Tag: Billboard

I’ll Meet You at the Station

May 25, 2020 / C R Burgan

“Take the last train to Clarksville
And I’ll meet you at the station
You can be there by 4:30
‘Cause I’ve made your reservation
Don’t be slow
Oh, no, no, no . . .” – Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart) © Sony/ATV Music

Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, with an estimated population of 153,205 in 2017. The city was founded in 1785, incorporated in 1807, and named for General George Rogers Clark, frontier fighter and Revolutionary War hero, and brother of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Clarksville was designated as a town to be settled by soldiers from the disbanded Continental Army that served under General Washington during the Revolutionary War. At the end of the war, with the federal government lacking sufficient funds to repay the soldiers, the Legislature of North Carolina, designated the lands to the west of the state line as federal lands that could be used in the land grant program. As the area of Clarksville had been surveyed and sectioned into plots, the land was available to be settled by the families of eligible soldiers as repayment for service to their country.

Since its inception, the city of Clarksville has had close ties to the military. The city was developed by former Revolutionary War soldiers; during the Civil War a large number of its male population was depleted due to Union Army victories, with many Clarksville men interned at Union prisoner of war camps; Clarksville lost many men in World War I, and World War II saw the formation of Camp Campbell, later Fort Campbell, not far from the city center.

“’Cause I’m leaving in the morning
And I must see you again
We’ll have one more night together
‘Til the morning brings my train
And I must go
Oh, no, no, no . . .” – Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart)

Fort Campbell is a United States Army base that spans the Kentucky–Tennessee state line. It is located approximately 10 miles from the city center of Clarksville. Though the installation’s post office is in Kentucky, most of its acreage lies in Tennessee. The fort is named in honor of Union Army Brigadier General William Bowen Campbell, a former governor of Tennessee, and is home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.

The site for Fort Campbell was selected in July of 1941, with the initial survey completed in November of that same year, about the same time the Japanese Imperial Fleet was leaving Japanese home waters for the attack on Pearl Harbor. Soldiers from Fort Campbell, Kentucky have deployed in every military campaign since the formation of the post.

The first 4,000 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division arrived in Vietnam in July of 1965, landing at Cam Ranh Bay. Immediately after their arrival, they made a demonstration jump which was observed by Geneneral William Westmoreland and outgoing Ambassador (formerly General) Maxwell Taylor. Taylor and Westmoreland were both former commanders of the division, which was known as the “Screaming Eagles.” The remainder of the 101st would soon be deployed to Vietnam from Fort Campbell.

101st Airborne Division, “Screaming Eagles”

In May of 1966, due to the escalation of action in Vietnam, a Basic Combat Training Center was activated at Fort Campbell. Just weeks later the base received its first 220 newly inducted soldiers.

Side note #1:

In 1961, after a run-in with the law over stolen cars, young James Marshall Hendrix was given the choice to spend two years in prison or join the army. Choosing the army, Pvt. Hendrix was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division and was stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It was not long before Jimi proved himself wholly unsuited for military life, and although he had signed up for three years, Captain Gilbert Batchman had had enough after one year, and made the case for Hendrix to be discharged, as his problems were judged to not be treatable by “hospitalization or counseling.”

Pvt James Hendrix @ Ft. Campbell
Pvt Hendrix

“Take the last train to Clarksville
I’ll be waiting at the station
We’ll have time for coffee–flavored kisses
And a bit of conversation, oh
Oh, no, no, no . . .” – Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart)

As early as 1962, filmmaker Bob Rafelson had developed the idea for The Monkees, but was unable to sell the series. Later he teamed-up with Bert Schneider, whose father was the head of Screen Gems, the television unit of Columbia Pictures, and after seeing the success of The Beatles’ film, A Hard Day’s Night, the pair revived Rafelson’s idea of a show built around an aspiring rock band, and were successful in selling the series to Screen Gems Television.

Rafelson and Schneider’s original idea was to cast an existing New York folk rock group, The Lovin’ Spoonful, who were not widely known at the time. But John Sebastian had already signed the band to a record contract, which would have left Screen Gems unable to market music from the show. The idea then shifted to having actors portray the four band members, and while each of the four actors who were chosen to portray the The Monkees had some musical experience, it would initially be left to outside songwriters and musicians to provide the show’s musical soundtrack.

