The song was recorded in January 1946 by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five and released by Decca Records. It topped the R&B charts for 18 weeks from August 1946, a record equalled by only one other hit, "The Honeydripper." The record was one of Jordan's biggest hits with both black and white audiences, peaking at number seven on the national chart[1] and provided an important link between blues and country music, foreshadowing the development of "rock and roll" a few years later.[2]
History and backgroundedit
Although "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" is now seen as epitomising the style known as jump blues, it was written by white songwriters whose background was in country and western music. The song is credited to Darling, Horton and Gabler. Denver Darling (1909–1981) was a "hillbilly" guitarist and songwriter,[3] as was his occasional songwriting partner Vaughn Horton (1911–1988). Darling and Horton had recently contributed "Don't Hang Around Me Anymore" to Gene Autry, a hit for him in 1945. Horton's other writing successes included "Mockin' Bird Hill", "Sugar-Foot Rag" and an updated version of Jimmie Rodgers' "Muleskinner's Blues."[4] The third credited songwriter was Milt Gabler (1911–2001), then the vice-president of Decca Records and Louis Jordan's record producer. A few years later, still at Decca, Gabler was also responsible for producing Bill Haley's epoch-defining "Rock Around The Clock" (and Haley, in turn, recorded a version of "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" for his album, Rock 'n' Roll Stage Show[5]).
The song summed up the feelings of excitement followed by disillusionment felt by many who were returning from serving in the Second World War:[2]
You reach your destination, but alas and alack! You need some compensation to get back in the black You take your morning paper from the top of the stack And read the situations from the front to the back The only job that's open needs a man with a knack So put it right back in the rack, Jack!
Renditions by other artistsedit
In 1974, the American country swing group Asleep at the Wheel recorded the song for their second album, the self-titled Asleep at the Wheel. It was also released as a single and became their first song to appear on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.[6] In a review for AllMusic, James Allen described their rendition as a "twanged-up version of the old Louis Jordan song [that made] country fans start to stand up and take notice of these scruffy but sincere traditionalists".[6]
Referencesedit
^Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 309.
^ abAllen, James. "Asleep at the Wheel – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
January 19, 2024
choo, choo, boogie, popular, song, written, vaughn, horton, denver, darling, milt, gabler, song, recorded, january, 1946, louis, jordan, tympany, five, released, decca, records, topped, charts, weeks, from, august, 1946, record, equalled, only, other, honeydri. Choo Choo Ch Boogie is a popular song written by Vaughn Horton Denver Darling and Milt Gabler The song was recorded in January 1946 by Louis Jordan amp His Tympany Five and released by Decca Records It topped the R amp B charts for 18 weeks from August 1946 a record equalled by only one other hit The Honeydripper The record was one of Jordan s biggest hits with both black and white audiences peaking at number seven on the national chart 1 and provided an important link between blues and country music foreshadowing the development of rock and roll a few years later 2 History and background editAlthough Choo Choo Ch Boogie is now seen as epitomising the style known as jump blues it was written by white songwriters whose background was in country and western music The song is credited to Darling Horton and Gabler Denver Darling 1909 1981 was a hillbilly guitarist and songwriter 3 as was his occasional songwriting partner Vaughn Horton 1911 1988 Darling and Horton had recently contributed Don t Hang Around Me Anymore to Gene Autry a hit for him in 1945 Horton s other writing successes included Mockin Bird Hill Sugar Foot Rag and an updated version of Jimmie Rodgers Muleskinner s Blues 4 The third credited songwriter was Milt Gabler 1911 2001 then the vice president of Decca Records and Louis Jordan s record producer A few years later still at Decca Gabler was also responsible for producing Bill Haley s epoch defining Rock Around The Clock and Haley in turn recorded a version of Choo Choo Ch Boogie for his album Rock n Roll Stage Show 5 The song summed up the feelings of excitement followed by disillusionment felt by many who were returning from serving in the Second World War 2 You reach your destination but alas and alack You need some compensation to get back in the black You take your morning paper from the top of the stack And read the situations from the front to the back The only job that s open needs a man with a knack So put it right back in the rack Jack Renditions by other artists editIn 1974 the American country swing group Asleep at the Wheel recorded the song for their second album the self titled Asleep at the Wheel It was also released as a single and became their first song to appear on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart 6 In a review for AllMusic James Allen described their rendition as a twanged up version of the old Louis Jordan song that made country fans start to stand up and take notice of these scruffy but sincere traditionalists 6 References edit Whitburn Joel 2004 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 2004 Record Research p 309 a b Gilliland John 1994 Pop Chronicles the 40s The Lively Story of Pop Music in the 40s audiobook ISBN 978 1 55935 147 8 OCLC 31611854 Tape 4 side A Richard Carlin Country Music A Biographical Dictionary p 96 Vaughn and Roy Horton at Country Music Hall of Fame Archived 2007 07 23 at the Wayback Machine Bill Haley Discography Allmusic Retrieved 2009 05 29 a b Allen James Asleep at the Wheel Review AllMusic Retrieved January 12 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Choo Choo Ch 27Boogie amp oldid 1146535268, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
