Horatio's Drive: America's First Road Trip

by Horatio's Drive: America's Firs

Overview

On May 19, 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson, a 31-year-old doctor from Burlington, VT, made a 50-dollar bet that he could drive an automobile from San Francisco to New York City in less than three months. Four days later, he left California in a two-cylinder "horseless carriage" (with a top cruising speed of 30 miles per hour) and began America's first transcontinental road trip. Horatio's Drive is the soundtrack to a Ken Burns documentary on Jackson's historic cross-country jaunt and features reinterpretations of popular songs of the day ("Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home"), rags ("Mississippi Rag," "Tiger Rag"), traditional pieces ("Cripple Creek," "Rovin' Gambler") and contemporary songs that fit the motif ("Back 'N' Forth in Pahrump, Nevada"), recorded by the likes of Tony Ellis, John McKuen, and Bobby Horton, as well as brief talking interludes by Tom Hanks (as the voice of Horatio) and cameos by Tom Bodett and George Plimpton. Although much of the music here becomes incidental when divorced from the visual portion of the documentary, it is bright and pleasant on its own, and there are several highlights, including Ellis' pretty banjo piece, "Straw Dolls," Todd Phillips' slowed-down take on J.P. Nestor's fiddle romp, "Train on the Island," and Bobby Horton's guitar version of Jimmie Strothers' odd "Blood-Stained Banders." In all, Horatio's Drive feels like a facsimile of the music for America's first road trip and it works as such, but there is no dust, dirt, or grit here, and one kind of wishes Burns could have licensed the old 78s for some of these songs -- scratches and all. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	09/30/2003
Label:	Legacy / Sony Music Distribution
UPC:	0827969065921
Rank:	135905

Tracks

1. He'd Have to Get Under - Get Out and Get Under
2. Horatio Nelson Jackson (Setting Out)
3. Back 'N Forth in Pahrump, Nevada
4. Train on the Island
5. Kansas City Kitty
6. Livery Stable Blues
7. Lagrima
8. Cripple Creek
9. Mississippi Rag
10. Mountain Medley
11. Horatio Nelson Jackson (Frightening Horses)
12. Wade's Dixieliner Special Railroad Blues #9
13. Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
14. He'd Have to Get Under - Get Out and Get Under
15. Carolina Traveler
16. Gasoline Gus and His Jitney Bus
17. Steppin' Out
18. Storm Music
19. Blood-Stained Banders
20. Rovin' Gambler
21. Idanha Chieftain (First Car in Soda Springs)
22. River of No Return
23. Shenandoah
24. Straw Dolls
25. Horatio Nelson Jackson (Just Watch Me Now)
26. Carousel
27. Tiger Rag
28. Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home
29. New York Herald (Arrival in NYC)
30. Yogi's Lament
31. Cecile
32. Newspaper (Fined for Speeding)
33. He'd Have to Get Under - Get Out and Get Under

Album Credits

Performance Credits

George Plimpton   Primary Artist
John McEuen & Earl Schwab   Primary Artist
Neal Hellman   Primary Artist,Mountain Dulcimer
Original Dixieland Jazz Band   Primary Artist
Todd Phillips   Primary Artist,Bass
Tom Bodett   Primary Artist
Tom Hanks   Primary Artist,Voices
John McEuen   Primary Artist,Banjo,Mandolin,Slide Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
John Colby   Primary Artist,Piano
Tony Ellis   Primary Artist,Banjo
Bobby Horton   Primary Artist
Jacqueline Schwab   Primary Artist,Piano
Earl Scruggs   Primary Artist,Banjo
Murphy Guyer   Primary Artist
Fiddlin' Johnny   Primary Artist
Robin Petrie   Hammer Dulcimer
Scott Nygaard   Guitar
Phil Salazar   Fiddle
William Lee Ellis   Guitar
Ben Ehrmantraut   String Bass
Paul Hostetter   Banjo
Robert Horton   Banjo,Dobro,Drums,Fiddle,Guitar,Violin,Bodhran,Cowbell,Cymbals,Trumpet,Bouzouki,Mandolin,Trombone,Harmonica,Concertina,Percussion,Wood Block,Drums (Bass),Guitar (Rhythm),Whistle (Human),Guitar (Classical),Bass,Tuba
Peter Ostroushko   Mandolin
Peter Ecklund   Cornet
Nick LaRocca   Cornet
Randy Tico   Bass
Roy Huskey Jr.   Bass
Henry W. Ragas   Piano
Tony Sbarbaro   Drums
Joe Weed   Violin
David Swenson   Drums,Percussion
John Lardinois   Fiddle,Guitar
Shira Kammen   Violin
Larry Shields   Clarinet
Eddie Edwards   Trombone
Tony Trischka   Banjo
Jonathan McEuen   Guitar,Guitar (Rhythm)
John Reischman   Mandolin

Technical Credits

John Lardinois   Producer,Composer
Francisco Tarrega   Composer
John Colby   Composer,Producer
Patti Matheny   Artist Coordination
Lisa Sparagano   Design
Howard Fritzson   Art Direction
William Duncan   Composer
John Stepan Zamecnik   Composer
Craig Mellish   Mastering
Joy Gilbert Monfried   Product Manager
Adam Farber   Artist Coordination
Marvin Lee   Composer
Alcide "Yellow" Nunez   Composer
Charly Brown   Composer
Byron Gay   Composer
Ray Lopez   Composer
Mark Unterberger   Packaging Manager
Grant Clarke   Composer
Mary Louise Blanchard   Photography
Robert Horton   Producer
Joseph M. Palmaccio   Mastering
Hughie Cannon   Composer
Neal Hellman   Arranger,Producer
Nedra Olds-Neal   A&R,Research
Maurice Abrahams   Composer
Nick LaRocca   Composer
Todd Phillips   Arranger,Producer
Harry Da Costa   Composer
Henry W. Ragas   Composer
Barry Phillips   Producer
Darren Salmieri   Artist Coordination
Tony Sbarbaro   Composer
David Swenson   Producer
Dayton Duncan   Producer,Liner Notes,Photography
Tony Ellis   Composer
Stephen Wade   Producer
Traditional   Composer
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Ken Burns   Producer,Liner Notes
J.P. Nestor   Composer
Larry Shields   Composer
Eddie Edwards   Composer
Earl Scruggs   Composer
Edgar Leslie   Composer
John McEuen   Composer,Producer