With The Monkees picked up as a series, Columbia-Screen Gems and RCA Victor entered into a joint venture called Colgems Records to distribute the show’s musical releases. Don Kirshner, Screen Gems’ head of music, was contacted to secure music for the show’s pilot. Kirshner would eventually enlist the talents of Neil Diamond, John Stewart, Carole King, and the duo of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart, among others, to pen what would become the show’s familiar hits.

Neil Diamond
John Stewart
Carole King

“Take the last train to Clarksville
Now I must hang up the phone
I can’t hear you in this
Noisy railroad station
All alone, I’m feeling low
Oh, no, no, no . . .” – Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart)

“Last Train to Clarksville” was the show’s first single and first worldwide hit. The song was recorded in July of 1966, and released in August, just a few weeks prior to The Monkees September 12 broadcast debut on the NBC television network. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 in November of 1966, and would later rank #6 for the year. It was featured in seven episodes of the band’s television series, the most for any Monkees song.

Written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, the song bears a striking resemblance to The Beatles’ “Paperback Writer”, which is the song that Hart claims inspired him to write “Last Train”. Hart has stated that having turned on the radio to hear the final bars of “Paperback Writer” he believed that Paul McCartney was singing “Take the last train”. Learning that McCartney was actually singing “Paperback writer”, he decided to use the line for his own song.

Knowing that The Monkees TV series was being pitched as a music/comedy series in the spirit of The Beatles movie A Hard Day’s Night, Boyce & Hart set out to emulate the Fab Four as they recorded “Last Train to Clarksville” with their own band, Candy Store Prophets. Actor Mickey Dolenz later added his lead vocal track to the original recording.

About the title of the song Hart has explained, “We were just looking for a name that sounded good. There’s a little town in northern Arizona I used to go through in the summer on the way to Oak Creek Canyon called Clarkdale. We were throwing out names, and when we got to Clarkdale, we thought Clarksville sounded even better. We didn’t know it at the time, [but] there is an Army base near the town of Clarksville, Tennessee — which would have fit the bill fine for the storyline. We couldn’t be too direct with The Monkees. We couldn’t really make a protest song out of it — we kind of snuck it in.”

Side note #2:

In 1967, as The Monkees were about to embark on a US tour, Mickey Dolenz recommended hiring Jimi Hendrix to be their opening act, having recently witnessed his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival. Hendrix had characterized The Monkees’ music as “dishwater”, but his manager convinced him to sign on for the tour, for although he’d already had three hit singles in England, he was virtually unknown in the US. The Jimi Hendrix Experience played just eight of the 29 scheduled tour dates; then, on July 16, 1967, Jimi flipped the Forest Hills, Queens, New York, audience off, threw down his guitar and walked away from the tour.

“Take the last train to Clarksville,
And I’ll meet you at the station,
You can be here by four-thirty,
‘Cause I’ve made your reservation, don’t be slow,
Oh, no, no, no . . .

And I don’t know if I’m ever coming home” – Last Train to Clarksville (Boyce/Hart)

The 101st Airborne was the last Army division to leave Vietnam, returning to its home base of Fort Campbell, Kentucky. During the war, troopers from the 101st won 17 Medals of Honor for bravery in combat. The division suffered almost 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded in action in Vietnam, over twice as many as the 9,328 casualties it suffered in World War II.

Never Forget!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarksville,_Tennessee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Campbell

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/101st-airborne-division-arrives-in-vietnam

https://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/career-advice/military-transition/famous-veterans-jimi-hendrix.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Train_to_Clarksville

https://www.rhino.com/article/single-stories-the-monkees-last-train-to-clarksville

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/the-monkees/last-train-to-clarksville

All photos sourced through internet searches, none belong to the author.

Will I See You Tonight?

May 11, 2020 / C R Burgan

“Outside another yellow moon
Has punched a hole in the nighttime, yes
I climb through the window and down to the street
I’m shining like a new dime” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits) © Audiam, Inc

Thomas Alan Waits was born December 7, 1949, in Pomona, California. He has one older sister and one younger sister. Tom’s mother was a housewife and attended church regularly; his father taught Spanish at a local school and was an alcoholic. He spent his early life in Whittier, California, where he learned to play bugle and guitar. His father taught him to play the ukulele.

