"Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

, it appeared as a

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas

Cummins State Farm The Cummins Unit (formerly known as Cummins State Farm) is an Arkansas Department of Corrections prison in unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region. It is located along U.S. Route 65, near Grady, Go ...

prison in 1934. The beginning of the most popular version of the song tells the story of a train operator who smuggles

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...

through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

, but this episode was a later addition not present in the traditional, 1929 version. The song's chorus includes: Many artists subsequently recorded it, often changing the verses and adjusting the lyrics.

History

The earliest known version of "Rock Island Line" was written in 1929 by Clarence Wilson, a member of the Rock Island Colored Booster Quartet, a singing group made up of employees of the

at the Biddle Shops freight yard in Little Rock, Arkansas. The lyrics to this version are largely different from the version that later evolved and became famous, with verses describing people and activities associated with the yard. The first audio recording of the song was made by folklorist and musicologist

John A. Lomax John Avery Lomax (September 23, 1867 – January 26, 1948) was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist, and a folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk music. He was the father of Alan Lomax, John Lomax Jr. and Bess ...

at the Tucker, Arkansas prison farm on September 29, 1934.

Lead Belly Huddie William Ledbetter (; January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949), better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk music, folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, Virtuoso, virtuosity on the twelve-string guita ...

accompanied Lomax to the prison. This version retains some lyrical features of the 1929 version, but also features key elements of the "classic" version. A similar version was recorded by Lomax in October 1934 at

prison in Lincoln County, Arkansas, performed by a group of singers led by Kelly Pace. ''The Penguin Book Of American Folk Songs'', compiled and with notes by Alan Lomax, published in 1964, includes "Rock Island Line" with the following footnote: According to Harry Lewman Music,

Lonnie Donegan Anthony James Donegan (29 April 1931 – 3 November 2002), known as Lonnie Donegan, was a British skiffle singer, songwriter and musician, referred to as the " King of Skiffle", who influenced 1960s British pop and rock musicians. Born in Scot ...

's recording, released as a single in late 1955, signaled the start of the UK

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

craze. This recording featured Donegan,

Chris Barber Donald Christopher "Chris" Barber OBE (17 April 1930 – 2 March 2021) was an English jazz musician, best known as a bandleader and trombonist. He helped many musicians with their careers and had a UK top twenty trad jazz hit with "Petite Fle ...

on double bass and

Beryl Bryden Beryl Audley Bryden (11 May 1920 – 14 July 1998) was an English jazz singer, who played with Chris Barber and Lonnie Donegan. Ella Fitzgerald once said of Bryden that she was "Britain's queen of the blues". Life and career Bryden was bo ...

on washboard. The Acoustic Music organization makes this comment about Donegan's version. "It flew up the English charts. Donegan had synthesized American Southern Blues with simple acoustic instruments: acoustic guitar, washtub bass and washboard rhythm. The new style was called 'Skiffle' .... and referred to music from people with little money for instruments. The new style captivated an entire generation of post-war youth in England."

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

recorded a version

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

while he was chopping wood, to demonstrate its origins.

Renditions

"Rock Island Line" has been recorded by:

1930s–1940s

*Prison inmates in Arkansas – Recorded by John Lomax in Arkansas twice in 1934. The October 1934 recording, by Kelly Pace and a group of convicts, was released on the compilation album ''A Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings'' (released 1997) *

– Recorded in Washington, D.C. on June 22, 1937, the first of many recordings he made during his career, the last being live at the University of Texas at Austin on June 15, 1949.
"Rock Island Line" appears on the Lead Belly compilation ''Rock Island Line: Original 1935-1943 Recordings'' (released 2003), among many others. *Arkansas prisoners – Also recorded by John Lomax in 1939. This performance is included with his 1939 Southern States Recording Trip.

1950s

George Melly Alan George Heywood Melly (17 August 1926 – 5 July 2007) was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer, and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for ''The Observer''; he also lectured on art history, with an ...

(single 1951) – Recorded for the small British Jazz label

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

(which was subsequently acquired by

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

) under the name "The George Melly Trio", and featuring Johnny Parker on piano and Norman Dodsworth on drums (both members of

Mick Mulligan Peter Sidney "Mick" Mulligan (24 January 1928 – 20 December 2006) was an English jazz trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his presence on the trad jazz scene. Biography He was born in Harrow, Middlesex, England. Mulligan began playing ...

's Magnolia Jazz Band with whom Melly was the singer). *

Odetta Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, lyricist, and a civil rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire co ...

as part of the duo

Odetta and Larry Odetta & Larry was a short-lived blues-folk duo in the mid-1950s. It consisted of Odetta and Lawrence B. Mohr, the former of whom became the more well known in ensuing decades. Background Odetta Holmes and Lawrence B. Mohr met at a bar calle ...

