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AMTRAK TOUR CONNECTS BLUES MUSIC AND RAILROADS


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#1 CNJRoss

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Posted 27 March 2010 - 07:26 PM

Amtrak news release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2010

AMTRAK TOUR CONNECTS BLUES MUSIC AND RAILROADS
Sons of Blues legend Muddy Waters travel Mississippi Blues Trail on way to National Train Day in Chicago


CHICAGO – Amtrak wants you to know W.C. Handy, the “Father of the Blues,” was inspired to create the classic American art form while at a train station in the Mississippi Delta and “The Midnight Special” was the name of a train before it was the name of a Blues song by Leadbelly.

As part of the National Train Day 2010 celebration, Amtrak will explore the historic connection between Blues music and America’s railroads with a commemorative train tour from the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of the Blues, all the way to Chicago. Aboard the famous Amtrak City of New Orleans train will be the musical offspring of a Chicago-based Blues legend with Mississippi roots, riding the rails north from New Orleans on May 6, 2010.

Amtrak will host “Big Bill” and “Mud” Morganfield, sons of the great bluesman Muddy Waters, on a three-day train tour through the Mississippi Blues Trail to the Midwest. The tour will visit several Blues historical sites in Mississippi, before Blues great and former railroad man Bobby Rush boards the train in Memphis on May 7. The musical journey concludes in historic Chicago Union Station on National Train Day, Saturday, May 8, with live, free, performances by “Big Bill,” “Mud,” and Rush.

A detailed itinerary and fact sheets are attached. For additional information on Amtrak National Train Day festivities, please visit www.nationaltrainday.com.

“National Train Day is a great opportunity to highlight the connection between two truly American institutions – Amtrak and Blues music,” said Darlene Abubakar, Director of National Advertising for Amtrak. “We are pleased Muddy Waters’ sons and Bobby Rush have agreed to participate in our National Train Day celebration in Chicago. Their experience with Blues and its movement from the Mississippi Delta region to Chicago exemplifies the spirit of our journey and celebration.”

The Chicago Blues Museum will install a special exhibit for National Train Day at Union Station. During the Blues segment of the day’s program, museum Founder and Director Gregg Parker will share additional insights about the movement of the blues from the south to the north.

The public is invited to Amtrak Chicago Union Station, 225 South Canal Street, for the National Train Day celebration. In addition to the Blues performance and exhibit, visitors will have a chance to tour Amtrak and other trains, see model railroads and visit the AmtraKids Depot, a National Park Service Trails & Rails Exhibit, Snapshot Station, and the see the Trains Move our Economy Exhibit, all without an admission charge.

About Amtrak

As the nation’s intercity passenger rail operator, Amtrak connects America in safer, greener and healthier ways. Last fiscal year (FY 2009), the railroad carried 27.2 million passengers, making it the second-best year in the company’s history. With 21,000 route miles in 46 states, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces, Amtrak operates more than 300 trains each day—at speeds up to 150 mph (241 kph)—to more than 500 destinations. Amtrak also is the partner of choice for state-supported corridor services in 15 states and for several commuter rail agencies. Visit Amtrak.com or call 800-USA-RAIL for schedules, fares and more information.

# # #


FACT SHEET
AMTRAK BLUES CONNECTION
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS


Thursday, May 6, 2010
1:45 p.m. New Orleans Amtrak Station ‐ Departure
3:32 p.m. McComb, Miss., Amtrak Station ‐ brief stop at Bo Diddly Blues Trail Marker
4:17 p.m. Hazelhurst, Miss., Amtrak Station ‐ brief stop at Robert Johnson Blues Trail Marker
5:44 p.m. Jackson, Miss., Amtrak Station ‐ Deboard train
Media interviews at train station
Reception at Historic King Edward Hotel (near train station)
8:00 p.m. Clarksdale, Miss., – Performance and Celebration – “Blues Train Throw Down” at Ground Zero Blues Club

Friday, May 7
9:30‐ 11:00 a.m. Clarksdale ‐ Tour of various locations, including the Miss. Delta Blues Museum
1:00 ‐ 2:00 p.m. Indianola, Miss., – Media availability and tour of BB King Museum
5:00 ‐ 7:00 p.m. Greenwood, Miss., Amtrak Station – Send off reception and media availability
7:37 p.m. Greenwood departure
10:00/10:40 p.m. Memphis Amtrak Station Arrive/Depart and media availability
Bobby Rush boards train to Chicago

Saturday, May 8
9:00 a.m. Arrival into Amtrak Chicago Union Station
12:00‐1:00 p.m. Live Blues Program at Union Station
(National Train Day festivities: 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

BLUES SONGS WITH A TRAIN THEME (partial list)

Henry Thomas ‐ Railroadin’ Some, 1927
King Solomon Hill ‐ The Dead Gone Train, 1931
Big Bill Broonzy ‐ Mr. Conductor Blues, 1932
Sylvester Weaver ‐ Railroad Porter Blues, 1927
Son House ‐ Depot Blues, 1942
Bessie Smith ‐ Dixie Flyer Blues 1935
Georgia White ‐ Panama Limited, 1940
Leadbelly ‐ Midnight Special, 1941
Freeman Stowers ‐ Railroad Blues, 1929
Deford Bailey ‐ Pan‐American Blues, 1927

LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT BLUES MUSIC AND TRAINS

-W.C. Handy created the blues in a train station in Mississippi.
-Blues players would hitch free rides on trains by playing for brakemen and conductors.
-Blues and spirituals were sung on the fields during slavery as slaves hopelessly watched trains go by. It’s no coincidence that the Underground Railroad was named as such, and included “conductors” and “stations.”-
-The song “Midnight Special,” made famous by Creedence Clearwater Revival, was at first a blues song penned in a Texas prison. If the train they called, “The Midnight Special” “shined its ever loving light on you…” wishfully, you might get lucky and be released from the prison.
-Blues songs often used trains as metaphors for everyday life. For example: “If I had the strength I would set this train off the tracks; ‘Til she make me a promise she bring my baby back.”
[Historical blues information and song list courtesy of http://phlegm.mnsi.net/index.html]




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