There's a new book due out in August that may be of interest to some--"Railroadin' Some" by Max Haymes. Here's a link to the publisher's page as well to those of the usual U.S. sources.
Being somewhat of a nut (who said "we agree"?) about the history/development of the American railroad, for me this type of book is long overdue. My only hope is that it's better written/presented than the streams of overly footnoted consciousness which have appeared at his website. Having got that off my chest, here's the blurb:
"RAILROADIN? SOME" by Max Haymes This groundbreaking book, written by one of the foremost blues historians in the UK, is based on over 30 years research, study and absolute passion for early blues music. It is the first ever comprehensive study of the enormous impact of the railroads on 19th and early 20th Century black American society and the many and varied references to this new phenomenon in early blues lyrics.
Below is a synopsis of the book giving you an insight into the wealth of detail.
Chapter 1: ?SMOKESTACK IS BLACK AN? THE BELL IT SHINE LIKE GOLD? Brief background of railroads in the antebellum era and slaves? involvement ? role of Pullman and Red Cap porters ? the Panama Limited ? origins of ?smokestack lightning? and Charley Patton ? ?ticket as long as my right arm?, ?ballin? the jack? ? the ?other? Midnight Special ? Texas & New Orleans RR and Lucille Bogan.
Chapter 2: ?SKIPPIN? 'ROUND FROM LOG TO LOG? Evolution of logging camps in the South ? origins of piano blues, boogie woogie and the barrelhouse ? oral transmission of early blues via logging roads ? more on the T&NO.
Chapter 3: ?AH! WHEN I LEAVE FROM HERE, GONNA CATCH THAT M. & O.? The story of the Mobile & Ohio and the blues from 1852 to 1940; a ?journey? from Mobile to St. Louis ? background of the floating bridge of Sleepy John Estes fame ? Cairo, Ill. ? the real facts of Casey Jones? train wreck in 1900 ? river bottoms ? the Union Stockyard in Meridian, Miss. ? oral transmission and (a) way freight trains on the M&O, (b) stevedores at Mobile Bay.
Chapter 4: ?SHE?S GIVIN? IT AWAY? Short history of the refrigerator car or ?reefer? from 1858 to 1910 ? introduction of the banana to the ?masses? in the black community ? fast freights: the ?redball? and the ?hotshot? ? hoboing on a reefer with T-Bone Walker and David ?Honeyboy? Edwards ? sexual symbolism and street market blues ? English music hall link with some early vaudeville-blues singers.
Chapter 5: ?GOIN? WHERE THE SOUTHERN CROSS THE YELLOW DOG? Origins of the ?Yellow Dog? ? short history of the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley RR ? peavine railroads ? brief survey of labour history and anti-union railroad companies ? yellow dog contracts ?recordings of the Yellow Dog from 1923 to 1961, by Sam Collins, Bessie Smith et al.
Chapter 6: ?AN? THAT THING DON?T KEEP A-RINGIN? SO SOON? Brief study of early Southern prison/correction systems ? convict lease and railroads? involvement ? source of the ?longest train? motif in the blues ? origin of ?In The Pines? ? Joseph E. Brown and Peg Leg Howell ? brief survey of the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co. or ?TCI?, and singers ? Railroad Bill and the L&N ? short history of Gulfport & Ship Island RR and Robert Johnson link ? the ?ding dong? and Frank Stokes.
Chapter 7: ?RUNNIN? DOWN TO THE STATION? Resum? of beginnings of the Fast Mail in 1875 ? importance to rural South ? source of John Byrd?s ?Billy Goat Blues? in the 1850s ? fast mail trains such as the Big 80 and the Sunnyland ? lineage of Robert Johnson?s ?fastest train I see? verse ? streamline trains ? blues singers? knowledge of railroad operations ? the railroad depot: the seamier side and the ?leaving scene? in the blues, as related by Robert Wilkins, Roosevelt Sykes, Ma Rainey and Robert Johnson.
Chapter 8: ?I CARRIED WATER FOR THE ELEPHANT? Short history of development of circus and carnival in the South ? beginnings of medicine shows ? circuses in Natchez, Miss. during antebellum era and the early minstrel song, ?Billy Barlow? ? excursion trains ? blues singers? role in circus and origin of ?ballyhoo? ? circus and carnival slang used in the blues ? role of steam calliope ? short survey of origin of ?hokum? and hokum blues ? the railroad crossing ? vaudeville-blues singers and travelling shows including Clara Smith ? oral transmission process.