During summer school breaks young Tom would spend time with his maternal grandparents in Northern California. Later he would credit his uncle’s raspy, gravelly voice for inspiring what has become his trademark singing style.

When Tom was 10 years old, his parents separated with his father moving away from the family; his mother soon moved with the children to Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego. It was here that Tom began exploring music to a greater degree. Before long he was fronting bands, imitating the soul and R&B artists of the day, while also showing interest in country music and roots rock ‘n’ roll. Later Bob Dylan would become a big influence with Tom studying the folk icon’s lyrics by writing them on his bedroom wall.

During his high school years Tom would later describe himself as “kind of an amateur juvenile delinquent”, dabbling in “malicious mischief”. He claims he was a “rebel against the rebels”, as he could not subscribe to the philosophies of the hippie subculture that was emerging across the country. Having acquired instead an affinity for the writings of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, he felt a much stronger kinship to the Beat generation of the 1950s.

At the age of 18 Tom dropped out of high school.

“The downtown trains are full
Full of all those Brooklyn girls
They try so hard to break out of their little worlds” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits)

Waits worked for a time at Napoleone’s pizza restaurant in National City, California; a job that he referenced in his song, “I Can’t Wait to Get Off Work”, and as a solo artist he was soon playing local folk venues and coffeehouses, eventually supporting acts such as Tim Buckley, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and his friend Jack Tempchin. But knowing that playing in San Diego would only ever take him so far, he began driving up the coast to Los Angeles, to play at the Troubadour.

It was while playing at the Troubadour that Tom would first sign a publishing deal, and later would meet David Geffen, who gave Tom a contract with his Asylum Records label.

David Geffen © Joel Bernstein
Asylum Records

“Well, you wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing that will ever capture your heart
They’re just thorns without the rose
Be careful of them in the dark” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits)

The first time I saw Tom Waits perform, or ever even heard of him for that matter, was on The Mike Douglas Show. Mike Douglas was a former singer who had sung for the Kay Kyser big band during the swing era, and was also the singing voice of Prince Charming in Walt Disney’s Cinderella. He went on to host his own syndicated afternoon variety show. At its peak The Mike Douglas Show was broadcast in 171 markets, with an estimated six million viewers.

Waits appeared on Douglas’ show on November 19, 1976. His appearance was to promote his album, Small Change, which had been released several months earlier. After being introduced by the host, Waits played “Eggs & Sausage” from his previous album, Night Hawks at the Diner, accompanied by a small combo. He then took a seat next to Douglas, with additional guests Glenda Jackson and Marvin Hamlisch looking on.

After telling his guest that he “project(s) a very strange image”, Douglas asks Waits how he would describe himself. Among other things Waits offers, “I’m an unemployed service station attendant most of the time. I’m just lucky. I’m a living, breathing example of success without college, is what it boils down to.” Further along in the interview Douglas asks Waits whether he likes to be classified as a poet or singer, to which he replies, “I’m a Methodist deep down inside. It’s hard to say”.

Later in the show, Waits performs the title track from Small Change accompanied by a saxophone. If you’ve never heard this “song” I suggest you look it up. It will help you understand how jarring this performance was to my early teen Top 40 sensibilities.

“I know your window and I know it’s late
I know your stairs and your doorway
I walk down your street and past your gate
I stand by the light at the four-way” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits)

To say that Tom Waits’ voice and music are an acquired taste is probably somewhat of an understatement. Many people will never get that far. It wasn’t until more than a decade after my initial exposure that I came to appreciate his talents as a songwriter, if not as a bona vox.

Although Waits rarely gives interviews, when he does sit with a writer it’s typically questionable whether you’re getting the man or his carefully crafted shtick. Because I admire Tom Waits’ songwriting ability, I’ve always been curious how he feels about other artists recording his compositions. It’s easy to say that many of Tom’s songs would be improved when rendered by a friendlier voice, although that may seem blasphemous to Waits purists.

Surely the exposure that he has received from having his songs recorded by others has not hurt his career any. Using as an example “Ol’ ’55”, the first track from his debut album Closing Time, which was subsequently recorded by The Eagles: Waits version of his song was released as a single, but neither the song, nor the album charted; while The Eagles album On the Border, which contained their version of Waits’ song, reached #17 on the Billboard 200 chart, and was certified double platinum, with sales of 2 million units.

