The story of how Arlo Guthrie recorded the City of New Orleans.
From Wikipedia....
"Later in 1971, Goodman was playing at a Chicago bar called the Quiet Knight as the opening act for
Kris Kristofferson. Kristofferson, impressed with Goodman, introduced him to
Paul Anka, who brought Goodman to New York to record some demos. These resulted in Goodman signing a contract with
Buddah Records.
All this time, Goodman had been busy writing many of his most enduring songs, and this avid songwriting would lead to an important break for him. While at the Quiet Knight, Goodman saw
Arlo Guthrie, and asked to be allowed to play a song for him. Guthrie grudgingly agreed, on the condition that Goodman buy him a beer first; Guthrie would listen to Goodman for as long as it took Guthrie to drink the beer. Goodman played "
City of New Orleans",
(original lyrics) which Guthrie liked enough that he asked to record it. Guthrie's version of the song became a Top 20 hit in 1972, and provided Goodman with enough financial and artistic success to make his music a full-time career. The song, about the Illinois Central's
City of New Orleans train, would become an American standard, covered by such musicians as
Johnny Cash,
Judy Collins, and
Willie Nelson, whose recorded version earned Goodman a posthumous
Grammy Award for
Best Country Song in
1985. A French translation of the song, "Salut Les Amoureux", was recorded by
Joe Dassin in 1979. According to his wife, the song began as Goodman in his imagination wandered all the way to New Orleans while on a train from Chicago to visit her elderly grandmother in
Mattoon, Illinois."
