City of New Orleans (song)
| "City of New Orleans" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Steve Goodman | |
| from the album Steve Goodman | |
| B-side | "Would You Like to Learn to Dance?" |
| Released | 1971 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded | 1971 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 3:52 |
| Label | Buddah |
| Writer(s) | Steve Goodman |
| Producer(s) | Kris Kristofferson, Norbert Putnam |
| "The City of New Orleans" | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Single by Arlo Guthrie | |
| from the album Hobo's Lullaby | |
| B-side | "Days Are Short" |
| Released | July 1972 |
| Format | 7" |
| Recorded | 1972 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 4:31 |
| Label | Reprise |
| Writer(s) | Steve Goodman |
| Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker, John Pilla |
| "City of New Orleans" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Willie Nelson | ||||
| from the album City of New Orleans | ||||
| B-side | "Why Are You Pickin' on Me" | |||
| Released | July 1984 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | October 1983 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 4:47 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Writer(s) | Steve Goodman | |||
| Producer(s) | Chips Moman | |||
| Willie Nelson singles chronology | ||||
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"City of New Orleans" is a folk song written by Steve Goodman (and first recorded for Goodman's self-titled 1971 album), describing a train ride from Chicago to New Orleans on the Illinois Central Railroad's City of New Orleans in bittersweet and nostalgic terms.
Goodman got the idea while traveling on the Illinois Central line for a visit to his wife's family. The song has been recorded by numerous artists both in the US and Europe, including two major hit versions: first by Arlo Guthrie in 1972, and later by Willie Nelson in 1985.
While at the Quiet Knight bar in Chicago, Goodman saw Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that if Goodman would buy him a beer, Guthrie would listen to him play for as long as it took to drink the beer. Goodman played "City of New Orleans," which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it. The song was a hit for Guthrie on his 1972 album Hobo's Lullaby, reaching #4 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and #18 on the Hot 100 chart; it would prove to Guthrie's only top-40 hit and one of only two he would have on the Hot 100 (the other was a severely shortened and rearranged version of his magnum opus "Alice's Restaurant," which hit #97).
Steve Goodman won a posthumous Grammy Award for Best Country Song at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985 for Willie Nelson's version, which was included on his 1984 album of the same name. It reached #1 on both the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the United States and the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.
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