"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a 1941 song written by
Mack Gordon and composed by
Harry Warren
Harry Warren (born Salvatore Antonio Guaragna; December 24, 1893 – September 22, 1981) was an American composer and the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song ...
. It was originally recorded as a
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...
/
swing
Swing or swinging may refer to:
Apparatus
* Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth
* Pendulum, an object that swings
* Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus
* Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse
* Swing ri ...
tune by
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American Swing music, swing big band, dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became th ...
and featured in the
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar E ...
movie ''
Sun Valley Serenade''. It was the first song to receive a
gold record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
, presented by
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in 1942, for sales of 1.2 million copies.
Background
The song was an extended production number in the 20th Century Fox film ''
Sun Valley Serenade''. The
Glenn Miller
Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the US Army Air Forc ...
recording,
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
Bluebird B-11230-B, became the No. 1 song across the United States on
December 7, 1941, and remained at No. 1 for nine weeks on the ''Billboard Best Sellers'' chart.
The flip side of the single was "
I Know Why (And So Do You)", which was the A side.
The song opens up with the band, sounding like a train rolling out of the station, complete with the trumpets and trombones imitating a train whistle, before the instrumental portion comes in playing two parts of the main melody. This is followed by the vocal introduction of four lines before the main part of the song is heard.
The main song opens with a dialog between a passenger and a
shoeshine boy:
:"Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?"
:"Yes, yes, Track 29!"
:"Boy, you can give me a shine."
:"Can you afford to board the Chattanooga Choo Choo?"
:"I've got my fare, and just a trifle to spare."
[
The singer describes the train's route, originating from Pennsylvania Station in New York and running through ]Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
to North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
before reaching Chattanooga. He mentions a woman he knew from an earlier time in his life, who will be waiting for him at the station and with whom he plans to settle down for good. After the entire song is sung, the band plays two parts of the main melody as an instrumental, with the instruments imitating the "WHOO WHOO" of the train as the song ends.
The 78-rpm was recorded on May 7, 1941, for RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
's Bluebird label and became the first to be certified a gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
disc on February 10, 1942, for 1,200,000 sales. The transcription of this award ceremony can be heard on the first of three volumes of RCA's "Legendary Performer" compilations released by RCA in the 1970s. In the early 1990s a two-channel recording of a portion of the '' Sun Valley Serenade'' soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...
was discovered, allowing reconstruction of a true-stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
version of the film performance.
The composition was nominated for an Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
in 1941 for Best Song from a movie. The song achieved its success that year even though it could not be heard on network radio for much of 1941 due to the ASCAP boycott.
In 1996, the 1941 recording of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame
The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...
.
Inspiration
The song was written by the team of Mack Gordon and Harry Warren, allegedly while traveling on the Southern Railway's ''Birmingham Special
The ''Birmingham Special'' was a passenger train operated by the Southern Railway, Norfolk and Western Railway, and Pennsylvania Railroad in the southeastern United States. The train began service in 1909 and continued, with alterations, after A ...
'' train. This was one of three trains operating from New York City via Chattanooga. The '' Tennessean'' continued to Memphis while the ''Pelican
Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...
'' continued to New Orleans via Birmingham. The Southern Railway operated these trains in cooperation with the Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precis ...
and the Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
.
Details in the song do not align with ''The Birmingham Special'', however, which suggests that the writers took some artistic license. Specifically:
* The train is described as departing from Track 29 in Pennsylvania Station. At the time, the facility only had 21 tracks.
* "You leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four", but ''The Birmingham Special'' departed at 12:30 p.m.
* "Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer than to have your ham 'n' eggs in Carolina", but none of these three trains passed through the Carolinas. They passed through western Virginia directly to East Tennessee.
Personnel
On the May 7, 1941 original recording by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra in Hollywood on RCA Bluebird, the featured singer was Tex Beneke
Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. H ...
