- Downtown Train
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"Downtown Train" Single by Tom Waits from the album Rain Dogs Released 1985 Label Island Writer(s) Tom Waits "Downtown Train" is a song by Tom Waits released on his album Rain Dogs in 1985.
The promo video for the song was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and features the boxer Jake LaMotta.
Rod Stewart recorded a cover version that became a #3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after being released as a single in late 1989, and was also a number-one single on the album rock and adult contemporary charts.[1] The song went to number-one in Canada and made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. Stewart also received a Grammy nomination for the song in the category Best Male Pop Vocal performance.[2] Stewart's cover featured the slide guitar playing of Jeff Beck, who also appeared on the music video.
Other artists who have covered "Downtown Train" include Mary Chapin Carpenter, who included it on her debut album Hometown Girl in 1987; and Patty Smyth, who released a version that same year that reached #95 on the Billboard Hot 100. Everything But the Girl also produced an acoustic cover of the song. Bob Seger also recorded a cover version of "Downtown Train" in 1989, but he opted not to release it because Stewart's version had been released earlier. On February 28, 2011, Seger finally released his version of the song as a single, which is also part of the retrospective album Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets. The German band The Piano Has Been Trinking included a version of Downtown Train (Rude Jolf) on their 1990 album The Piano Has Been Trinking which only consists of cover versions of Tom Waits songs in Kölsch dialect (Colognian).
The Swedish artist Moneybrother released a Swedish version of the song; it is included on his album Pengabrorsan. Austrian hardcore/punk band Rentokill recorded a cover of the track for their 2009 EP The O.S.E.
Contents
Chart performance
Patty Smyth version
Chart (1987) Peak
positionUS Billboard Hot 100 95 US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 40 Rod Stewart version
Chart (1989-1990) Peak
positionCanadian Singles Chart 1 German Singles Chart 39 Irish Singles Chart 13 Dutch Single Chart 42 New Zealand Singles Chart 30 UK Singles Chart 10 US Billboard Hot 100 3 US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1 US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 1 Bob Seger version
Chart (2011) Peak
positionUS Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[3] 17 See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1990
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1990 (U.S.)
- List of number-one mainstream rock hits (United States)
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 605.
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 355.
- ^ "Bob Seger Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Contemporary Songs for Bob Seger. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
External links
Tom Waits Studio albums Live albums - Big Time
- Romeo Bleeding: Live From Austin
- Glitter and Doom Live
Soundtrack albums Compilation albums - Bounced Checks
- Anthology of Tom Waits
- Asylum Years
- The Early Years, Volume One
- The Early Years, Volume Two
- Beautiful Maladies
- Used Songs 1973–1980
- Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards
Notable songs - "Ol' '55"
- "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You"
- "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) (An Evening with Pete King)"
- "Somewhere"
- "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"
- "Romeo Is Bleeding"
- "Kentucky Avenue"
- "Heartattack and Vine"
- "Jersey Girl"
- "Downtown Train"
- "Way Down in the Hole"
- "Young at Heart"
- "Bad as Me"
Tours Related articles 1970s "It's All Over Now" (1970) · "Reason to Believe"/"Maggie May" (1971) · "(I Know) I'm Losing You"/"Mandolin Wind" (1971) · "Handbags and Gladrags" (1972) · "You Wear It Well" (1972) · "Angel" (1972) · "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me)" (1972) · "Twistin' the Night Away" (1973, 1987) · "Oh! No Not My Baby" (1973) · "Farewell" / "You Send Me" (1973) · "Mine for Me" (1974) · "You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything" (1974) Stewart/Faces · "Sailing" (1975) · "This Old Heart of Mine" (1975) · "Tonight's the Night" (1975) · "The Killing of Georgie" (1976) · "Get Back" (1976) · "The First Cut Is the Deepest" (1977) · "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (1977, 1990) · "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" (1978) · "Hot Legs" (1978) · "I Was Only Joking" (1978) · "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" (1978, 1997) · "Ain't Love a Bitch" (1979) · "Blondes (Have More Fun)" (1979)1980s "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want to Be Right" (1980) · "Young Turks" (1982) · "How Long?" (1982) · "Baby Jane" (1983) · "That's What Friends Are For" (1983) · "Some Guys Have All the Luck" (1984) · "All Right Now" (1984) · "People Get Ready" (1985, 1991, 1993) Stewart/Beck · "Love Touch" (1986) · "In My Life" (1987) · "Forever Young" (1988) · "My Heart Can't Tell You No" (1988) · "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" (1989)Stewart/Isley · "Downtown Train" (1989)1990s "It Takes Two" (1990)Stewart/Turner · "Rhythm of My Heart" (1991) · "The Motown Song" (1991) · "Your Song" (1992) · "Ruby Tuesday" (1993) · "Have I Told You Lately" (1993) · "Reason to Believe" (unplugged, 1993) · "All for Love" (1993) Stewart/Adams/Sting · "Lady Luck" (1996) · "Ooh La La" (1998) · "Rocks" (1998) · "Cigarettes and Alcohol" (1998) · "Faith of the Heart" (1999)2000s "These Foolish Things" (2002) · "They Can't Take That Away from Me" (2003) · "Time After Time" (2003) · "What a Wonderful World" (2004) · "Blue Moon" (2004) · "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (2005) · "I've Got a Crush on You" (2005) · "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (2006) · "Have You Ever Seen the Rain?" (2006) · "Everybody Hurts" (2010)Bob Seger • Craig Frost • Chris Campbell • Alto Reed
Drew Abbott • Charlie Allen Martin • Dave Teegarden • Rick Mannassa • Robyn Robbins • Dawayne BaileyThe Bob Seger System albums Bob Seger solo albums Bob Seger & the
Silver Bullet Band albumsNight Moves • Stranger in Town • Against the Wind • The Distance • Like a Rock • The Fire Inside • It's a MysteryLive albums Compilations The Bob Seger Collection • Greatest Hits • Greatest Hits 2 • Early Seger Vol. 1 • Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never ForgetsSongs "East Side Story" • "Heavy Music" • "2 + 2 = ?" • "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" • "Lucifer" • "Turn the Page" • "Get Out of Denver" • "Katmandu" • "Nutbush City Limits" • "Night Moves" • "Hollywood Nights" • "We've Got Tonite" • "Old Time Rock and Roll" • "Fire Lake" • "Against the Wind" • "You'll Accomp'ny Me" • "Tryin' To Live My Life Without You" • "Shame on the Moon" • "Roll Me Away" • "Fortunate Son" • "Like a Rock" • "Shakedown" • "Landing in London" (with 3 Doors Down) • "Wait for Me" • "Downtown Train"Related articles Categories:- 1987 singles
- 1989 singles
- 2011 singles
- Patty Smyth songs
- Tom Waits songs
- Rod Stewart songs
- Bob Seger songs
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks number-one singles
- Songs written by Tom Waits
- Songs about trains
- 1985 songs
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