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All Aboard: The Rhythm of the Rails

Louis Jordan in 1946, the year he released "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie."
Louis Jordan in 1946, the year he released "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie."

Train travel – for Americans, the heyday of taking journeys by rail has long passed us by. Whether traveling in luxury in Pullman Service, or economically by coach, or freighthopping - jumping onto an open boxcar, there is a strong romantic attachment to riding trains. Trains dominated the psyche of our culture inspiring many films, even Broadway musicals, and of course, popular music.

On this episode, we’re celebrating this long-gone popular mode of travel in song – and we’ll hear from Ella Fitzgerald, Johnny Mercer, The Boswell Sisters, and more.

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