“Chattanooga Choo-Choo”

The classic “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” is a song from Ray’s 1960 album The Genius Hits The Road. Ray is backed by an orchestra on this song while his piano is mixed low. He makes the already-jaunty tune jazzier still, mostly with his beyond-cool vocalizations. Notable example: “You leave the Pennsylvania Station about a quarter to fo’!”

“Chattanooga Choo-Choo” fits in with the theme of his The Genius Hits The Road album, where every song has an American place name in its title. The strident arrangement here features an interesting effect on stereo versions of the LP: two sections of the orchestra providing separate instrumental breaks at the same time in either speaker in the middle of the song. It’s a great idea and gives the recording a robust, lusty density.

While Ray’s vocals are strong and effortless, he sounds a little restrained on “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”. Presumably this was on purpose, but we don’t know what purpose exactly. All we know is that it makes the music stick out that much more.

Listen to “Chattanooga Choo-Choo”

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