"City of New Orleans" | |
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Single by Steve Goodman | |
from the album Steve Goodman | |
B-side | "Would You Like to Learn to Dance?" |
Released | 1971 |
Recorded | 1971 |
Genre | Country folk [1] |
Length | 3:52 |
Label | Buddah |
Songwriter(s) | Steve Goodman |
Producer(s) | Kris Kristofferson, Norbert Putnam |
"City of New Orleans" is a country folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad's City of New Orleans in bittersweet and nostalgic terms.
Goodman got the idea while traveling on the Illinois Central line for a visit to his wife's family. The song has been recorded by numerous artists in the United States, including two major hit versions: first by Arlo Guthrie in 1972, and later by Willie Nelson in 1984. In Europe, the melody has most often been used for original lyrics rather than translations of Goodman's.
An article in the September 2017 issue of Trains magazine chronicles the writing and recording of the song and includes a biographical sketch of Steve Goodman. [2]
"The City of New Orleans" | ||||
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Single by Arlo Guthrie | ||||
from the album Hobo's Lullaby | ||||
B-side | "Days Are Short" | |||
Released | July 1972 | |||
Recorded | 1972 | |||
Genre | Folk | |||
Length | 4:31 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | Steve Goodman | |||
Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker, John Pilla | |||
Arlo Guthrie singles chronology | ||||
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While at the Quiet Knight bar in Chicago, Goodman saw Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that if Goodman bought him a beer, Guthrie would listen to him play for as long as it took to drink the beer. [3] Goodman played "City of New Orleans", which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby , reaching #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and #18 on the Hot 100; it would prove to be Guthrie's only top-40 hit and one of only two he would have on the Hot 100 (the other was a severely shortened and rearranged version of his magnum opus, "Alice's Restaurant", which hit #97). In New Zealand, "City of New Orleans" spent two weeks at number one, charting throughout the winter of 1973. [4]
Guthrie's version of "The City of New Orleans" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. [5]
The song became enormously popular in France because of the version by French-American singer Joe Dassin, released in 1973. The lyrics are radically different and relate the end of a short relationship. The single sold over 200,000 copies.
"'t Is weer voorbij die mooie zomer" | |
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Single by Gerard Cox | |
B-side | "Zullen we ritselen?" |
Released | 13 October 1973 |
Genre | Pop |
Length | 4:30 |
Label | CBS Records |
Composer(s) | Steve Goodman |
Lyricist(s) | Gerard Cox |
Producer(s) | Ruud Jacobs |
In 1973, Dutch singer Gerard Cox released a Dutch-language cover entitled "'t Is weer voorbij die mooie zomer" ("It's Over Again, That Beautiful Summer"). The single reached #1 and #2 on the Dutch and Belgian record charts, respectively. The Dutch lyrics are not about a train, but are a look back on the warm days of summer. Mr Cox had based his version on a French version, Salut les amoureux by Joe Dassin, which he had heard while on holiday in France. Yet, the Dutch lyrics are again very different from both the English and the French versions.
"Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?" | |
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Single by Rudi Carrell | |
B-side | "Heul nicht" |
Released | 1975 |
Genre | Pop |
Length | 4:20 |
Label | Ariola |
Composer(s) | Steve Goodman |
Lyricist(s) | Thomas Woitkewitsch |
Producer(s) | Thomas Woitkewitsch |
In 1975, Dutch singer Rudi Carrell released a German-language cover with lyrics by producer Thomas Woitkewitsch. The lyrics were based on the Dutch version (see above) by Gerard Cox. The single, "Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?" ("When Will There be a Proper Summer Again?"), stayed on the German record charts for 14 weeks, peaking at #18. This version has been widely covered, spawning German Top-40 recordings by Creme 21 and Indira Weis. [11]
"City of New Orleans" | ||||
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Single by Willie Nelson | ||||
from the album City of New Orleans | ||||
B-side | "Why Are You Pickin' on Me" | |||
Released | July 1984 | |||
Recorded | October 1983 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 4:47 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Steve Goodman | |||
Producer(s) | Chips Moman | |||
Willie Nelson singles chronology | ||||
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Steve Goodman won a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Willie Nelson's version, which was included on Nelson's 1984 album City of New Orleans . It reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the United States [12] and the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [13] | 1 |
US Adult Contemporary ( Billboard ) [14] | 30 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 3 |
"Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?" | |
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Single by Creme 21 | |
B-side | "Ich kann mich nicht entscheiden" "Ich will auch mit (in den Übungsraum)" |
Released | 1996 |
Genre | Pop rock |
Length | 3:24 |
Label | Epic Records |
Composer(s) | Steve Goodman |
Lyricist(s) | Thomas Woitkewitsch |
Producer(s) | Jeo |
Creme 21, a pop band from Frankfurt am Main, recorded a version using Thomas Woitkewitsch's German lyrics. The cover spent 12 weeks on the German record charts, peaking at #36. [11]
"Wann wird's mal wieder richtig Sommer?" | |
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Single by Indira | |
Released | September 4, 2009 |
Recorded | 2009 |
Genre | Pop |
Length | 23:30 |
Label | UCA |
Composer(s) | Steve Goodman |
Lyricist(s) | Thomas Woitkewitsch |
Producer(s) | Andreas Habermeyer Ulrich Fischer Harald Reitinger for Beat Power Music |
Music video | |
"Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer?" on YouTube |
"Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer?" (German : When will there be a proper summer again?) is the first single of Indira Weis, who got famous in the German multicultural R&B group Bro'Sis. Together with the movie producer Andreas Habermeyer she covered the hit from Rudi Carrell for the Oktoberfest 2009 in Munich. The EP was released September 4, 2009.
The original music video for "Wann wird’s mal wieder richtig Sommer?" was directed and produced in Berlin, August 2009. The video premiered September 4, 2009. [15]
Indira performed the song the first time in front of the Rotes Rathaus in Berlin September 9, 2009. [16]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Wann Wird's Mal Wieder Richtig Sommer (Original Party Mix)" | 4:07 |
2. | "Wann Wird's Mal Wieder Richtig Sommer (Sommer Mix)" | 3:41 |
3. | "Wann Wird's Mal Wieder Richtig Sommer (English Party Mix)" | 4:10 |
4. | "Wann Wird's Mal Wieder Richtig Sommer (English Summer Mix)" | 3:37 |
5. | "Wann Wird's Mal Wieder Richtig Sommer (Karaoke Party Mix)" | 4:14 |
6. | "Wann Wird's Mal Wieder Richtig Sommer (Karaoke Sommer Mix)" | 3:41 |
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Guthrie's best-known work is his debut piece, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree", a satirical talking blues song about 18 minutes in length that has since become a Thanksgiving anthem. His only top-40 hit was a cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans". His song "Massachusetts" was named the official folk song of the state, in which he has lived most of his adult life. Guthrie has also made several acting appearances. He is the father of four children, who have also had careers as musicians.
Steven Benjamin Goodman was an American folk and country singer-songwriter from Chicago. He wrote the song "City of New Orleans", which was recorded by Arlo Guthrie and many others including John Denver, The Highwaymen, and Judy Collins; in 1985, it afforded Goodman the Grammy songwriter award for best country song, as performed by Willie Nelson. Goodman co-wrote "You Never Even Called Me by My Name", which became the best-selling song of country musician David Allen Coe. Goodman had a small but dedicated group of fans for his albums and concerts during his lifetime. His most frequently sung song, "Go Cubs Go", is about the Chicago Cubs. Goodman died of leukemia in September 1984.
"Alice's Restaurant Massacree", commonly known as "Alice's Restaurant", is a satirical talking blues song by singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie, released as the title track to his 1967 debut album Alice's Restaurant. The song is a deadpan protest against the Vietnam War draft, in the form of a comically exaggerated but largely true story from Guthrie's own life: while visiting acquaintances in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he is arrested and convicted of dumping trash illegally, which later endangers his suitability for the military draft. The title refers to a restaurant owned by one of Guthrie's friends, artist Alice Brock. Although Brock is a minor character in the story, the restaurant plays no role in it aside from being the subject of the chorus and the impetus for Guthrie's visit.
"Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, released on his seventh album, Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. In the United States, "Margaritaville" reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart, also peaking at No. 13 on the Hot Country Songs chart. Billboard ranked it number 14 on its 1977 Pop Singles year-end chart. It was Buffett's highest charting solo single. After Buffett’s death on September 1, 2023, the song re-entered the Top 40 for the week ending September 16, 2023.
