Trucker Hurst shifts into overdrive in song quest

UTOPIA, ONT. – – Derek Hurst, an owner-operator in this central Ontario village with the perfect name, is determined to have the talented singer-songwriter Jully Black compose a piece about a very special piece of road.

            It’s a road that every trucker takes, and Hurst thinks it should be immortalized in verse. But, he says, he needs your help.

            All it’ll take is a moment of your time, a few clicks of the mouse, and you, too can help immortalize that stretch of highway that every driver loves most.

            The backstory: CBC Radio is conducting a contest called Sonquest 

            The broadcaster has asked Canadians to nominate their favorite stretch of road, and then listeners are supposed to check out the nominated roads at Sonquest  and vote for the ones that sound most appealing.

            One piece of road will be chosen from each province and territory. Then the CBC will commission an accomplished composer to write about the winning roads.

            Jully Black will do Ontario.

            The contest has been running for a month now, and voting closes October 1. There’ve been hundreds of entries but they’ve selected the top five finalists in each province and Hurst’s Road has made it to the home stretch.

            “I was thrilled to have it get this far,” Hurst tells www.todaystrucking.com. “I like the idea that I’m doing this on behalf of all truckers.”

            If you haven’t guessed by now what stretch of road Hurst is talking about, he’s suggesting Essa Road 20, from Simcoe Road 56 to the Nottawasaga Road.  You might not have driven that specific stretch, buut for Hurst, it’s the one that, after too many days on the road, gets him home.

            See? We knew you could relate.

            So between now and Wednesday of next week, once a day, go to Sonquest and vote for the Essa Road 20.            

            Winners will be announced October 22. CBC will be producing an album of all the winning songs, and there’ll be a special concert in Toronto in late October.

            Need more inspiration? Here’s Hurst’s personal pitch, the one he used when the CBC interviewed him about his road. 

            Besides Hurst’s, there were seven other driver nominations from across Canada; all of them evocative and worthy in their own right. They simply didn’t make the finals. But they should have.

Hear here!