Here Comes the Freedom Train
1976 single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers
| "Here Comes the Freedom Train" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Merle Haggard and The Strangers | ||||
| from the album My Love Affair with Trains | ||||
| B-side | "I Won't Give Up My Train" | |||
| Released | May 17, 1976 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Stephen H. Lemberg | |||
| Producer(s) | Ken Nelson | |||
| Merle Haggard and The Strangers singles chronology | ||||
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"Here Comes the Freedom Train" is a 1976 song written by Stephen H. Lemberg, best known for being performed by American country music artist Merle Haggard and The Strangers. It was released in May 1976 as the first single from the album My Love Affair with Trains. "Here Comes the Freedom Train" peaked at number ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.[1] It reached number-one on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks in July 1976.
It was originally written for the country music duo of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, who recorded it with special guest Chet Atkins in RCA Studios for release in 1973 by the American Freedom Train Foundation. The 45 single of the recording was sold as a fund-raising item for the bicentennial trip Freedom Train took across the United States.[2]
Content
The song is historical narrative of the United States, which was about to celebrate its Bicentennial.
Personnel
- Merle Haggard– vocals, guitar
The Strangers:
- Roy Nichols – lead guitar
- Norman Hamlet – steel guitar, dobro
- Tiny Moore – mandolin
- Eldon Shamblin– guitar
- Ronnie Reno – guitar
- Mark Yeary – piano
- James Tittle – bass
- Biff Adam – drums
- Don Markham – saxophone
Chart performance
| Chart (1976) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[3] | 10 |
| Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
See also
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 146.
- ^ Official website of the American Freedom Train
- ^ "Merle Haggard Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
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- The Strangers
- Biff Adam
- Jimmy Belken
- Eddie Burris
- Gary Church
- Wayne Durham
- George French
- Dennis Hromek
- Don Markham
- Johnny Meeks
- Marcia Nichols
- Ronnie Reno
- Clint Strong
- Jim Tittle
- Jerry Ward
- Bobby Wayne
- Mark Yeary
- Strangers
- Swinging Doors ‡
- I'm a Lonesome Fugitive ‡
- Branded Man ‡
- Sing Me Back Home ‡
- The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde ‡
- Mama Tried ‡
- Pride in What I Am ‡
- Same Train, a Different Time ‡
- A Portrait of Merle Haggard ‡
- A Tribute to the Best Damn Fiddle Player in the World (or, My Salute to Bob Wills) ‡
- Hag ‡
- Someday We'll Look Back ‡
- Let Me Tell You About a Song ‡
- It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) ‡
- If We Make It Through December ‡
- Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album ‡
- Keep Movin' On ‡
- It's All in the Movies ‡
- My Love Affair with Trains ‡
- The Roots of My Raising ‡
- Ramblin' Fever
- A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today ‡
- My Farewell to Elvis
- I'm Always on a Mountain When I Fall
- Serving 190 Proof
- The Way I Am
- Back to the Barrooms
- Big City
- Going Where the Lonely Go
- That's the Way Love Goes
- It's All in the Game
- Kern River
- Out Among the Stars
- A Friend in California
- Chill Factor
- 5:01 Blues
- Blue Jungle
- 1994
- 1996
- If I Could Only Fly
- Roots, Volume 1
- The Peer Sessions
- Haggard Like Never Before
- Unforgettable
- Chicago Wind
- The Bluegrass Sessions
- I Am What I Am
- Working in Tennessee
- Songs I'll Always Sing
- Merle Haggard's Greatest Hits
- His Epic Hits: The First 11 (To Be Continued...)
- Down Every Road 1962–1994
- 16 Biggest Hits
- Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard
- Okie from Muskogee ‡
- The Fightin' Side of Me ‡
- I Love Dixie Blues ‡
- Rainbow Stew Live at Anaheim Stadium
- The Epic Collection (Recorded Live)
- Amber Waves of Grain
- The Land of Many Churches ‡
- Songs for the Mama That Tried
- Cabin in the Hills
- Two Old Friends (with Albert E. Brumley, Jr.)
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| 1970s |
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| 1980s |
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| Singles |
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‡ indicates a release performed with The Strangers
 | This 1970s country song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
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