|
February 2007
"Blue railroad train
A good old pal to me
You take me where I want to go
And my transportation's free…"
From "Blue Railroad Train"
By Alton Delmore
 luerailroad is an international musical express on a fast melodic track that runs from Blueberry Hill to Thunder Road, from Tin Pan Alley to the Big Muddy, down Cypress Avenue to Bleeker Street along Blue Jay Way, in the purple rain and the purple haze under a blue moon on a mellow yellow brick road. It will head directly down Highway 61 past the blue bayou, down Alphabet Street via Arcady to Atlantis, with stops at Shangri-La, the Hotels Heartbreak and Chelsea, over Desolation Row to Orange Avenue, 9th & Hennepin, through Dreamland under a blue moon in the red rain to Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields. The conductors are the Seventh Son, Madame George, the Hootchie Cootchie Man and Billy Shears.
It's with much excitement and passion that I proudly bring you, with the able assistance of the entire Bluerailroad family, our first issue. This is a good place to start, as it sets the stage for what's to come. Of course there might be much more here in the future that extends in a multitude of musical directions. Where this train will lead no one is entirely sure, but one thing we know is that we are dedicated to bringing you thoughtful, extensive and in-depth interviews with and articles about musicians of all genres and generations.
For years people have complained to me about music magazines never devoting enough space to stories and interviews about musicians. And I understand: print magazines are expensive to publish and distribute, and require ample space for ads and photos. And that space is necessarily limited. Not so here in cyberspace. We will certainly have ads, as paying ourselves and our writers and staff seems like a good way to go. And we will have photos, many of which I will happily shoot myself, and many will come from the celebrated archives of our good pal, Henry Diltz (as does our Dylan shot on our front page.)
But we also have all the room we want to stretch out, and bring you the kind of conversations with classic musicians, and new artists, that they deserve.
And so it seems ideal to me to launch this first issue of this Bluerailroad with two main stories - my interviews with songwriting legends Leiber & Stoller, and also with Bob Dylan.
Before interviewing Leiber & Stoller, who are true architects of rock and roll, having written such classics as "Hound Dog," "Stand By Me" and Jailhouse Rock," to name only three, I read every interview and article about them I could find. And when I interviewed them, the revelation I received was that not a single one of these interviews or articles got their story right. Every single one, without exception, mangled, mythologized and distorted the facts - even those published in the most celebrated music magazines. This interview will be the very first time that the facts about Leiber & Stoller, and the circumstances surrounding the origins of their famous songs - circumstances which involve such legendary figures as Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Phil Spector and others - will be accurately and faithfully relayed. And it will accomplish this by presenting the truth as it exists: in the sometimes varied, but generally aligned recollections of these two great men. So I am very pleased to present this amazing discussion with Leiber & Stoller.
And here also is my interview with Bob Dylan, which I conducted in 1993. It's my hope and my intention to bring you a new interview with Mr. Dylan in these pages soon. But for now this one will suffice, as it is a thoughtful and fascinating exploration of the thoughts of this amazing man. It's the only interview Dylan has ever done that focuses specifically on his methods of songwriting, and also gets him to comment directly on famous lines of his, such as "standing here looking at this yellow railroad in the ruins of your balcony…" (from "Absolutely Sweet Marie"), about which Bob shares much.
In fact, this magazine might very well have been called Yellowrailroad in his honor, had that name not already have been taken, and thus inspiring us to paint our own locomotive a nice shade of blue. And "Blue Railroad" is a classic bluegrass tune, made famous by the Delmore Brothers [see below] and written by Alton Delmore. "The Delmore Brothers, God, I really loved them," said Dylan, tying this all together for us. "I think they've influences every harmony I've ever tried to sing." I appreciate the symmetry of using this Delmore's tune as our namesake as the brothers Delmore united precisely for the same reason this Bluerailroad has been launched: to play, celebrate and revel in the timeless, inspirational and genuine greatness that is music. Alton and Rabon Delmore got together just to play, and because they loved music - earning money and awards from music wasn't ever their intention. And that authentic love of music is at the heart of this Ferrocarril Azul, this Ferrovia Blu.
We are also bringing you in this debut issue, and all subsequent issues of Bluerailroad, a department called Favorite Five, in which we have asked musicians and lovers of music around the globe to offer a list - with brief explanations - of five of their current favorite songs. I'm happy to say my vision of a Bluerailroad that extends around this world is realized here: we have contributors from as far afield as Jakarta, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Russia and Africa here - all united by that which does unite us even in this age of chaos and complexity - the timeless power of music.
And we have reviews of new albums, and columns by five wonderful artists, all of whom I am proud and honored to bring to our pages. Rock legend John Doe has launched his own "poetry slab," a column that will feature the poetry of writers from around the world, by contributing two of his own nascent verses, work from which songs often spring. The great songwriter Peter Case is also here, giving us an insider's look into the often grimy but never dull machinery of the music business in a column that will cover a multitude of musical topics in coming months. Parthenon Huxley, well-known as a wonderful singer-songwriter and now also the lead singer of Orchestra, which is the reincarnation of ELO sans Mr. Lynne, shares with us his perspective on traveling within a rock and roll circus to places in the world I've never even heard of before, much less attempted to spell. And Bob Malone, who is one of this world's most amazing piano men, burning up the keys with his great Dr. John meets Tom Waits with a touch of McCartney and Tower of Power horns throughout the world, is here to share with us some chapters from his book of life. And rounding it out is the divine Veronique Chevalier, who has entranced audiences as a chanteuse and impresario, mixing the worlds of Edith Piaf, Ed Sullivan and P.T. Barnum in her magical vaudeville shows, and is bringing us a monthly exploration of wild and wonderful vaudeville, burlesque and other theatrical and musical events the world over that rarely get included in the pages of the music press.
Bluerailroad celebrates and honors the full spectrum of music, all genres and generations. Unlike other musical periodicals that seek to segregate music into separate bins, not unlike those record stores of yore, Bluerailroad envelops the understanding that all music is united, and starts in the same place - in the hearts and souls of musicians connecting with inspiration, energy and grace.
Many thanks to all our contributors - with special gratitude extended to P.F. Sloan, Henry Diltz, Tonio K., Terre Roche, Bob Dylan, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, John Doe, Peter Case, Veronique Chevalier and Parthenon Huxley. Also many thanks to our valiant publishers Henry Crinkle & Mo Golden - for embracing my vision and not screwing with it (too much). And to Mr. Scott Docherty, whose inspired visual flair, computer savvy and measured elegance has made all of this real.
I hope you like it. If you have any thoughts about this, or you would like to ride on the Bluerailroad yourself, drop me a line.
All best all the time,
Paul Zollo
Editor
zollo@bluerailroad.com
Blue Railroad
By Alton Delmore
Blue railroad train
Going down the railroad tracks
It makes me feel so doggone blue
To listen to that old smokestack
Come back again
Let me hear the whistle blow
You're taking the sun and leaving the rain
And I hate to see you go
Blue railroad train
Leaving me far behind
Gimme back the good old days
And let me ramble down the line
Blue railroad train
Leaving me her alone
You treat me good you treat me bad
You're making me think of home
I've got the blues
I'm longing for your company
It's many miles from where I am
To the only one for me
It's lonely here
Waiting for the manifest
I hope that engineer is kind
Enough to let me be his guest
I'm not as bad
As you might think I am
I hobo here I hobo there
I've traveled these states around
Blue railroad train
A good old pal to me
You take me where I want to go
And my transportation's free
Paul Zollo, Hollywoodland, February 2007
Top
| Back
|