, who was accompanied by Paula Kelly, the Modernaires (vocals), Billy May
Edward William May Jr. (November 10, 1916 – January 22, 2004) was an American composer, arranger and trumpeter. He composed film and television music for ''The Green Hornet'' (1966), ''The Mod Squad'' (1968), '' Batman'' (with ''Batgirl'' them ...
, John Best, Ray Anthony, R. D. McMickle (trumpet), Glenn Miller, Jim Priddy, Paul Tanner, Frank D'Annolfo (trombone), Hal McIntyre
Hal McIntyre (born Harold William McIntyre; November 29, 1914, Cromwell, Connecticut – May 5, 1959 Los Angeles, California) was an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and bandleader.
McIntyre played extensively as a teenager and led his ow ...
, Wilbur Schwartz
Wilbur Schwartz (17 March 1918 Newark, New Jersey – 3 August 1990 Los Angeles) was an American clarinetist, alto saxophonist, and dance band arranger who was widely known as a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
He is a Native American, and h ...
(clarinet, alto saxophone), Tex Beneke
Gordon Lee "Tex" Beneke ( ; February 12, 1914 – May 30, 2000) was an American saxophonist, singer, and bandleader. His career is a history of associations with bandleader Glenn Miller and former musicians and singers who worked with Miller. H ...
, Al Klink (tenor saxophone), Ernie Caceres (baritone saxophone), Chummy MacGregor (piano), Jack Lathrop (guitar), Trigger Alpert
Herman "Trigger" Alpert (September 3, 1916 – December 21, 2013) was an American jazz bassist from Indianapolis, Indiana.
Music career
A native of Indianapolis, Alpert attended Indiana University, where he studied music. Soon after, he played ...
(bass), and Maurice Purtill (drums). The arrangement was by Jerry Gray.
Cover versions
The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including Taco
A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillin ...
, Beegie Adair
Bobbe Gorin "Beegie" Adair ( Long, December 11, 1937 – January 23, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. In a career that spanned 60 years, she played on more than 100 recordings. More than a third of her recordings were with the B ...
, the Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...
, Ray Anthony, Asleep at the Wheel
Asleep at the Wheel is an American Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted more t ...
, BBC Big Band, George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...
, John Bunch
John Bunch (December 1, 1921 – March 30, 2010) was an American jazz pianist.
Early life
Born and raised in Tipton, Indiana, a small farming community, Bunch studied piano with George Johnson, a Hoosier jazz pianist. By the age of 14, he ...
, Caravelli, Regina Carter, Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
, Harry Connick Jr., Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916 in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United St ...
, John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
, Ernie Fields, Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fi ...
and Marc Fosset, John Hammond Jr., the Harmonizing Four, Harmony Grass, Ted Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...
, Betty Johnson
Betty Johnson (March 16, 1929 – November 6, 2022) was an American traditional pop and cabaret singer who reached her career peak in the 1950s.
Biography
Johnson was born in Guilford County, North Carolina on March 16, 1929.
Johnson's professio ...
, Susannah McCorkle, Ray McKinley, Big Miller
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...
, the Muppets
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...
, Richard Perlmutter, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
, Spike Robinson
Henry Bertholf "Spike" Robinson (January 16, 1930 – October 29, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, recording on several labels, including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and ...
, Harry Roy
Harry Roy (12 January 1900 – 1 February 1971) was a British dance band leader and clarinet player from the 1920s to the 1960s. He performed several songs with suggestive lyrics, including " My Girl's Pussy" (1931), and "She Had to Go and Lose I ...
, Jan Savitt
Jan Savitt (born Jacob Savetnick; September 4, 1907 – October 4, 1948), known as "The Stokowski of Swing", from having played violin in Leopold Stokowski's orchestra, was an American bandleader, musical arranger, and violinist.
Early life and ...
, Hank Snow
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...
, Teddy Stauffer
Ernst Heinrich "Teddy" Stauffer (2 May 1909 – 27 August 1991) was a Swiss bandleader, musician, actor, nightclub owner, and restaurateur. He was dubbed Germany's " swing-king" of the 1930s. He formed the band known as the Teddies (also know ...