When asked about The Eagles recording of “Ol’ ’55” Waits commented that he was “not that particularly crazy about (their) rendition of it … I thought their version was a little antiseptic”.

Later he would remark, “I don’t like the Eagles. They’re about as exciting as watching paint dry. Their albums are good for keeping the dust off your turntable and that’s about all.”

Tom is certainly entitled to his opinion, but there is no doubt that other artists – respected by him, or otherwise – have generated a significant amount of income for the prolific songwriter.

“You watch them as the fall
Oh baby, they all have heart attacks
They stay at the carnival
But they’ll never win you back” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits)

“Downtown Train” is a song from Waits’ 1985 album release Rain Dogs. The album was written and recorded while he was making his home in NYC, and there is no denying the New York grittiness inherent in each of the album’s selections. The lyrics of the song conjure a damp, shadowy urban nightscape, punctuated by the glare and roar of a night train, where the narrator waits to have his desperate desire and longing fulfilled by a perception that may be nothing more than an implausible apparition. But still he waits and asks the same question over and over.

“Will I see you tonight
On a downtown train?
Every night it’s just the same
You leave me lonely, now” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits)

“Downtown Train” soon drew the attention of other artists. Patty Smyth was the first to record the song, releasing her version in 1987. While Tom Waits had never had one of his own recordings crack the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Smyth’s cover rose to #95. Mary Chapin Carpenter included a version on her debut album, also released in 1987.

Patty Smyth
Mary Chapin Carpenter

Rod Stewart included the song as a last minute addition to his Storyteller anthology, a 4-disc boxed set with recordings spanning his entire career to that point. Stewart’s version of “Downtown Train” reached #3 on the Hot 100, with the anthology reaching #54 on the album charts, and being certified double platinum. It was a number-one single on the album rock and adult contemporary charts, went to number one in Canada and made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Stewart received a Grammy nomination for the song in the category Best Male Pop Vocal performance.

Rod Stewart
Bob Seger

Bob Seger recorded his own version of the song in 1989, but decided against releasing it after Stewart’s version hit the market. He would later include the track on his 2011 compilation Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets.

I know that some are not necessarily fond of Rod Stewart’s cover of “Downtown Train”. It’s been criticized for being too pop; too overblown. I happen to be a fan of Rod’s version, particularly for the over-the-top production from Trevor Horn. It satisfies my pop sweet tooth, with a nod to Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” in the bridge. Being a fan of Rod’s voice, I can identify with the longing he portrays in the final chorus, as strains of the instrumental “train” fade away down the track.

But don’t let it be said that I am not a fan of Tom’s version. Nobody does stripped-down, urban angst as he does, playing the eccentric vagrant as no one can; and being a fan of film noir I love the imagery of Tom’s accompanying video (featuring a cameo from the Raging Bull himself, Jake LaMotta). The fact that other artists have covered the song with their own versions speaks to its ability to convey emotion, and being relatable to a wide and varied audience.

And there is no doubt that – good, bad, or indifferent – these various covers of Tom’s original songs have brought the song writer a considerable amount scratch!

“Will I see you tonight
On a downtown train?
All of my dreams just fall like rain
On a downtown train” – Downtown Train (Tom Waits) © Audiam, Inc

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Train

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/rod-stewart/downtown-train

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Waits

All photos sourced through internet searches, none belong to the author.

Pardon Me, Boy

April 27, 2020 / C R Burgan

“Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?
Track twenty nine, boy you can gimme a shine
I can afford to board a Chattanooga Choo Choo
I’ve got my fare and just a trifle to spare” – Chattanooga Choo Choo (Gordon/Warren) © Sony/ATV Music

The earliest inhabitants of the Chattanooga, Tennessee area were the Native Americans, with Cherokee occupation of the region dating from 1776. John Ross, who eventually became Principal Chief, established Ross’s Landing in 1816, located along what is now Broad Street. It would become a primary center for the Cherokee Nation, which extended into Georgia and Alabama.

In 1838 the U.S. government forced the Cherokee people, along with other Native American tribes, to relocate to the area designated as Indian Territory. The following year the community of Ross’s Landing would be incorporated as the city of Chattanooga.

