Take me right back to the track, Jack.
October 23, 2023 8:06 PM Subscribe
Please enjoy Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five performing two songs about trains: 1. Choo Choo Ch'Boogie - 1946 (recorded live); 2. Texas and Pacific - 1947 (recorded live)
Who's the greatest band around?
Makes the cats jump up and down.
Who's the talk of rhythm town?
When they start to beat it out,
Everybody jump and shout..
Tell me, who do the critics rave about?
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:17 PM on October 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Makes the cats jump up and down.
Who's the talk of rhythm town?
When they start to beat it out,
Everybody jump and shout..
Tell me, who do the critics rave about?
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:17 PM on October 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Looks like a train of, er, train posts!
posted by JHarris at 9:24 PM on October 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 9:24 PM on October 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Love love love love love Louis Jordan!!!
See the old smoke risin' round the bend
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend
Folks around these parts get the time of day
From the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe
posted by panama joe at 11:55 PM on October 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
See the old smoke risin' round the bend
I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend
Folks around these parts get the time of day
From the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe
posted by panama joe at 11:55 PM on October 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Would also recommend Bob Dylan - Theme Time Radio: Trains and of course Bob Dylan - Theme time Radio - More Trains. Lots of stuff from the Louis Jordan era.
(British trains get comparatively overlooked in songwriting - to compensate I'm going to suggest "The Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.)
posted by rongorongo at 1:14 AM on October 24, 2023
(British trains get comparatively overlooked in songwriting - to compensate I'm going to suggest "The Slow Train" by Flanders and Swann.)
posted by rongorongo at 1:14 AM on October 24, 2023
He had a great voice too. "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"
posted by DJZouke at 5:17 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by DJZouke at 5:17 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
My faves Manhattan Transfer performing Choo Choo Ch'Boogie Live at the Ryman
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 7:59 AM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 7:59 AM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I see your ManTran and raise you Asleep at the Wheel doing "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie."
posted by the sobsister at 8:25 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 8:25 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Separately, Louis Jordan is an under-acknowledged wellspring of rock'n'roll. Chuck Berry was an acolyte, by all accounts, and he, erm, borrowed Jordan guitarist Carl Hogan's intro to "Ain't That Just Like a Woman" for a little tune of his own.
posted by the sobsister at 8:38 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by the sobsister at 8:38 AM on October 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Train song that's deserving to be included here as well:
The Rock Island Line
Original recording:
Kelly Lomax with the assistance of Lead Belly first recorded in the 1930s - this version is sung by prison inmates.
Lead Belly re-recorded it himself with the modern lyrics in the late 1930s.
Johnny Horton was one of many artists who turned it into a country staple in the 1950s. Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash also released versions.
Lonnie Donegan was a British skiffle artist who took this song to #1 in the UK in 1956, and skiffle was a big influence on The Beatles.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:39 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Rock Island Line
Original recording:
Kelly Lomax with the assistance of Lead Belly first recorded in the 1930s - this version is sung by prison inmates.
Lead Belly re-recorded it himself with the modern lyrics in the late 1930s.
Johnny Horton was one of many artists who turned it into a country staple in the 1950s. Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash also released versions.
Lonnie Donegan was a British skiffle artist who took this song to #1 in the UK in 1956, and skiffle was a big influence on The Beatles.
posted by The_Vegetables at 12:39 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Beans and Cornbread...they go hand in hand!!
posted by storybored at 7:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by storybored at 7:05 PM on October 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
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posted by drewbage1847 at 8:44 PM on October 23, 2023 [2 favorites]