, Dave Taylor, Claude Thornhill
Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You".
Early years
Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill ...
, the Tornados
The Tornados (The Tornadoes in North America) were an English instrumental rock group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits ...
, Vox and Guy Van Duser.
Other notable performances include:
* Cab Calloway
Cabell Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, conductor and dancer. He was associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he was a regular performer and became a popular vocalist ...
and His Orchestra recorded a cover version of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" for Conqueror Records
Conqueror Records was a United States-based record label, active from 1928 through 1942. The label was sold exclusively through Sears, Roebuck and Company.
History
Conqueror was originally owned by the Plaza Music Company, then became part of ...
in 1941.
* Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The B ...
recorded a cover on July 25, 1942, and sang it in the movie ''Springtime in the Rockies
''Springtime in the Rockies'' is an American Technicolor musical comedy film released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1942. It stars Betty Grable, with support from John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Ho ...
''.
* Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
released a cover of "Chattanooga Choo Choo" as a 45 single on Essex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1951 by Dave Miller (producer), David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and Gospel music, gospel. Jack Howard was the promot ...
in 1954.
* Pianist Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American pianist who became famous for his use of melodic "half step" attacks. He was inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His signature ...
recorded a single version on RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
in 1962.
* UK instrumental group the Shadows
The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...
recorded a version of the song for their album ''Dance with the Shadows
''Dance with The Shadows'' is a 1964 rock album by British instrumental (and sometimes vocal) group The Shadows. It was their third album. It reached number 2 in the album charts. The album was also released as a double-album with ''The Sound o ...
'' which reached number two in the UK album charts in 1964.
* The American musical group Harpers Bizarre
Harpers Bizarre was an American sunshine pop band of the 1960s, best known for their Broadway/sunshine pop sound and their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)."
Career
Harpers Bizarre was formed out of th ...
released a cover version of the song, which reached No. 45 on the U.S. pop chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include rec ...
and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart
The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...
in 1968.
* An instrumental version of the theme was released 1975 in Germany under the name "Maddox", produced by Dicky Tarrach.
* In the 1974 film ''Young Frankenstein
''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...
'', when Dr. Frederick Frankenstein asks a local boy for directions to the Transylvania Station, their dialogue closely follows a lyric from the song.
* In 1978, the studio group Tuxedo Junction recorded a disco version that hit the American Top 40; it peaked at No. 32 Pop and No. 18 on the Easy Listening chart.
* Haruomi Hosono
, sometimes credited as Harry Hosono, is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians in Japanese pop music history, credited with shaping the sound of Japanese pop for ...
released a half-Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, half-Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
cover of the song (based on Carmen Miranda's interpretation) as the opening track on his 1975 album ''Tropical Dandy''.
* In the 1970s, the tune was used in the UK on an advertisement for Toffee Crisp
Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee is ...
candy bars, starting with "Pardon me, boy, is that a Toffee Crisp you chew chew," and ending with the punch line "Chew chew Toffee crisp, and you'll go far."
* A cover by Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums was featured in the 2005 film ''Be Cool
''Be Cool'' is a 2005 American crime- comedy film based on Elmore Leonard's 1999 novel of the same name and the sequel to Leonard's 1990 novel ''Get Shorty'' (itself adapted into a 1995 film of the same name) about mobster Chili Palmer's entra ...
''.
* The song's intro was sampled by That Handsome Devil
That Handsome Devil, often shortened to THD, is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, by way of Boston, Massachusetts.
The band mixes genres such as rock, funk, jazz, jive, blues, surf, rhythm and blues, reggae, rockabilly, rap, ...
in their song "Damn Door" for their 2008 debut album ''A City Dressed in Dynamite
''A City Dressed in Dynamite'' is the debut album by That Handsome Devil, released in 2008. It was recorded at Cybersound Studios in Boston, Massachusetts. The songs featured on the album are darker in tone and content than those on the band's de ...