Being ideally suited for waterborne commerce due to its situation beside the Tennessee River, the city quickly grew. When the railroad arrived in 1850, Chattanooga became a boomtown. The city’s location, where the fertile cotton growing lowlands of the Deep South meet the mountainous region of southern Appalachia, made it a natural gateway between north and south. This distinction would cause Chattanooga to see plenty of action during the American Civil War, when the city proved to be a transportation hub connecting half of the Confederacy’s arsenals.

The First Battle of Chattanooga was fought June 7-8, 1862. It was a minor artillery battle, precipitated when Maj. Gen. Ormsby M. Mitchel ordered Brig. Gen. James Negley, who commanded a small division, to lead an expedition to capture Chattanooga. The Union artillery shelled the city for a day and a half before withdrawing, and although the Confederate losses were minor, it served as a warning that the Union forces could attack deep within the enemy territory at will.

The Second Battle of Chattanooga began on August 21, 1863, when Col. John T. Wilder’s brigade marched to a location northeast of Chattanooga and ordered the 18th Indiana Light Artillery to begin shelling the town. Soldiers and civilians were caught off guard as many were in church observing a day of prayer and fasting. The shelling continued periodically over the next two weeks, allowing the Union army to surround the city to the south and west.

In the fall of that same year, Union forces withdrew to the city of Chattanooga after the Confederate victory at Chickamauga in September. The Confederate Army under Gen. Braxton Bragg quickly laid siege, cutting off the Federals’ supply lines. After being ordered by President Abraham Lincoln to end the siege at Chattanooga, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant opened the “Cracker Line” across the Tennessee River, allowing the Army of the Cumberland inside the city to be resupplied. In mid-November, Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s Army of the Tennessee arrived in the city, as well.

From November 23 to November 25, 1863, Union forces fought Confederate troops at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. The Union victories at these locations drove the rebels back into Georgia. The siege was broken, and the path clear for Gen. Sherman’s march to Atlanta, and ultimately on to Savannah. The vital railroad hub of Chattanooga was securely in Union control and would remain so for the duration of the war.

“You leave the Pennsylvania station ’bout a quarter to four
Read a magazine and then you’re in Baltimore
Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer
Than to have your ham ‘n’ eggs in Carolina” – Chattanooga Choo Choo (Gordon/Warren)

The reconstruction period following the Civil War found the city of Chattanooga retaining its prominence as a commercial hub, and as the “Gateway to the South”. The post-war decades found railroads rapidly expanding across the country, with the city of Cincinnati, Ohio, desiring a rail link to Southern cities & ports. In order to overcome legal obstacles, the Cincinnati Southern Railway was built with municipal funds and continues to be city-owned to this day, although the city leases its use to Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific Railway (CNO&TP), which is a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern.

On May 8, 1880, the first passenger train made the 337 mile trip from Cincinnati to Chattanooga, and the Chattanooga Choo Choo was born. Although the railroad never officially operated a train bearing that name, the “Choo Choo” moniker referred to a small wood burning 2-6-0 type locomotive, which was operated by the Cincinnati Southern, and is now a museum piece.

“When you hear the whistle blowin’ eight to the bar
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin’
Woo, woo, Chattanooga, there you are” – Chattanooga Choo Choo (Gordon/Warren)

The Birmingham Special was a passenger train operated jointly by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad. While making a journey upon this train, songwriters Mack Gordon & Harry Warren wrote their hit song, “Chattanooga Choo Choo”. In 1932 the Birmingham Special had been rerouted to include Chattanooga as a stop along its path from Pennsylvania Station in New York City, to Birmingham, Alabama. Although Pennsylvania Station never had a track 29, as the song states, Southern Railway designated the train as #29 in the southbound direction. Along with other references within the song’s lyrics, it’s apparent that the authors were exercising a degree of imagination & artistic license.

On May 7, 1941, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra recorded “Chattanooga Choo Choo” in Hollywood, California, as an extended production number for the 20th Century Fox film Sun Valley Serenade. Several months later it was released on RCA Victor’s Bluebird label as the B-side of a 78 rpm phonograph disc. Featuring the vocals of Tex Beneke, Paula Kelley, and the Modernaires, the song reached #1 on the Billboard Best Sellers chart on December 7, 1941, where it remained for nine weeks. In February 1942 the release was the first to be a certified gold record for sales of 1.2 million units. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for its appearance in the film. The song’s huge success was deemed to be remarkable considering the fact that due to the ASCAP boycott the song had not been heard on the radio during 1941.

