Back in 1981 when I was 12 we almost moved to Amory MS. While visiting I remember hearing a song (I think it was a rock song) that talked about the Frisco. Any chance someone here knows what I am talking about?
The first one that comes to mind is "Mean old Frisco", a blues/rock song recorded by Eric Clapton and others. www.allmusic.com attributes it to Arthur Crudup. Lyrics etc. are readily available via Google. Other likely candidates include "Frisco Line" by bluesman Mississippi Fred McDowell, and "Frisco Road" by folk musician and itinerant rabblerouser Utah Phillips. I don't have the lyrics to the latter one handy, but Phillips has been known to sing about railroads, hobos, etc. There are a few other songs with Frisco in the title which will show up if you do a song-title search on www.allmusic.com. But I suspect the one you remember is one of the three mentioned above. Bradley A. Scott
One more piece of Frisco song trivia, Although not the song you're looking for, there's a line in the Oak Ridge Boys song, "Ozark Mountain Jubilee" that mentions the "Frisco Silver Dollar Line", a nod to the narrow gauge steam excursion train at Silver Dollar City. Which is a nod to the real Frisco. Craig
Would any of these have been sold as a 45 in the museum in Amory back in 1981? Wonderful thing about 26 year old memories, you're not sure if they are real or not
If it was being sold in a museum in Amory, Mississippi, then the Fred McDowell song would be my first guess. He was an old-time bluesman from that area. (See Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_McDowell). Of course as you point out, this is all conjectural without some more knowledge. If you remember at all what it sounded like, you could check on Amazon and other websites for short sound clips to jog your memory. Bradley A. Scott
Well I've listened to a bunch on Rhapsody and I am not recognizing any. We moved to Mississippi in 1980 and in 1981 we almost moved to Amory. I remember that the railroad was a big part of the town. I believe that they had a yearly festival around it. I grew up in a town without a railroad so it was really interesting seeing it that close. I think that may be why I find them so fascinating.
If this is the museum you visited, then maybe someone there will have some "institutional memory". http://www.amoryms.us/museum.html Bradley A. Scott
I have two specific songs about the Frisco Railroad. I will get the lyrics up and posted. One is about the wreck of old 128, the other is a ballad about the Frisco. Songs are by Wayne Moore: Frisco's Tommy Tucker and the Ballad of the Frisco.