The Tin Angel ''The Tin Angel'' is Odetta & Larry's only album, and the first recording by Odetta, originally released in September 1954 on Fantasy Records. Background * The album is a collection of recordings of Odetta and Larry Mohr from 1953–54; it wa ...

'' 1954 *

(single 1955) – In July 1954 Donegan recorded this fast-

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

version of "Rock Island Line", with

's Jazz Band. It was the first debut record to be certified

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 met ...

in the UK, where it helped trigger the skiffle craze. The single reached the top ten in the US, peaking at number eight. This record is quoted by various later famous musicians as a catalyst for their musical development. Donegan embellished Lead Belly's earlier lyrics with an account of how the locomotive engineer fooled a toll-collector by misrepresenting his load of pig-iron as livestock, which was not chargeable, but this is based on his misunderstanding of the railroad phrase “in the hole” (meaning in the siding); the original meaning was merely that the engineer avoided a wait in the siding because trains carrying livestock were given priority. *

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, Pop music, pop, rock and roll, Folk music, folk, Swing music, swing, and country music. He started his car ...

(single 1956) – Bobby Darin's debut single was a 1956 recording of "Rock Island Line", with "rhythm accompaniment directed by

Jack Pleis Jack K. Pleis (May 11, 1917 – December 5, 1990) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, conductor, composer and producer. He recorded on London and Decca Records in the 1950s, and Columbia Records in the 1960s. During the course of his career, ...

" for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. *

Don Cornell Don Cornell (born Luigi Francisco Varlaro; April 21, 1919 – February 23, 2004) was an American singer. Early years Born to an Italian family in The Bronx, New York, Cornell attended Roosevelt High School in the Bronx. Career In his teens he pl ...

(single 1956) – Recorded for

Coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

, an early American cover version following the success of Lonnie Donegan's record in the US charts. * Stan Freberg (single 1956) – In his typical manner, Freberg parodied Lonnie Donegan's "Rock Island Line", following the latter's American chart success. Issued on

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, it was the B-side to Freberg's parody of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

's "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being ...

". *

Merrill Moore Merrill Moore (1903 – 1957) was an American psychiatrist and poet. Born and educated in Tennessee, he was a member of the Fugitives. He taught neurology at the Harvard Medical School and published research about alcoholism. He was the aut ...

with

Cliffie Stone Clifford Gilpin Snyder (March 1, 1917 – January 17, 1998), professionally Cliffie Stone, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of Californi ...

's Orchestra – single (April 1956) *

The Weavers The Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City originally consisting of Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. Founded in 1948, the group sang traditional folk songs fro ...

– ''The Weavers' Greatest Hits'' (1957) *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

– '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar'' (1957) and also issued as

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

EP112 as a single - Cash adds two verses to the song, one about a train coming down the track and the second about an engineer indicating two beverages he wants to try before he dies: "a hot cup of coffee and a cold glass of tea." *

Milt Okun Milton Theodore Okun (December 23, 1923 – November 15, 2016) was an American arranger, record producer, conductor, singer and founder of Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. Okun transformed the careers of a dozen or more major U.S. a ...

– ''America's Best Loved Folk Songs'', Baton BL1203 (1957) * Johnny Horton – ''1956–1960'', recorded in 1957, released posthumously *

Snooks Eaglin Fird Eaglin Jr. (January 21, 1936 or 1937 – February 18, 2009), known as Snooks Eaglin, was an American guitarist and singer based in New Orleans. In his early years he was sometimes credited under other names, including Blind Snooks Eaglin, ...

– ''New Orleans Street Singer'', SFW CD 40165 (1959) *

The Tarriers The Tarriers were an American vocal group, specializing in folk music and folk-flavored popular music. Named after the folk song " Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill", the group had two hit songs during 1956-57: "Cindy, Oh Cindy" (with Vince Martin) a ...

– ''The Tarriers'' (1957) *

Woody Guthrie Woodrow Wilson Guthrie (; July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter, one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He has inspired ...

and

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and oc ...

(1955) *

Gateway Singers The Gateway Singers were an American folk music group who achieved national prominence in the US in the late 1950s. The group was included in the Smithsonian's ''Folk Song America'' compilation. The group is best known for their song "Puttin' on ...

(1957)

1960s

The Brothers Four The Brothers Four is an American folk singing group, founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, and known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields." History Bob Flick, John Paine, Mike Kirkland, and Dick Foley met at the University of Washington, wher ...

