Picture
45 single, picture sleeve. Freedom Train (NR5767) (1975)
Image credit: freedometrain.org
"Here Comes the Freedom Train" is a single by Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. It was released on April 1, 1975, by The American Freedom Train Foundation. The song was written by Stephen Lemberg. The record was sold as a fundraising item for the bicentennial run of the American Freedom Train which ran from ​April 1, 1975 to December 31, 1976.

Track listing

Side A
  • Here Comes the Freedom Train (Steve Lemberg) 3:56
Side B
  • All Aboard America (Porter Wagoner solo) (Porter Wagoner, Steve Lemberg) 3:38

Background

A press release was issued on September 13, 1973, by the American Freedom Train Foundation announcing that the recordings were made at Bobby Dyson's Cabin Studio. An additional press release states the single was recorded at RCA Studio B, along with the musicians listed on this page, a fact corroborated by the American Federation of Musicians files. It is likely that the songs were initially recorded at Bobby Dyson's Cabin Studio, subsequently deemed unsatisfactory, and then re-recorded at RCA. It is unclear as to why the picture sleeve says "featuring Chet Atkins" because he is not listed as having played on the released versions of these tracks. It's possible he performed on the original versions recorded at Bobby Dyson's Cabin Studio.

​This single was long believed to have been released in 1973 due to the copyright date on the sleeve, but the catalog number/matrix number places its manufacture and release in 1975, likely coinciding with the beginning of the Freedom Train's tour.

Recording

Both sides of the the single were recorded on October 12, 1973, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the 2014 box set, Just Between You and Me: The Complete Recordings, 1967–1976.
  • Stu Basore – steel guitar
  • Bobby Dyson – bass
  • Bob Ferguson – producer
  • Johnny Gimble – fiddle
  • Dave Kirby – electric guitar
  • Larrie Londin – drums, percussion
  • ​Mack Magaha – fiddle
  • The Nashville Edition – background vocals
  • Ron Oates – piano
  • Dolly Parton – lead vocals
  • Bobby Thompson – rhythm guitar, banjo
  • Porter Wagoner – lead vocals, producer