♫Woooooooooo Wooooooooooo ... Chooooo-chooooo!♫

Choo chooooo...chugga chugga chooo choooooo ... Ah-hh-h-h! That lonesome whistle.... Woooooooooo Wooooooooooo ... Chooooo-chooooo! Nostalgia surrounds the railroad, the sights and sounds, riding the rails, feeling the motion, sensing the power. It only takes a couple of minutes to feel the passion of a bygone era. Better still when that thunderous motion revolves around music...

Today in Music History: May 7

From the film "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941), featuring Glenn Miller Orchestra, Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly and The Modernaires.

1941 Glenn Miller and His Orchestra recorded "Chattanooga Choo Choo". The impact "Chattanooga Choo Choo"would have on the music industry was not fully envisioned when composed in 1941 by Harry Warren (music) and Mack Gordon (words). It has since become iconic of an era gone, but not forgotten. The original recording (RCA Bluebird B-11230-B) by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra symbolized a big-band/swing tune and was featured in the 1941 movie "Sun Valley Serenade". What makes it even more iconic is the day it became the No.1 song across the United States: December 7, 1941.

A slapstick train ride featuring the greatest comedians from the Golden Age of Comedy - set to the pulsating rhythms of the Glenn Miller Orchestra

The evolution of the train is much like life, its journey through time collects treasured memories of people and places as it stops and goes from one station to another. Have you ever thought about comparing life to a train ride or a series of train rides? 

Life on the Train

Oh, and that is not all today in music history...

Rock Around the Clock

1955 "Rock Around The Clock" was released by Bill Haley & His Comets.

 Tidbits of Trivia...

"Rock Around the Clock" began with a veteran Country act called Sonny Dae and His Nights. Their version was released in 1953 to little acclaim. Haley's version was originally released as the B-side of a Dickie Thompson song called "Thirteen Women," which was about a nuclear bomb that leaves just one man and 13 women alive. "Rock Around the Clock" first appeared on the charts on June 3, 1953, selling 75,000 copies and convincing Decca Records to pick up Haley's option. It was featured in the movie Blackboard Jungle, which gave it a surge in popularity prompting Decca to re-release the single. This time the song surged to the top of the charts entering the Top 40 on May 14, 1955 where it stayed for 8 weeks. [Source: Songfacts.com]

 

  1966 The Mamas and the Papas started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'Monday Monday', it made No.3 in the UK. The group was reported, as saying they all hated the song except for its writer John Phillips. The Mamas and the Papas won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for this song.

 

1971 The Rolling Stones released "Brown Sugar" in the U.S. It was the first record on their own label, Rolling Stones Records.

 

1967 Pearls Before Swine begin recording an album called 'One Nation Underground'. The LP included a song called 'Miss Morse', which would be banned in New York when it was discovered that lead singer Tom Rapp was singing F-U-C-K in Morse code. After disc jockey Murray The K played the record on the air, local Boy Scouts correctly interpreted the chorus and phoned in a complaint.

My, my, my! How times have changed!

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...