''.
* Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...
recorded a version on the ''Singin' With the Big Bands'' album, 1994.
* A modern interpretation of the song was recorded by Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert (born March 31, 1935) is an American trumpeter who led the band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s. During the same decade, he co-founded A&M Records with Jerry Moss. Alpert has recorded 28 albums that have landed on the ...
for his ''In the Mood'' album of 2014.
German and Dutch versions
*The tune was adopted twice for German songs. Both songs deal with trains, and both songs start with (different) translations of "pardon me". The first was created and performed in 1947 by the German pop singer Bully Buhlan (''Zug nach Kötzschenbroda''). The lyrics are humorously describing the bother of a train ride out of post-war Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
: no guarantee to arrive at a destination due to coal shortage, passengers traveling on coach buffers, steps and roofs, and never-ending trip interruptions including a night stop for delousing.
*The second, ''Sonderzug nach Pankow
"Sonderzug nach Pankow" (, ''Special Train to Pankow'') is a song by the German rock singer Udo Lindenberg, released as a single on 2 February 1983. It was a reaction to the refusal of the West German singer's wish to perform a concert in East G ...
'', created by the German rock musician Udo Lindenberg
Udo Lindenberg (born 17 May 1946) is a German singer, drummer, and composer.
Career
Lindenberg started his musical career as a drummer. In 1969, he founded his first band Free Orbit, and also appeared as a studio and guest musician (with Micha ...
in 1983 became very popular and had various political implications. Lindenberg was a West German
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
singer and songwriter with a suitable fan community in East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
. He had applied for years to tour the GDR but was rejected several times. The 1983 cover version of Chattanooga Choo Choo was directly asking the GDR's Chairman of the Council of State Erich Honecker
Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
for permission to hold a concert in the Palace of the Republic (Berlin)
The Palace of the Republic (german: link=no, Palast der Republik) was a building in Berlin that hosted the ''Volkskammer'', the parliament of East Germany, from 1976 to 1990.
The Palace of the Republic, also known as the "People's Palace", was ...
. The song was released on February 2, 1983, and was repeatedly featured in the West as well in the East. The song itself and the Glenn Miller original were temporarily interdicted in the GDR.
Nevertheless, Lindenberg finally succeeded in getting an invitation to the GDR rock festival Rock for Peace on October 25, 1983, on the condition that Lindenberg would not play ''Sonderzug nach Pankow'' at the concert. Honecker, a former brass band drummer of Rotfrontkämpferbund, and Lindenberg exchanged presents in form of a leather jacket and a metal shawm
The shawm () is a Bore_(wind_instruments)#Conical_bore, conical bore, double-reed woodwind instrument made in Europe from the 12th century to the present day. It achieved its peak of popularity during the medieval and Renaissance periods, after ...
in 1987. Lindenberg's success at passing the Inner German border
The inner German border (german: Innerdeutsche Grenze or ; initially also ) was the border between the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) from 1949 to 1990. Not including the ...
peacefully with a humorous song gave him celebrity status as well as a positive political acknowledgement in both West and East Germany.
*Lindenberg's version was adapted by Dutch singer Willem Duyn
Wilhelmus Jacobus Duyn (31 March 1937 – 4 December 2004) was a Dutch singer, actor, entertainer and voice over artist. Under the stage name Big Mouth he was co-vocalist of the Dutch pop music duos Mouth & MacNeal (1971–1974) and Big Mouth & ...
as ''Ik Neem De Eerste Trein Naar Zandvoort'' (free translation; "I'll Take The Morning train to Zandvoort
Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...
") who made it a summer-hit in 1983. In the lyrics Duyn chronicles chaos and mayhem on the morning seaside-train.
Italian versions
*There is an Italian version sung by Domenico Loreti entitled ''Il treno della neve'' (The Snow Train) and one by Sorelle Marinetti
Sorelle Marinetti (''the Marinetti sisters'') is the name of an Italian swing singer trio (music), trio starring three males singers in Travesti (theatre), travesti fashion. Their names are Turbina, Elica and Scintilla Marinetti (respectively Nico ...
included in the 2010 album ''Signorine novecento'', (Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, 5051865974321).
