NIGHT TRAIN (CD)
In the 100 year period that began in 1830, the steam locomotive was the prime
industrial force that shaped our landscape. The railroad's impact on American
music has been of equal significance, providing themes, metphors, and images
that richly invest song after song with color and meaning.
In the African-American tradition, the rhythms of the railroad - the chug
chug of the steam engine, the clickety-clack of rolling wheels, the scream
of the whistles and the screech of the brakes - are recreated time after time
in blues, jazz, boogie woogie, R & B, gospel, and soul music. Night Train,
compiled by Michael Hyatt and annotated by Norm Cohen, proudly presents some
of the best railroad songs recorded by African-Americans since 1929.
Artists on Night Train include:
- Louis Jordan
- The Delta Rhythm Boys
- Muddy Waters
- Jesse Fuller
- The Holmes Brothers
- Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir
- Little Esther & the Robins
- Henry "Ragime Texas" Thomas
- Little Junior Parker & His Blue Flames
- Bill Doggett
- Nora Lee King
- Joe Turner with Pete Johnson's Orchestra
- Sister Rosetta Tharp with Lucky Millinder's Orchestra
- Brenda Boykin with the Johnny Nocturne Band