In the decades following Glenn Miller’s iconic recording the song has been recorded by dozens of artists, including: Beegie Adair, the Andrews Sisters, Ray Anthony, Asleep at the Wheel, BBC Big Band, George Benson, Regina Carter, Ray Charles, Harry Connick, Jr., Ray Conniff, John Denver, Ernie Fields, Stéphane Grappelli, Susannah McCorkle, Oscar Peterson, Hank Snow, Cab Calloway, Carmen Miranda, Floyd Cramer, Bill Haley and His Comets, Barry Manilow, Herb Alpert, Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums, and The Muppets. The song has also been featured in numerous movies and TV shows.

In 1996, Glenn Miller’s original 1941 recording of “Chattanooga Choo Choo” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

As with many of the songs that I have featured in this blog I gleaned a few new details while researching this recording with which I had felt quite familiar. Learning that the song reached the #1 position on the Billboard charts on what we now call Pearl Harbor Day caused me to reflect on what it meant to folks at the time. The fact that it stayed at #1 for nine weeks tells me that the song was in some way a medicine that helped a grieving population heal from tremendous wounds.

“There’s gonna be a certain party at the station
Satin and lace, I used to call funny face
She’s gonna cry until I tell her that I’ll never roam
So Chattanooga choo choo
Won’t you choo-choo me home?” – Chattanooga Choo Choo (Gordon/Warren)

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/battle-of-chattanooga

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/chattanooga

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chattanoogahttps:

//www.nps.gov/chch/learn/historyculture/battles-for-chattanooga.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattanooga,_Tennessee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattanooga_Choo_Choo

https://www.american-rails.com/chattanooga.html

All photos sourced through internet searches, unless otherwise noted.

Good Mornin’ America

November 11, 2019 / C R Burgan

“Riding on the city of New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors, twenty-five sacks of mail” – City of New Orleans (Steve Goodman) © Sony/ATV Music

The story goes that in 1970 Arlo Guthrie was doing five shows a night at the Quiet Knight bar in Chicago when he was approached by an unknown songwriter who asked if Guthrie would listen to his songs. Guthrie replied that if the man would buy him a beer he would listen just as long as it took him to finish that beer. The song that caught his attention that night was about a train.

When Arlo admitted that he liked the tune, the author begged him to, “give that one to Johnny Cash for me.” But claiming that Cash wasn’t interested in it, Guthrie went on to record “City of New Orleans” for himself in 1972 and peaking at #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and #18 on the Hot 100 chart, it would prove to be Guthrie’s only top-40 hit.

“All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms, and fields” – City of New Orleans (Goodman)

“City Of New Orleans” was composed by Chicago singer-songwriter Steve Goodman in 1970. While traveling to visit his wife’s grandmother, he noted the things that he saw outside his carriage window, jotting down notes as his wife slept during the journey. Everything that he described in the song’s lyrics actually happened during the train ride.

City of New Orleans - Illinois Central Railroad

When he returned home he learned that the eponymous train on which he had ridden, operated by Illinois Central Railroad, was scheduled to be decommissioned due to lack of riders. Feeling encouraged to use his song in an effort to save the train, he polished the tune and recorded it for his debut album in 1971.

City of New Orleans, by Steve Goodman. Buddah Records label.

“Passin’ trains that have no names
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles” – City of New Orleans (Goodman)

City of New Orleans train route map. — City of New Orleans route

Illinois Central Railroad had begun operating the City of New Orleans in April 1947. The overnight train had the longest regularly scheduled route in the country for a time; carrying passengers from Chicago, Illinois, through the heartland of the country, and down to New Orleans, Louisiana. With declining ridership due to competition from automobile and airplane travel, the route soon went the way of so many famed lines of the 20^th Century. In May 1971, Amtrak assumed operation of US train passenger service. The City of New Orleans was then converted to a nighttime route and renamed the Panama Limited.

“Good morning America how are you?
Don’t you know me I’m your native son
I’m the train they call The City of New Orleans
I’ll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done” – City of New Orleans (Goodman)

While Goodman’s recording of his own song found moderate success, it was Guthrie’s version that popularized the refrain, “Good Morning America, how are ya?” When ABC television launched a new morning show in 1975, they called it: Good Morning America, and due to the popularity of the song during the 1970s, Amtrak chose to capitalize on the recognition, renaming the route City of New Orleans in 1981.

