southern rock. They originated as a mid-2000s side project from country singer/songwriter Jason McCoy, but found national success with their Juno Award-winning debut and companion reality television show on Canada's CMT channel. The group went on hiatus after 2009's The Road Hammers II, but re-formed in the mid-2010s and notched additional hits with "Mud" and "Get On Down the Road" from their 2014 album Wheels. Along they way, they toured with acts as varied as Def Leppard, Loretta Lynn, and Nickelback. After 2017's The Squeeze, they largely focused on occasional singles and EPs like 2021's Back at It and the 2025 track "Dirty Hands, Clean Money."

Ontario's Jason McCoy was already a successful solo artist by the time he formed the Road Hammers in 2004. Inspired by the trucker culture that permeated so much country music from the 1970s, he teamed up with Alberta native Clayton Bellamy and Newfoundlander Chris Byrne to play classic trucker music rooted in Southern rock and outlaw country, but updated for the 21st century. They were a hit right out of the gate with their self-titled, chart-topping 2005 debut. Being the subject of their own CMT reality show helped their cause and in 2006, they took home both a Canadian Country Music Award (CCMA) and a Juno. An American version, retitled Blood Sweat & Steel enjoyed some chart success in the U.S. ahead of their official sophomore album, The Road Hammers II, in 2009. It yielded the country chart hits "Homegrown" and "I've Got the Scars to Prove It."

After a four-year hiatus, the Road Hammers mounted a successful comeback with their third album, 2014's Wheels. Its two standout hits, "Mud" and "Get On Down the Road," charted on both the Canadian country and pop charts, reestablishing them in the mainstream. Fourth album, 2017's The Squeeze, featured the country Top Ten hit "Crazy About You" along with standouts like "Your Love Is the Drug" and "One Horse Town," the latter featuring Tim Hicks. They ended their second decade with the one-off "Zamboni."

The Road Hammers returned to business with a 2021 EP, Back at It, then returned again in 2025 with "Dirty Hands, Clean Money." Meanwhile, Jason McCoy was inducted to the CCMA Hall of Fame in 2023. ~ Timothy Monger