FREIGHT TRAIN
THE CHAS MCDEVITT
SKIFFLE GROUP
THE CHAS MCDEVITT
SKIFFLE GROUP
Written by: James/Williams/Cotten
Recorded by: The Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group
featuring Nancy Whiskey (1956)
Recorded by: The Chas McDevitt Skiffle Group
featuring Nancy Whiskey (1956)
AN UNLIKELY INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS,
‘Freight Train’ was recorded in
Levy’s studio in London’s New
Bond Street in late 1956. Chas McDevitt was
prevailed upon to make this skiffle record sound
different from all the others by featuring a female
lead vocalist in the form of fellow Glaswegian,
Nancy Whiskey (real name Anne Wilson) who
was an aspiring folk singer not particularly
interested in skiffle. The result won them a gold
disc, taking them to number five in the UK charts
and even seeing them perform the song on the
prestigious Ed Sullivan Show in New York City,
an extraordinary break. The legendary country
and jazz guitarist Hank Garland supplemented
their line-up on that show. They had a minor hit
with ‘Freight Train’ in the US too, although Rusty
Draper’s cover version fared better. The song itself
was the subject of many copyright wrangles over
the years although it is widely accepted that it
was originally composed in 1906 by 11-year-old
Elizabeth Nevills (later Cotten) who only became
well-known in later life as a result of working as a
domestic for Ruth and Charles Seeger. One of the
children in her care, Mike Seeger (a half-brother
of Pete Seeger) became a folklorist and encouraged
her to start making music again. Chas McDevitt’s
version of the song had a unique haunting quality
that made it stand out from the competition
not just because of Nancy Whiskey’s voice and
his whistling but because it was all acoustic and
somehow just sounded authentic. Lonnie Donegan
was the king of skiffle but he never made a record
as good as ‘Freight Train’ which, of course, found
its way into The Quarrymen’s repertoire along
with a few other skiffle train songs. Significantly
Lennon and McCartney first tried their hand
at writing together by penning ‘One After 909’
using ‘Freight Train’ and another skiffle song as
‘Freight Train’ was recorded in
Levy’s studio in London’s New
Bond Street in late 1956. Chas McDevitt was
prevailed upon to make this skiffle record sound
different from all the others by featuring a female
lead vocalist in the form of fellow Glaswegian,
Nancy Whiskey (real name Anne Wilson) who
was an aspiring folk singer not particularly
interested in skiffle. The result won them a gold
disc, taking them to number five in the UK charts
and even seeing them perform the song on the
prestigious Ed Sullivan Show in New York City,
an extraordinary break. The legendary country
and jazz guitarist Hank Garland supplemented
their line-up on that show. They had a minor hit
with ‘Freight Train’ in the US too, although Rusty
Draper’s cover version fared better. The song itself
was the subject of many copyright wrangles over
the years although it is widely accepted that it
was originally composed in 1906 by 11-year-old
Elizabeth Nevills (later Cotten) who only became
well-known in later life as a result of working as a
domestic for Ruth and Charles Seeger. One of the
children in her care, Mike Seeger (a half-brother
of Pete Seeger) became a folklorist and encouraged
her to start making music again. Chas McDevitt’s
version of the song had a unique haunting quality
that made it stand out from the competition
not just because of Nancy Whiskey’s voice and
his whistling but because it was all acoustic and
somehow just sounded authentic. Lonnie Donegan
was the king of skiffle but he never made a record
as good as ‘Freight Train’ which, of course, found
its way into The Quarrymen’s repertoire along
with a few other skiffle train songs. Significantly
Lennon and McCartney first tried their hand
at writing together by penning ‘One After 909’
using ‘Freight Train’ and another skiffle song as
templates. The Beatles made an unsatisfactory
attempt to record ‘One After 909’ in 1963 but
the song it did not get its first public hearing
until a much later performance on the Let It Be
album. The 1963 takes were later edited together
for The Beatles Anthology to give a good idea of
how it might have sounded had they finished
recording it back at the start of their career.
attempt to record ‘One After 909’ in 1963 but
the song it did not get its first public hearing
until a much later performance on the Let It Be
album. The 1963 takes were later edited together
for The Beatles Anthology to give a good idea of
how it might have sounded had they finished
recording it back at the start of their career.
In 1997 George Harrison wrote ‘...who couldresist Chas and Nancy when they did ‘Freight
Train’? I loved it then and I still think
it’s pretty cool now!’This studio shot
shows Chas (left) and Nancy with a newly
modified lineup shortly after their big 1957
hit.