City of New Orleans, by Arlo Guthrie. Reprise Records label.

Steve Goodman died on September 20, 1984, at the age of 36 after a long battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Also that year Willie Nelson covered “City of New Orleans”, making it the title track of his album. Nelson’s version was a #1 Country hit and won the Grammy Award for Best Country Song. Being a songwriting category, the Grammy was posthumously awarded to Goodman.

“And the sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father’s magic carpet made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep
Rockin’ to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel” – City of New Orleans (Goodman)

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to work security at an Arlo Guthrie show being presented at Peninsula Temple Beth El, in San Mateo, California. This was a small, intimate setting for Arlo & his band, which was largely comprised of his family members. They performed within the sanctuary to a packed house. Although my main responsibility was to keep watch around the property’s perimeter, and parking area, I tried to at least be inside for a portion of the show.

Arlo Guthrie picture as an older man. — Arlo Guthrie

I couldn’t claim to have a vast knowledge of Guthrie’s music, nor had I ever seen him perform previously, but “City of New Orleans”, and specifically his recording of the song, had long been a favorite train song of mine; probably my favorite train song.

Knowing that this song would likely be performed towards the end of the show I took an opportunity to quietly steal in through a rear entrance. I couldn’t see much, but I could hear. And what I heard was rapt silence, as the singer and consummate performer held the audience in the palm of his hand. He prefaced the song he had made famous – his sole top-40 hit – by saying that he had once been admonished that every great folk singer needs a train song in his repertoire and this one he had adopted as his. The song was well received by the audience who responded with thunderous applause, as I returned to perimeter duty, having witnessed a seasoned song man & story-teller deliver a rousing rendition of a song with which he had become indelibly connected, and that he had truly made his own.

“Goodnight, America . . .

This train’s got the disappearing railroad blues” – City of New Orleans (Goodman)

City of New Orleans, by Arlo Guthrie; 45 rpm sleeve — Arlo Guthrie 45 rpm sleeve

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_New_Orleans_(song)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_New_Orleans_(train)

https://www.arloguthrie.com/about

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlo_Guthrie

http://www.stevegoodman.net/bio.html

All photos sourced through internet searches, none belong to the author

Train I Ride

October 28, 2019 / C R Burgan

“Train, train, comin’ down, down the line
Train, train, comin’ down, down the line
Well, it’s bringin’ my baby ’cause she’s mine, all mine” – Mystery Train (Herman Parker Jr. / Sam Phillips) © Sony/ATV Music

Born on his parents’ 200 acre farm near Florence, Alabama, the youngest of eight children, Sam Phillips was no stranger to hard work. Though his parents owned their farm, it was heavily mortgaged, and everyone in the family was expected to do their share to keep the enterprise solvent. It was in the fields that young Sam was first exposed to the work songs of the black laborers, leaving a lasting impression on his mind.

Music was always a part of Sam’s life. He played sousaphone, trombone and drums in high school, where he conducted the school’s marching band; yet he never imagined that music would be his vocation. He has been quoted as saying that as a youth he desired to be a criminal defense lawyer, “because I saw so many people, especially black people, railroaded”.

A defining moment in Phillip’s life came in 1939, when the family was travelling together to Dallas, and made a stop in Memphis. Arriving in the middle of the night, in a pouring rain, 16 year old Sam was able to sneak away to Beale Street, where he was captivated by the lights and music, finding the street alive with people. It was this experience that would prove to be a foreshadowing of his life’s work.

Beale Street yesterday
. . . and today

Bankrupted by the Great Depression, Sam Phillip’s father died in 1941, forcing Sam to leave school to care for his mother and aunt. He worked a succession of jobs, including as a disc jockey at radio station WLAY in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he met his future wife, Rebecca Burns. Sam married “Becky” in 1943 – a union that would produce two children – and remained married for 60 years, until his death in 2003.

The impression that Memphis had left upon Phillips as a teenager would eventually draw him and his wife to the city in the mid 1940s, where he would spend four years working as an announcer and sound engineer at radio station WREC. It was there that Sam began experimenting with microphone placement and other new recording techniques to enhance the sound of live performances that the station would record for future broadcast. This experience would prove consequential in Sam’s future recording endeavors.