"If I Had a Hammer " is a protest song written by Pete Seeger and Lee Hays. It was written in 1949 in support of the Progressive movement, and was first recorded by the Weavers, a folk music quartet composed of Seeger, Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman. It was a #10 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary in 1962 and then went to #3 a year later when recorded by Trini Lopez in 1963.
Son of a Son of a Sailor is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was initially released in March 1978 as ABC Dunhill AA-1046 and later re-released on its successor label, MCA.
"Oklahoma Hills" is a song written by Woody Guthrie. In 2001 it was named the official Folk Song of the state of Oklahoma.
"The Battle of New Orleans" is a song written by Jimmy Driftwood in 1936. The song describes the Battle of New Orleans from the perspective of an American soldier; the song tells the tale of the battle with a light tone and provides a rather comical version of what actually happened at the battle. It has been recorded by many artists, but the singer most often associated with this song is Johnny Horton. His version, recorded at Bradley Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, scored number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 song for 1959, it was very popular with teenagers in the late 1950s/early 1960s in an era mostly dominated by rock and roll music.
A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on June 4, 1973, as his first album for Dunhill.
Hobo's Lullaby is an album by the American folk singer Arlo Guthrie. It was released in 1972 on Reprise Records. It was re-released on Rising Son Records in 1997. The album contains Guthrie's only Top 40 hit, a cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans".
A1A or A-1-A is the fifth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and the third major label album in Buffett's Don Gant-produced "Key West phase". It was initially released in December 1974 as Dunhill DS-50183 and later re-released on Dunhill's successor labels ABC and MCA.
Last Mango in Paris is the fourteenth studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released in June 1985 as MCA 5600 and was produced by Buffett and noted country music producer Tony Brown. The album represented continuation of Buffett's shift toward a more country sound begun with 1984's Riddles in the Sand. The title of the album is a play on the title of the 1972 movie Last Tango in Paris.
City of New Orleans is a studio album by the American musician Willie Nelson, released by Columbia Records in 1984. The title track was written and originally recorded by Steve Goodman; his version was released in 1971. The next year, Arlo Guthrie became the first to have a hit with the song. Nelson's version topped the U.S. country singles chart. Other covers on the album include "Please Come to Boston" and "Wind Beneath My Wings".
"The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the same fate. The most successful commercial version, recorded in 1964 by the British rock band The Animals, was a number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and in the US and Canada. As a traditional folk song recorded by an electric rock band, it has been described as the "first folk rock hit".
Red Pajamas Records was an independent American record label founded in 1982 by Chicago singer-songwriter Steve Goodman and his manager Al Bunetta. Between 1983 and his death in 1984, Goodman released two albums on Red Pajamas: Artistic Hair and Affordable Art. Two more, Santa Ana Winds and the Grammy Award-winning Unfinished Business, were released posthumously in 1984 and 1987. Red Pajamas Records operated under the management of Oh Boy Records, which was owned by Goodman's friend John Prine. Red Pajamas released archival live performances by Goodman, compilations, and reissues of his earlier material. The label also released three recordings of tribute performances by Goodman's friends.
Indira Weis is a German singer and actress who rose to fame as a member of the R&B/Pop group Bro'Sis.
"L'Été indien" is a 1975 single by American-French singer Joe Dassin. In the song he reflects with fond memories of his lover, whom he met during an indian summer, but with whom he has now lost contact.
"Quando m'innamoro" is a 1968 Italian song written by Daniele Pace, Mario Panzeri and Roberto Livraghi and sung with a double performance by Anna Identici and by The Sandpipers at the 1968 Sanremo Music Festival, in which it came 6th.
"Les Champs-Élysées" is a 1969 song by American-French singer Joe Dassin. It is a French-language cover of "Waterloo Road", a single released the previous year by English rock band Jason Crest.
"Non illuderti mai" is a song by Italian singer Orietta Berti, released as a single in April 1968 for the summer festival Un disco per l'estate. The song came in second place at the festival behind "Luglio" by Riccardo Del Turco. It has notably been covered in English as "My Little Lady" by the Tremeloes and in French as "Ma bonne étoile" by Joe Dassin.