On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song written by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.[1] The song was published in 1944, spanned the hit chart in mid-1945, and won the 1946 Academy Award for Best Original Song,[1] the first win for Mercer.[2]
The song refers to the eponymous fallen flag railroad, and was featured in the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, where it was sung by Judy Garland, with support from Ben Carter, Marjorie Main, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and the MGM Chorus.[1]
At one point in mid-1945, versions by Mercer, Bing Crosby, and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra were on the hit chart simultaneously. In late September, the Crosby version, first to make the chart, was joined by one by Judy Garland and the Merry Macs.
Mercer said that the lyrics came to him when he was sitting on a Union Pacific train and saw another train labeled "Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe'", and he was struck by the rhythm of the words.[2][3] Despite mentions in the lyrics of the song, the AT&SF never directly reached Laramie, Wyoming (Union Pacific Railroad) or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Reading Company, Pennsylvania Railroad or Baltimore & Ohio).
Recorded versions
- The Johnny Mercer recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 195. The recording, with backing vocals by The Pied Pipers,[3] first reached the Billboard charts on July 5, 1945, and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at number one.[4]
- The Bing Crosby recording (backing vocals by Six Hits and a Miss) was made on February 17, 1944[5] and released by Decca Records as catalog number 18690. The record first reached the Billboard charts on July 19, 1945, and lasted ten weeks on the chart, peaking at number four.[4]
- The Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra recording, vocal by The Sentimentalists, was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1682. The record first reached the Billboard charts on August 2, 1945, and lasted six weeks on the chart, peaking at number six.[4]
- The Judy Garland/Merry Macs recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 23436. The record reached the Billboard charts on September 20, 1945, at number ten, its only week on the chart.[4]
- It has been covered by other artists, including Petula Clark, Louis Jordan, Harry Connick Jr., Mandy Patinkin, The Four Freshmen, Henry Mancini, John Denver, and Rosemary Clooney with Harry James and His Orchestra.
Other uses
- AT&SF used a version of this song for television advertisements in the 1970s.
- This song's instrumental can be heard in two Tom and Jerry shorts, "The Cat Concerto" and "Jerry and Jumbo".
- This song was included in a salute to Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. during the opening ceremony of the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis.[6]
See also
- List of number-one singles of 1945 (U.S.)
- List of train songs
References
- ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #1". 1972.
- ^ a b "Music USA #7881-A, Interview with Johnny Mercer". July 28, 1976.
- ^ a b c d Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "August 8, 1987 - Opening Ceremonies for the 10th Pan American Games at Indianapolis". YouTube.
- v
- t
- e
- "My Blue Heaven" (with Paul Whiteman)
- "Ol' Man River" (with Paul Whiteman)
- "Mississippi Mud" (with Paul Whiteman)
- "Silent Night, Holy Night" (with Paul Whiteman)
- "Makin' Whoopee" (with Paul Whiteman)
- "Let's Do It" (with Dorsey Brothers)
- "Louise"
- "Three Little Words" (with Duke Ellington)
- "I Surrender Dear" (with Gus Arnheim)
- "Just a Gigolo"
- "At Your Command"
- "Stardust"
- "Goodnight, Sweetheart"
- "Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)" (Bing's Theme Song)
- "Waltzing in a Dream"
- "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
- "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You"
- "Temptation"
- "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?"
- "June in January"
- "Love Is Just Around the Corner"
- "I Wished on the Moon"
- "It Ain't Necessarily So"
- "I Can't Escape from You"
- "Pennies from Heaven"
- "Silent Night"
- "Adeste Fideles"
- "Sweet Leilani"
- "Blue Hawaii"
- "Never in a Million Years"
- "Sail Along, Silv'ry Moon"
- "My Reverie"
- "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby"
- "God Bless America"
- "Ciribiribin (They're So in Love)" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Tumbling Tumbleweeds"
- "Only Forever"
- "It's Always You"
- "New San Antonio Rose" (with Bob Crosby)
- "Dolores"
- "Deep in the Heart of Texas" (with Woody Herman)
- "Easter Parade"
- "White Christmas"
- "Moonlight Becomes You"
- "Sunday, Monday, or Always"
- "People Will Say We're in Love" (with Trudy Erwin)
- "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" (with Trudy Erwin)
- "Pistol Packin' Mama" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
- "Jingle Bells" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Poinciana"
- "I Love You"
- "I'll Be Seeing You"
- "Swinging on a Star"
- "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Hot Time in the Town of Berlin" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral (That's an Irish Lullaby)"
- "Amor"
- "Long Ago (and Far Away)"
- "Don't Fence Me In" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "You Belong to My Heart"
- "Along the Navajo Trail (with Andrews Sisters)
- "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe"
- "If I Loved You"
- "It's Been a Long, Long Time" (with Les Paul Trio)
- "I Can't Begin to Tell You"
- "The Bells of St. Mary's"
- "McNamara's Band"
- "Sioux City Sue"
- "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Night and Day"
- "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Galway Bay
- "Ballerina"
- "Now Is the Hour"
- "But Beautiful"
- "Far Away Places"
- "Careless Hands"
- "Riders in the Sky"
- "Some Enchanted Evening"
- "Dear Hearts and Gentle People"
- "Mule Train"
- "Quicksilver" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy"
- "Play a Simple Melody" (with Gary Crosby)
- "Sam's Song " (with Gary Crosby)
- "La Vie en rose"
- "All My Love"
- "Beyond the Reef"
- "Harbor Lights"
- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
- "A Marshmallow World"
- "Sparrow in the Treetop" (with Andrews Sisters)
- "Gone Fishin'" (with Louis Armstrong)
- "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (with Jane Wyman)
- "The Isle of Innisfree"
- "Zing a Little Zong" (with Jane Wyman)
- "Silver Bells" (with Carol Richards)
- "Down by the Riverside" (with Gary Crosby)
- "Young at Heart"
- "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep"
- "Stranger in Paradise"
- "In a Little Spanish Town" (with Buddy Cole Trio)
- "True Love" (with Grace Kelly)
- "Now You Has Jazz" (with Louis Armstrong)
- "Well, Did You Evah!" (with Frank Sinatra)