On January 3, 1950, Sam Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service in a former auto repair shop located at 706 Union Ave. Getting started was a challenge for the aspiring entrepreneur, and to bring in business he was known to record conventions, weddings, choirs, funerals, or anything else that created revenue. He operated the venture with an open door policy, allowing anyone to, for a small fee, make their own record. The studio’s slogan was, “We Record Anything, Anywhere, Anytime.”

B B King
Junior Parker
Howlin’ Wolf

His willingness to work with amateurs enabled Phillips to make the first recordings of artists such as B. B. King, Junior Parker and Howlin’ Wolf. While he recorded many different styles of music, his first love was the blues. He was quoted as saying, “The blues, it got people—black and white—to think about life, how difficult, yet also how good it can be. They would sing about it; they would pray about it; they would preach about it. This is how they relieved the burden of what existed day in and day out.”

Sun Records — 706 Union Ave, Memphis, TN

At the time, recordings by black artists had only recently begun being referred to as “rhythm & blues” releases, as opposed to “race” records, and while there were some artists who were known for their ability to cross over to the pop charts, it was more common for white artists to record their own versions of black hits. Sam Phillips felt that this practice left most of the songs sounding bland and watered down.

Marion Keisker, Phillips’ receptionist stated, “Over and over I remember Sam saying, ‘If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.'” In his book, Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘N’ Roll, author Peter Gurlanick writes, “[Phillips] didn’t believe in luck necessarily, but the moon had to be in the right place, the wind had to be blowing in the right direction. . . . He just hoped he would still be in business when that day finally arrived.”

That day finally arrived for Phillips in 1953, when a young Elvis Presley – barely eighteen years old – walked through the doors of Memphis Recording Service, ready to pay his four dollars to record a song or two for his mother. Phillips saw (and heard) in Presley, exactly what he had been searching for. Elvis was listening to all the stuff that Phillips was recording: B. B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner; and he believed that with a little coaching Elvis could be that crossover artist who could bring African-American music to a white audience. Signing Elvis Presley to a recording contract for his Sun Records label, Phillips cut a number of sides for the singer during the period 1954 -55, one of those tracks being “Mystery Train”, which was originally released as the “B” side of Elvis’ version of “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”.

“Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Train I ride, sixteen coaches long
Well, that long black train got my baby and gone” – Mystery Train

Written by Junior Parker, “Mystery Train” had been recorded & produced by Sam Phillips in 1953, and released by Sun Records as a single for Little Junior’s Blue Flames. Performed by Parker in the style of a rhythm & blues number, the song featured lyrics similar to those found in the Carter Family’s “Worried Man Blues”, which was based on an old Celtic ballad.

Sam Phillips, Elvis, Marion Keisker
Sam & Elvis

Presley’s Sun Records recording of “Mystery Train” – featuring Elvis on vocals & rhythm guitar, Scotty Moore on lead guitar, and Bill Black on bass – went on to become an early rockabilly standard, with Moore claiming to have borrowed the guitar riff from Junior Parker’s “Love My Baby” (the “B” side to Parker’s recording of “Mystery Train”).

Having acquired the song with the purchase of Presley’s contract, RCA Victor re-released the recording in November of 1955, when it peaked at number 11 on Billboard’s Country Chart, making Elvis a nationally-known country music star. Now considered an “enduring classic”, the song has been ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine at #77 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time; ranked the third most acclaimed song of 1955, by Acclaimed Music; inspired Jim Jarmusch’s 1989 independent film Mystery Train, as well as Greil Marcus’ widely lauded book Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music.

Note: In 1986 Sam Phillips was part of the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was the first non-performer inducted. In 1987, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He received a Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement in 1991. In 1998, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame; in October 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; and in 2012 he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

“Train, train, comin’ ‘round the bend
Train, train, comin’ ‘round the bend
Well, it took my baby, but it never will again . . .” – Mystery Train

Sources:

https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2016/januaryfebruary/statement/the-birth-rock-%E2%80%98n%E2%80%99-roll-found-sam-phillips%E2%80%99s-sun-records

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_Train

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Phillips

All photos sourced from internet searches, none belong to the author.