Finnish version
*A Finnish song based upon the Chattanooga Choo Choo was made in 1963 about "Ukko Pekka", one of Finland's most famous locomotives. It was sung by Finnish band Eero Ja Jussi & The Boys.
Wartime release
In October 1944, a new recording by Captain Glenn Miller and the Army Air Forces Training Command Orchestra featuring Sgt. Ray McKinley and the Crew Chiefs on vocals was released as a V-Disc
V-Disc ( "V" for Victory) was a record label that was formed in 1943 to provide records for U.S. military personnel. Captain Robert Vincent supervised the label from the Special Services division.
Many popular singers, big bands, and orches ...
by the U.S. War Department, one of a series of recordings sent free by the U.S. War Department to overseas military personnel during World War II.
Legacy and popular culture
Today, trains have a pride of place in Chattanooga's former Terminal Station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...
. Once owned and operated by the Southern Railway, the station was saved from demolition after the withdrawal of passenger rail
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
service in the early 1970s, and it is now part of a 30-acre (12-hectare) resort complex, including the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, and numerous historical railway exhibits. Hotel guests can stay in half of a restored passenger railway car. Dining at the complex includes the Gardens restaurant in the Terminal Station itself, The Station House (which is housed in a former baggage storage room and known for its singing waitstaff) and the "Dinner in the Diner" which is housed in a restored 1941 Class A dining car
A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant.
It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...
. The music venue "Track29" is also on the grounds of the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel in the building that formerly housed the city's only ice rink at the back of the property. The city's other historic station, Union Station, parts of which predated the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, was demolished in 1973; the site is now an office building formerly housing the corporate offices of the Krystal
Krystal may refer to:
People
* Krystal Ann Simpson (born 1982), American poet, fashion blogger, DJ, reality television personality, and musician
* Krystal Ball (born 1981), American political commentator
* Krystal Barter, Australian activi ...
restaurant chain (the restaurant chain offices have since relocated to Atlanta, Georgia). In addition to the railroad exhibits at "the Choo Choo", there are further exhibits at Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was founded as a chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1960 by Paul H. Merriman an ...
, in east Chattanooga.
The reputation given to the city by the song also has lent itself to making Chattanooga the home of the National Model Railroad Association
The National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) is a non-profit organization for those involved in the hobby or business of model railroading. It was founded in the United States in 1935, and is also active in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom ...
since 1982. In addition, the athletic mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...
was, for a time, a rather menacing-looking anthropomorphized mockingbird
Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the family Mimidae. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession. ...
named Scrappy
Scrappy is a cartoon character created by Dick Huemer for Charles Mintz's Screen Gems Studio (distributed by Columbia Pictures). A little round-headed boy, Scrappy often found himself involved in off-beat neighborhood adventures. Usually paired ...
, who was dressed as a railroad engineer and was sometimes depicted at the throttle of a steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
.
Choo Choo VORTAC, a radio aid to navigation, is sited near Chattanooga at .
Referenced in Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
episode road to Europe.
See also
*List of train songs
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
*List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1968 (U.S.)
Adult Contemporary (chart), Adult Contemporary is a record chart, chart published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1968, 13 songs topped ...
References
{{authority control
1941 songs
1941 singles
Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
Glenn Miller songs
Carmen Miranda songs
The Andrews Sisters songs
Bill Haley songs
Harry Connick Jr. songs
Floyd Cramer songs
Songs with lyrics by Mack Gordon
Songs with music by Harry Warren
Songs about Chattanooga, Tennessee
Songs about trains
Songs written for films
Songs about cities in the United States
Songs about New York City
Songs about Tennessee
Bluebird Records singles
it:I Know Why/Chattanooga Choo Choo#Chattanooga Choo Choo