Little-known movie showcased Overdrive founder’s Hollywood, Nashville forays

Overdrive Radio

Go way back in Overdrive’s 60-year history and you’ll find more than a little dabbling in the bright lights of Hollywood and the country music scene of the ‘60s and ‘70s. It didn’t hurt that the Overdrive office was in the entertainment mecca of the Los Angeles area, but what really drove the connections was Overdrive’s founder and editor, former independent trucker Mike Parkhurst. Many of those associated with the magazine’s early years have passed on, including Parkhurst, who died in 2014. One of the key players during about half of Parkhurst’s 25-year ownership of Overdrive was Roger Galloway. Now 77, Galloway is communications director for Mohave County, Arizona. “My Overdrive days were from 1970-'86, with the exception of 1979-'81, when I produced national TV specials,” said Galloway. Some of them focused on country music stars, such as “Great Ladies of Country” and “Tribute to Kitty Wells.” They were not tied to Overdrive, though Galloway’s first TV special, “Truckin’ in Nashville,” was produced in 1979 outside a Nashville, Tennessee, truck stop. Galloway was also involved the in the late 1960s/early 1970s off-and-on-again filming of Parkhurst's own "Moonfire" feature-length film, which you can also read more about via this link: https://www.overdriveonline.com/15066080 Hear more in this Overdrive Radio special edition, part our 60th-anniversary series of lookbacks on trucking, and Overdrive's own, history: http://overdriveonline.com/trucking-history