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Billy Bragg and Joe Henry cover Johnny Cash song 'The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore' for new album - video premiere

Bragg and friend Joe Henry embarked on a 2,728 mile train journey to record the track

Roisin O'Connor
Wednesday 06 July 2016 15:29 BST
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Bragg, pictured here with Joe Henry, explores the British history of skiffle in his new book
Bragg, pictured here with Joe Henry, explores the British history of skiffle in his new book

Billy Bragg has never made a secret of his obsession with the history, music and myth behind the Americas.

This has taken shape in the form of an upcoming album Shine A Light focusing on the part the American railroad played in all this, collaborating with his friend, the US singer songwriter Joe Henry.

Bragg and Henry embarked on a 2,728 mile train journey where they recorded music by the likes of Hank Williams and Glen Campbell.

We’re premiering their cover of Johnny Cash's version of ‘The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore’ - penned by Jean Ritchie - take a look and let us know what you think:

Bragg says of the album: "Railroad songs provided the bedrock of American popular music, from Jimmie Rodgers, the Singing Brakeman, to Lead Belly, whose repertoire provided several of the songs for this project.

"Growing up in the UK, I’d always been aware of this tradition but when I traveled to the US, I was surprised to find how few people look to the railroad as a means of transport.

"With this project, we wanted to explore the transformative power that the coming of the railroad had on the lives of ordinary people by taking these songs back to the places that inspired their creation.

"Travelling on the train and recording the songs as we went allowed us to both visit places that were important 125 years ago when the lines were laid, but to also explore the viability of the railroad as a means of transport in the 21st century."

Shine A Light - Field Recordings From the Great American Railroad is out via Cooking Vinyl on 23 September - pre-order here

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