Chapter 9: ?GONNA LEAVE A PULLMAN AN? RIDE THE L. & N.? Vaudeville blues lyrics and influence on rural singers like Blind Lemon Jefferson by Sippie Wallace, Ida Cox and others ? oral transmission and the blues record ? passenger train women, platform vendors and Blind Boy Fuller ? survey and ancestry of ?Careless Love? ? Mae Glover, John Byrd, Bobby Grant and Buddy Boy Hawkins ? roots of ?Statesboro Blues? by Blind Willie McTell.
Chapter 10: ?NOW, I SWUNG THAT 79? Short survey of early tramps and hobos on the rails ? women hobos and Memphis Minnie ? Chicago, the railroad hobo?s ?Mecca? ? hobo jungles and ?Hoovervilles? ? symbolism of the railroad and ultimate freedom for the hobo ? The Atlanta Special, Bukka White and Blind Willie McTell ? riding the blinds and riding the rods ? railroad police and Sleepy John Estes ? origins of ?hobo?.
Epilogue Appendix I - Origins of 'red light district' Appendix II - 'In The Pines'/'The Longest Train' and the "accident stanzas" Glossary of Railroad Abbreviations and Nicknames Index of Artists' Names Index of Song Titles General Index Additionally, there is a fully annotated Discography at the end of each chapter.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2006, 09:20:12 PM by Johnm »
From a glance at their web site, I get the feeling that Music Mentor Books is not the kind of place that employs a lot of copy editors. But I look forward to the book.
« Last Edit: September 16, 2006, 09:23:20 PM by Johnm »
Hi people Theres a new book out(due for release tomorrow) about the link between the blues and the early railroads and trains, heres the authors website address www.earlyblues.com it looks to be very informative ,it apparently been a work ,30 years in the making, anyway the books called "RAILROADIN SOME", cheers people.
Cruel Kid Dowling...
« Last Edit: September 16, 2006, 09:24:19 PM by Johnm »
I read my copy of this book last month and was bitterly disappointed. Being the middle-aged curmudgeon that I am, for me it was streams of consciousness, speculation, bad use of the English language and torturous to read with the occasional interesting fact/new research buried within it all. It could have said what it wanted to say in half the length. Up until now I have kept my views to myself but Howard Rye has said much the same - but far more eloquently and coherently considered - in a review for Blues & Rhythm.
Has anyone hereabouts read the work and would be willing to pass on their views?
I've been asked privately if I would perhaps post the review. It's too lengthy to do that but the conclusion reads:
"There is much more and if only it had been organised more tightly, perhaps into a mixture of general topics and pieces on specific railroads, and with a clearer focus on quality of referencing, it could have been both readable and informative, and a useful reference book as well. It is well-indexed so reference is still possible, but I?d be a liar if I said this was an easy or enjoyable read, and at times its rambling speculative style and forced connections between disparate topics belonging in different chapters is just plain infuriating."
Which in its way comfirms the foreboding of both Stuart and DJ earlier in this thread.
In the meatime there's always the Paul Garon & Gene Tomko "Black Hoboes & Their Songs: What's The Use Of Walking If There's A Freight Train Going Your Way" (Charles H Kerr) published earlier this year. For myself this book should have been be written decades ago and an enlightening read. It also has a small number of previously unseen photographs of black labourers and prisoners taken from the June 1915 edition of the 'International Socialist Review'. The book's political stance, like other Garon works, can at times be off putting but at least it's readable, literate (using verbs, which isn't always the case with Railroadin') and has an accompanying 24 track CD. On the outside back page Paul Oliver comments, 'the author has meticulously researched the nature and the conditions of the lumber and turpentine industries, mining, levee-building and other employment that (hoboes) sought, and about which they also sang'...and there's no denying that, they've used in excess of than 100 lyric transcriptions.
Anyone else out there read the Garon-Tomko book who'd care to give an appraisal?
Anyone else out there read the Garon-Tomko book who'd care to give an appraisal?
I have it but haven't read it yet -- still going through Broadcasting the Blues, which came in the same delivery. Even so, I'll say it looks good flipping through it, lots of transcriptions too, plus the CD. And as you note, a seemingly obvious choice for subject matter. I'm looking forward to getting to it over the holidays.