"Honky Tonk Train Blues" is a song written by

Meade Lux Lewis Anderson Meade Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964), known as Meade Lux Lewis, was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the boogie-woogie style. His best-known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded by ...

, and first recorded in 1927. A proto

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

song, it has many of the traits that would come to be identified with

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

. It is also the first recorded use of the term "

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

" in a song.

History

The single, when first released, sold poorly, and Lux ended up working in a car wash for a living, but it was later heard by John Hammond, who found Lux and hired him to record the song again, initially releasing it in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 1937 he re-recorded it again, releasing the song in the US, where it was a hit, subsequently touring the country in a series of concerts that helped popularize boogie-woogie.

Legacy

It has gone on to be recorded in various contexts, often in 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 an ...

arrangement. Early recordings of the piece by artists other than Lewis include performances by Adrian Rollini,

Frankie Trumbauer Orie Frank Trumbauer (May 30, 1901 – June 11, 1956) was an American jazz saxophonist of the 1920s and 1930s. His main instrument was the C-melody saxophone, a now-uncommon instrument between an alto and tenor saxophone in size and pitch. He al ...

, classical harpsichordist Sylvia Marlowe, theater organist

George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...

(with drummer

Cozy Cole William Randolph "Cozy" Cole (October 17, 1909 – January 9, 1981) was an American jazz drummer who worked with Cab Calloway and Louis Armstrong among others and led his own groups. Life and career William Randolph Cole was born in East Or ...

, under the title "Organ Boogie"), and

Bob Zurke Bob Zurke (January 7, 1912 – February 16, 1944) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and briefly a bandleader during the Swing era. Biography Born Boguslaw Albert Zukowski in Hamtramck, Michigan, United States, he was already using ...

with

Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the younge ...

's orchestra. * 1935 — Albert Ammons * 1938 —

- Boogie Woogie Instrumental Featuring Bob Zurke At The Piano Honky Tonk Train : Bob Crosby and his Orchestra : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
archive.org **

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

* 1939 —

Jimmy Yancey James Edwards Yancey (February 20, c. 1895 – September 17, 1951) was an American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer described him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style". Bio ...

* 1963 —

Rob Hoeke Rob Hoeke (9 January 1939 – 6 November 1999) was a Dutch singer, pianist, composer and songwriter most famous for his renditions in the field of Boogie-woogie releasing over 20 albums. Besides that he played and recorded in a musical variety of ...

- Boogie Woogie Quartet * 1968 —

Claude Bolling Claude Bolling (10 April 1930 – 29 December 2020) was a French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor. Biography He was born in Cannes, France, and studied at the Conservatory of Nice, Nice Conservatory, and then in Paris. A c ...

* 1974 — Björn J:son Lindh * 1976 —

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

* 1997 — David Maxwell Keith Emerson often included it in his repertoire, and his recording of it was a Top 30 hit in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

References

External links

Honky Tonk Train Blues — 1929
youtube.com Rock-and-roll songs Boogie-woogie songs 1927 songs {{1920s-song-stub