COMPOSITE_0001.mp4 (11628 KB)

"Night Train" is a twelve bar blues instrumental standard first recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1951. The piece's opening riff was first recorded in 1940 by a small group led by Duke Ellington sideman Johnny Hodges under the title "That's the Blues, Old Man". James Brown released a funky ersion in 1962 that reached #5 on the R#B charts and #35 on the pop charts. His performance replaced the original lyrics of the song with a shouted list of American cities (mainly in the South) and many repetitions of the song's name. A live version of the tune was the closing number on his breakthrough 1963 album Live at the Apollo. Jazz pianist Oscar Peterson recorded it with his trio on a 1962. Featured on the soundtrack album to Quadrophenia (1979)