| Born next to the railway tracks in
the small Oklahoma town of Lawton, Jimmy C. Williams grew up with
a love of trains and started imitating train whistles from an
early age. Jimmy’s father made a living as a cowboy and the family
moved often due to this type of work. After leaving from high
school, Jimmy graduated from college in engineering management
and pilot training. He is now known as an aircraft and train engineer
as well as a county music singer.
In 2011 Jimmy contacted Jim Vest in Nashville. Steel Guitar
great, Jim Vest has had a successful career as not only a musician
but as  singer/songwriter.
In 1969 Vest moved to Nashville and became the leader of the
band at the Western Room in Printer's Alley. There he formed
the "Nashville Cats", which has remained one of the
top country music groups for over 18 years. Jim also produced
albums and singles for such well-known artists as Hank Cochran,
Willie Nelson and Box Car Willie’s first album in 1976. Jimmy
told Vest that he would like to record some trains songs like
Box Car Willie did. This has culminated with the CD ‘Ride The
Trains’ with Jimmy C.
The album sets the pace with Jimmy’s distinctive train whistle
as he breaks into “Ride The Train” ‘B’ Side of Alabama’s “Love In
The First Degree” from 1981 and written by the bands Teddy Gentry.
There are12 tracks here going as far back as 1928 with Jimmy
Rogers’ “Waiting For A Train”, 1930’s “Freight Train Blues” and
“Wabash Cannon Ball” originally written in 1882 as “The Great Rock
Island Route” by J.A. Roff and re-written by William Kindt in 1904
and re-titled “Wabash Cannon Ball”. Elizabeth “Libba” Cotton wrote
“Freight Train” in 1906 at the age of 11 years of age. “Libba”
became a blues singer and guitar player and at one time work as a
maid for Ruth Crawford Seeger, mother of folk singer Pete Seeger
who recorded the song in 1957.
A group of “A” list musicians can be found on ‘Ride The Trains’
with the likes of Glen Duncan and Larry Franklin on fiddle &
Mandolin, Jim Hyatt - bass, Steve Hison, Mike Johnson and Scotty
Sanders on steel & dobro, Scott Williamson – Drums, Danny Parks –
acoustic guitar & banjo, James Mitchell and Jeff King - electric
guitar with Buddy Hyatt - piano and band leader we have a heady
mix of train songs. ‘Ride The Trains’ also includes such classics
as “Orange Blossom Special”, “500 Miles”, Hank Williams “I’m So
Lonesome I Could Cry” and Johnny Cash’s “Hey Porter”. Feel the
emotion form this master craftsman as Jimmy C. Williams offers an
album of great timeless train songs for the definitive enthusiast
of this type of music.
Graham Lees Nov 2012
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