[Dixielandjazz] NIGHT TRAIN

[Stan Brager]

Harry;

The "Night Train" theme was a part of "Happy-Go-Lucky Local" which is
credited to both Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington. With regard to "Night
Train", it's not unusual for someone to take an idea from one composition,
expand it and copywrite it as his own. This is the case with Jimmy Forrest.

Stan
Stan Brager

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Harry Callaghan [mailto:meetmrcallaghan at gmail.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 5:54 AM
> To: dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] NIGHT TRAIN
> 
> I recently saw Diana Krall perform "Night Train" and she made mention
> of the
> fact that the manner in which she played the number was inspired by her
> late
> friend Oscar Peterson.
> 
> Also, as Duke Ellington was a composer as well as orchestra leader, it
> is
> not all that uncommon for a disc-jockey to mistakenly give credit to
> Duke
> for composing something that was actually written by Billy Strayhorn.
> I
> doubt very much if it is intentional.
> 
> However, what has always been a complete puzzlement to me is why
> Ellington
> allowed his former saxophonist Jimmy Forest rip off  a segment of his
> "Happy-Go-Lucky-Local" and call it "Night Train"
> 
> I have Forest's original version on a 45 and a number of others, most
> notably those of Buddy Morrow and a real upbeat version by Ernie
> Englund
> which an old friend of mine named Lee Donahue used as his theme for a
> rock
> deejay show in the late 50s bearing that name.
> 
> While I never inquired of Lee as to why he used that version, I suspect
> that
> since it was recorded on the Cadence label, it might have been some
> form of
> allegiance to Archie Bleyer, my boss at the time.
> 
> It has also often been used as background music in a movie scene or
> some TV
> skit when strippers would come walking down the runway..........believe
> me,
> with Ernie's version of it, they would have to come running down the
> runway.
> 
> Each one has Forest credited as the composer, and it would stand to
> reason
> that he would therefore be the recipient of any royalties attributed to
> the
> sales of the multitude of recorded versions.  I have never seen a piece
> of
> sheet music.but would strongly suspect that the same might be true
> there as
> well.
> 
> Don't know if there's an answer but I just considered it worth thinking
> about, while waiting for the tea kettle to whistle again
> 
> Tides,
> HC
> 
> --
> Music you grew up listening to
> Or when we're done you'll wish
> you grew up listening to.
> 
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