– ''The Brothers Four Song Book'', CS8497 (1961) *

Ramblin' Jack Elliot Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliot Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer and songwriter. Life and career Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, United States, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adnopoz, a ...

– ''Young Brigham'' (1968)

1970s

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

– On ''Belafonte'', later released on the CDs ''All Time Greatest Hits Vol. 3'' and ''36 All-Time Greatest Hits''. *Johnny Cash (single 1970) – from the album ''

Rock Island Line "Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Ostensibly about the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, it appeared as a folk song as early as 1929. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins ...

'' (1970), the single reached number 93 (US Singles Chart), and number 35 (US

Country chart Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

). Cash previously recorded the song in 1957. *

and

Brownie McGhee Walter Brown "Brownie" McGhee (November 30, 1915 – February 16, 1996) was an American folk music and Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaboration with the harmonica player Sonny Terry. Life and career McGhee was ...

– ''Blues Masters'' (1991) *

Whiskey Howl Whiskey Howl was a Toronto-based Canadian blues band, most popular between 1969 and 1972. The band is notable as being one of the early Canadian bands promoting and developing blues music in Canada.John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

– Acoustic and unreleased version found on the bootleg, ''The Lost Lennon Tapes'' *

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

and

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

– Acoustic version performed during rehearsal for November 20, 1976 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' *

Graham Bonnet Graham Bonnet (born 23 December 1947) is an English rock singer. He has recorded and performed as a solo artist and as a member of several hard rock and heavy metal bands including Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Alcatrazz, and Impellitteri. ...

– On the album ''Graham Bonnet'' (1977)

1980s

The Knitters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

– ''Poor Little Critter on the Road'' (1985) *

The Washington Squares The Washington Squares are a neo-beatnik folk revival music group. Modeled after early 1960s groups like The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, the group was named after New York City's Washington Square Park, emblematic of Greenwich Village. ...

– ''The Washington Squares'' (1987) * Mano Negra – ''

Patchanka ''Patchanka'' is the debut studio album by Mano Negra, released in 1988. The French edition of ''Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San ...

'' (1988) * Little Richard &

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the lat ...

– ''Folkways: A Vision Shared—A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly'' (1988) * Boxcar Willie (1983)

1990s

Devil in a Woodpile Devil in a Woodpile is a band from Chicago, Illinois. Although they routinely give a fresh sound to 80-year-old songs, their repertoire and instrumentation categorizes them as a country blues or jug band. History Rick Sherry and Tom V. Ray firs ...

(with Jane Baxter Miller) (single 1999) – On the album ''Poor Little Knitter on the Road - A Tribute to the Knitters''

2000s

– '' Looking for a Home'' (2001) *

Dan Zanes Daniel Edgerly Zanes (born November 8, 1961) is an American former member of the popular 1980s band the Del Fuegos and is now the front man of the Grammy-winning group Dan Zanes and Friends. History Zanes's father was a teacher, as well as a p ...

and Friends – ''Family Dance'' (2001) *

Long John Baldry John William "Long John" Baldry (12 January 1941 – 21 July 2005) was an English musician and actor. In the 1960s, he was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including ...

– ''

Remembering Leadbelly ''Remembering Leadbelly'' is the final studio album Long John Baldry completed in his lifetime. The album serves as a tribute to Baldry's musical hero Lead Belly with songs he either wrote or is known for. The album was released on November 13, ...

'' (2001) *

Chris Thomas King Chris Thomas King (born Durwood Christopher Thomas, October 14, 1962) is an American blues musician and actor based in New Orleans, Louisiana. History King was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. He is the son of blues musician Tabb ...

– '' Johnny's Blues: A Tribute to Johnny Cash'' (2003) * Eleven Hundred Springs – ''Bandwagon'' (2004) *

The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band is a three-piece American country blues band from Brown County, Indiana. They have played up to 250 dates per year at venues ranging from bars to festivals since 2006. To date, they have released ten albums a ...

– ''The Gospel Album'' (2007)

2010s

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

– '' Ringo 2012'' (2012) * Billy Bragg and

Joe Henry Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums. Early life H ...

- ''Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad'' (2016) *

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(2017) ''61 Days in Church'' (2017)

References

External links

"Rock Island Line" on Allmusic
* ttp://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200210/15_bickalj_rockisland/ A Mighty Good Road: Minnesota Public Radiobr>Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog
American Folklife Center, Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Island Line (Song) Blues songs Rockabilly songs American folk songs Lead Belly songs Johnny Cash songs Odetta songs 1955 debut singles Lonnie Donegan songs Pete Seeger songs Songs written by Lead Belly Songs about trains 1929 songs Songwriter unknown