One of my very favoritest 2 record album set of all time, was recorded by my friend Merle Haggard, back in 1969, and it featured songs that were written by “The Singing Brakeman”, Jimmie Rodgers. [This set is on Vinyl, the way real records used to be] I first heard a song from this album on my way home from work one evening. I was half way between Modesto, Ca. and Campo Seco, Ca. where I lived, and I was listening to Glen Stepp, an of mine’s radio show when he said, here’s a song by Merle Haggard off of his latest album, and commenced playing one of Jimmie’s “train songs”. [ Lookie yonder comin’, comin’ down the railroad track, lookie yonder coming, coming down the railroad track- – -] By this time I had jes turned onto Hiway 26 fer a couple of miles. And halfway through that song, I slammed to a stop, turned my car around and headed to Freitas Music in downtown Stockton, Ca., one of the few places you could find REAL country music back then. I got there 10 minutes before closing time, and bought one of the greatest tributes ever recorded to the music of Jimmie Rodgers. Mr. Nes Freitas told me that, that record was selling like the proverbial hotcakes! I sat up until WAY after midnight playing it that night, and it’s still one of my favoritest of Merle’s recordings. [As soon as it was available on CD I got that one too.]
Well, as my pal Ron Thomason is wont to say, I told you that, now I’ll tell you this. My father was raised in the Masonic Orphanage in Batesville, Arkansas until he was 18 years old. They taught all of the boys and girls a trade while they were raised there so they would be able to support themselves. The girls were trained as nurses and the boys as carpenters. SO, fast-forward to the summer of1931. My father was 23 years old, and had gone over to Oklahoma to visit his brother William Oscar Rhynes who had moved to Henryetta, Oklahoma a few years prior. Dad said that carpenter work was slow at the time so he stayed in Oklahoma to work in the wheat harvest fer anew weeks. While he was there he was witness to one of he greatest events ever in his life. He got to see, live in person THE Jimmie Rodgers, “The Singing Brakeman”! Dad said that Jimmie was in town to put on a live concert on a Saturday evening at the local theatre, and to promote it he did a live “promo” show in the town square that day. Dad said there were so many folks in the square that day it was gonna be hard fer everybody to hear Jimmie sing. You gotta remember this was way before electrical sound systems were available. Now there in that town square is a statue that is a memorial to those who have served in our armed services. It is large statue, so Dad said ol Jimmie got up onto the base of that statue with his Martin guitar and sang about a dozen or so songs for the throng of folks gathered there. It goes without saying that was sold out that night, and Dad said every farmer within a100 mile radius was in Henryetta to hear Jimmie Rodgers sing that day.
Years later, it was my pleasure to introduce my father to Alan O’Bryant and listen to dad tell Alan of the time he saw Jimmie Rodgers sing to the folks there in Henryeta, Ok. Alan would always sing the song The Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home, for my father, and dedicate it to him. [ As far as I’m concerned, there aint NOBODY can sing that song like Alan O’Bryant can! ]
The SInging Brakeman has been gone now fer 78 years, and Dad “crossed over Jordan” 13 years ago, but the memories of those stories as well as the music will be with us as long as there is folks that love this music we call Country and Bluegrass. May GOD bless the memory of Jimmie Rodgers, a TRUE American original.
Oh yes. The title of that 2 record set is; Same Train, Different Time Koch 3-4051-2.
