Blackfoot was on the rise in the late 1970s when the Southern rock band released “Train, Train,” a fan favorite written by frontman Rickey Medlocke‘s grandfather.
In 1979, Blackfoot released their first major album, Strikes, and landed at No. 183 on the Billboard 200 before making its way to No. 42. Among its list of tracks were two main hits, “Highway Song,” which reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Train, Train”, which reached No. 38.
What captured the interest of fans was the song’s harmonica intro that mimics the sound of a steam locomotive blowing its whistle. Its lyrics talk about a man whose lover is leaving town on a “midnight train to Memphis” and his decision to follow her. “Train, Train” has a longer history before it was released by Blackfoot.
The song was created in the late ’30s and recorded in 1971 by Shorty Medlocke. He originally sang the track alongside his daughter under “Train” by Shorty Medlock & Mickey with the Fla. Plow Hands.
“There is a song that my granddaddy Shorty wrote way back in 1938… I started to play the lick and the next thing you know ‘Train, Train’ is born,” said Medlocke, according to Hit Channel.
Decades later, the song would get a new life thanks to Blackfoot when Shorty gave the track to the band to record for their own album. The blues singer would still have his hand in the track as its original creator and played its harmonica solo.
“He toured with the band. He would come out and play ‘Train Train’”’ on stage with us on the harmonica. He would play ‘Rattlesnake Rock ‘N Roller’ and ‘Fox Chase’ with us. He got his chance… I would introduce him to the audience as the world’s oldest rock star. He ate that up because the audience would just freak out. Here was this guy standing in front of them, blowing the harmonica, and it was amazing. Here is a guy in his late ‘60s, soon to be 70, and he was out there just rocking,” he said, according to Classic Rock Revisited.
Strikes would be Blackfoot’s first platinum album and their most successful, which yielded two hits for the band. Medlocke adds that recording “Train, Train,” was his “way of saying ‘thank you’ to him for everything that he and my ma gave me growing up. They let me explore what I wanted to do in my life. Shorty Medlocke was a one of a kind.”
Sadly, the band didn’t flourish as a Southern rock gem as they had hoped, as they broke up and got together multiple times, with Medlocke having been one of the early members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Blackfoot would reform over the years until Medlocke brought together a new lineup in 2012 to carry on the name. He stayed on as their producer and released their album Southern Native in 2016, and is now more active with Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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