Английская Википедия:Freight Train Blues
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Distinguish Шаблон:Infobox song "Freight Train Blues" is an early American hillbilly-style country music song written by John Lair. He wrote it for Red Foley, who recorded the song with the title "I Got the Freight Train Blues" in 1934. The tune was subsequently recorded by several musicians, with popular renditions by Roy Acuff in 1936 and 1947. Bob Dylan later adapted it for his self-titled debut album (1962).
Composition and recording
John Lair was a Kentucky native, who had a long career in the music industry.[1] He was a prolific songwriter and was responsible for about 500 compositions.Шаблон:Sfn In an interview, he explained that he wrote the song "in memory of the sound of the train that punctuated his youth in the southern United States".Шаблон:Sfn His lyrics include: Шаблон:Poemquote Lair wrote the song for fellow Kentuckian Red Foley, who recorded it in Chicago around March 21, 1934.Шаблон:Sfn Foley was backed by the Cumberland Ridge Runners, a string band which included Lair and others who played a variety of instruments, such as fiddle, dulcimer, banjo, and mandolin.Шаблон:Sfn
In 1934, Foley's recording was issued by several American Record Corporation (ARC) labels, including Banner, Conqueror, Perfect, Melotone, Romeo, and Oriole.Шаблон:Sfn The 78 rpm record was released before music publications such as Billboard tracked sales of hillbilly or country singles. The song is included on Foley anthologies, such as Old Shep: The Red Foley Recordings 1933–1950 (Bear Family Records, 2006).[2]
Roy Acuff renditions
Шаблон:Infobox song Roy Acuff recorded his first version of "Freight Train Blues" in Chicago on October 21, 1936, with his group, billed as "Roy Acuff and His Crazy Tennesseeans".Шаблон:Sfn Group harmonica player Sam "Dynamite" Hatcher, who "prefer[red] blues-tinged numbers",Шаблон:Sfn provided the vocal, while Acuff added the simulated train whistle.Шаблон:Sfn Dobro player Clell Summey performed the slide guitar fills that run throughout the song.Шаблон:Sfn
Vocalion Records issued it as a single in December 1938, with "Wabash Cannon Ball" as the flip-side.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn However, only "Wabash Cannon Ball" is included in BillboardШаблон:'s listings of "American Folk Tunes", where it appeared at least 25 times between 1939 and 1943.Шаблон:Sfn
The popularity of the record led Columbia Records to arrange for Acuff record another version.Шаблон:Sfn The session took place in Hollywood, California, in January 1947, with Acuff's backing band, the Smoky Mountain Boys.Шаблон:Sfn This time, Acuff provided his own vocal and modified the lyrics, including reordering the first verse:Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Poemquote Notation for the 1947 version shows a key of C major with a "shuffle" tempo of 160 beats per minute in common or 4/4 time.Шаблон:Sfn Acuff's vocal on the chorus shifts between his normal range and a falsetto.Шаблон:Sfn Although his voice lowered over the years and prompted him to forgo some tunes in his repertoire, he continued to perform "Freight Train Blues" and could "even do a Jimmie Rodgers type yodel".Шаблон:Sfn
Columbia released the single in 1947, again with "Wabash Cannon Ball" (also re-recorded) as the single's flip side.Шаблон:Sfn In October 1947, Columbia packaged four of Acuff's 78s (eight songs) together as an early album, with the title Songs of the Smoky Mountains.Шаблон:Sfn "Freight Train Blues" appears on several Acuff anthologies, including the Columbia albums Greatest Hits (1970)[3] and The Essential Roy Acuff: 1936–1949 (1992).[4]
Bob Dylan version
"Freight Train Blues" was the last song Bob Dylan recorded to appear on his debut album, Bob Dylan (1962).Шаблон:Sfn The recording session took place at Columbia's studios in New York City on November 22, 1961.Шаблон:Sfn The album notes indicate that the song "was adapted from an old disk by Roy Acuff".Шаблон:Sfn However, unlike Acuff's or Foley's renditions, Dylan performs it as a solo piece, with his vocal accompanied by guitar and harmonica.Шаблон:Sfn He also plays the song at a unusually fast tempo for a folk song,Шаблон:Sfn which several biographers have commented on:
- "This old Roy Acuff number is one of the funniest early Dylan songs. Not only is the song taken at a breakneck tempo, it also features Dylan's longest recorded note—over 25 seconds!"Шаблон:Sfn
- "His vocal performance, although marked with some ironies, barely follows the tempo on the upper parts. Bob is on the verge of derailing. Strange for a song called 'Freight Train Blues'!"Шаблон:Sfn
- "'Freight Train Blues' was played so fast that the articulation of the words seems impossible and the long, long, long enunciation of the oooooo in the chorus is as haunting as a train whistle crossing North Dakota."Шаблон:Sfn
- "'Freight Train Blues' [and two other songs on his debut album] are remarkable for their frantic pacing, along with their blues-based vocal stylings."Шаблон:Sfn
Dylan also added some new lyrics and at various times, Columbia has listed the song as being in the "public domain"Шаблон:Sfn or "arranged by B. Dylan".[5] However, author Todd Harvey has identified John Lair's 1930s composition as the base for the songs "most commonly performed by folk revivalists and country musicians".Шаблон:Sfn
Footnotes
References
Bibliography
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite book
- Шаблон:Cite encyclopedia
- Шаблон:Cite AV media notes
- Шаблон:Cite book
