Train Kept A Rollin'

The morning commute seemed effortless. 2 dollars well-spent. The glam-band Cinderella had a hit with a song many years ago, a song that has been echoing in my head since yesterday morning, "Don't Know What You Got (Till It's Gone)."

This morning I learned something, as I resumed use of the iPod and searched for appropriate commuting songs, such as "Train" by Four Non-Blondes and "Train in Vain" by The Clash. On January 4, 1983, I attended my first serious rock concert, seeing Aerosmith on their "Rock in a Hard Place" tour where they concluded their show with a blistering version of what I thought was their original song, "Train Kept A Rollin." Well, I have the song on my iPod, but not the Aerosmith version, but a version by the Yardbirds, recorded in the 1960's.

I have since learned that the song was originally co-written and introduced by r&b bandleader Tiny Bradshaw (pictured, left) on the King label in 1951, and later recorded as rockabilly by Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio. From there, the Yardbirds acquired it, which in turn spawned Aerosmith's seminal version. Since then, you can find versions by Guns N' Roses, Skid Row, The Stray Cats, Hanoi Rocks, The Living End, and Twisted Sister.

So no more train talk, it's back to business at BillyBlog.

Stay tuned for resumption of our regularly-scheduled programming.

Well, on a train, I met a dame,
She rather handsome, but kind of looked the same.
She was pretty, from New York City
I'm walkin' down that old fair lane,
I'm in heat, I'm in love,
But I just couldn't tell her so

I said, train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
Train kept a-rollin' all night long
With a "heave!", and a "ho!"
But I just couldn't tell her so, no, no, no