Duffey proposed some rules that the others agreed to including playing only one night a week at local clubs, doing occasional concerts and festivals on weekends, making records, and keeping their day jobs. Duffey repaired musical instruments, Eldridge was a mathematician, Starling a physician, Auldridge a graphic artist, and Gray a cartographer with National Geographic. The Scene's first home was the Red Fox Inn in Bethesda, Maryland, where they spent six years before starting weekly performances at The Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, Virginia.
Bluegrass reached a second peak in popularity in the early 1970s, and the progressive bluegrass style played by The Seldom Scene was particularly popular. Duffey's stratospheric tenor anchored the group, but the vocal blend of Duffey/Starling/Auldridge set a new standard that attracted new audiences to what had been a niche music. Their weekly shows included bluegrass versions of country music, rock, and even classical pop. The band's popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week--but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera.
Though the Scene remained a non-touring band, they were prolific recorders, producing seven albums in their first five years of existence, including two live albums (among the first live bluegrass albums). But the band's philosophy of not touring and maintaining their day jobs eventually caused some changes in membership.
In 1977, John Starling left the group to focus on his medical career, and was replaced by singer and songwriter Phil Rosenthal, whose song "Muddy Water" had been recorded by the Scene on two earlier albums. Around the same time, the group switched record labels from Rebel Records to Sugar Hill; however, while Starling had been officially the band's frontman, these changes made little significant difference to the band's overall sound.
The band recorded several more albums in the 1980s and firmly established themselves as one of the most influential bluegrass bands. In 1986, Rosenthal and Tom Gray both left the band to focus on other pursuits, and were replaced by Lou Reid and T. Michael Coleman, respectively. Coleman proved to be very controversial, as many purists objected to his use of an electric bass in what is an acoustic genre, but the albums produced by the band after Coleman's arrival maintained the traditional appeal of any of the Scene's earlier albums.
Reid left the band in 1993, and Duffey convinced former member John Starling to return to the band for the next year. During that year the Scene recorded the album "Like We Used To Be," but Starling did not wish to stay with the band long term. He was replaced in 1994 by lead singer Moondi Klein.
Throughout these changes, John Duffey remained the group's spiritual center and greatest influence, and his initial ideas about keeping a light touring schedule and staying close to home continued to prevail. Though there had been disagreements about this philosophy before, it wasn't until after Starling left for the second time that it cost the band a majority of its members at once. During 1995 and 1996, Klein and Coleman, along with original member Mike Auldridge, left the group to form a new band called Chesapeake. This new band became a full-time project for its members, and for a time the Scene stopped recording.
Duffey and Ben Eldridge, the two remaining original members, recruited resophonic guitar player Fred Travers, bassist Ronnie Simpkins, and guitarist and singer Dudley Connell to join the band, and the reconstituted group recorded an album in 1996 and resumed live appearances.
For 25 years The Seldom Scene remained extremely popular in bluegrass circles even with the near-constant personnel changes. But the band was dealt what seemed a crushing blow in late 1996, when founder and leader John Duffey suffered a fatal heart attack. The band again stopped recording and made no live appearances for some years. Duffey had been widely regarded as one of the most powerful and entertaining stage performers in bluegrass, and there was no one who could replace him.
Nonetheless, the band was simply too popular to disappear for good. Banjoist Ben Eldridge, the sole remaining original member and a significant force in banjo music in his own right, assumed leadership of the band. Former guitarist Lou Reid rejoined the band on mandolin. Initially the new Scene concentrated on live performances, but in 2000 the group recorded a new album, "Scene it All." The Seldom Scene continues to tour, and remains on the Sugar Hill label for future recordings.
The band currently consists of Dudley Connell (guitar/lead vocals), Ben Eldridge (banjo), Lou Reid (mandolin/tenor vocals), Fred Travers (dobro/lead vocals), and Ronnie Simpkins (bass/baritone vocals).
John Starling died in May 2019.
Discography
Act I (Rebel, 1972)
Act II (Rebel, 1973)
Act III (Rebel, 1973)
Old Train (Rebel, 1973)
Live At The Cellar Door (Rebel, 1975)
The New Seldom Scene Album (Rebel, 1976)
Baptizing (Rebel, 1978)
Act IV (Sugar Hill, 1979)
After Midnight (Sugar Hill, 1981)
At The Scene (Sugar Hill, 1983)
Blue Ridge with Jonathan Edwards (Sugar Hill, 1985)
15th Anniversary Celebration (Sugar Hill, 1986)
A Change Of Scenery (Sugar Hill, 1988)
Scenic Roots (Sugar Hill, 1990)
Scene 20: 20th Anniversary Concert (Sugar Hill, 1992)
Like We Used To Be (Sugar Hill, 1994)
Dream Scene (Sugar Hill, 1996)
Scene It All (Sugar Hill, 2000)
External links
Official site
The City Of New Orleans
The Seldom Scene Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Bm]Illinois Central, [G]Monday morning [D]rail, [A]
[D]Fifteen cars and fi[A]fteen restless [D]riders,
Three con[Bm]ductors, and t[A]wenty five sacks of [D]mail.
We're all [Bm]out on the southbound odyssey,
As the [F#m]train pulls out of Kankakee,
And [A]rolls past the houses, farms and [E]fields.
And [F#m]freight yards full of old black men,
And the [A]graveyards of rusted automo[D]biles.
{c:Chorus:}
[G]Good morning Am[A]erica, how a[D]re you?
Say [Bm]don't you know me, [G]I'm your native [D]son. [A]
I'm the [D]train they call the [A]City of New [Bm]Orleans,
I'll be gon[C]e five [G]hundred miles[A] when the day is [D]done.
Dealing card games with the old men in the club cars,
A penny a point, there ain't no one keeping score.
Won't you pass the paper bag that holds the bottle,
You can feel the wheels rumbling through the floor.
And the sons of Pullman porters, And the sons of engineers,
Ride their fathers' magic carpet made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
there rocking to the gentle beat,
And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.
{Chorus.}
Midnight on the City of New Orleans,
Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee.
Halfway home, and we'll be there by morning,
Through the Mississippi darkness, rolling down to the sea.
Then all the towns and people seem To fade into a bad dream,
The old steel rail still ain't heard the news.
The conductor sings his songs again,
The passengers will please refrain,
This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues.
{c:Chorus:}
Singin' Goodnight America, how are you?
Say don't you know me, I'm your native son.
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans,
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
The Seldom Scene's song "City of New Orleans" is an ode to the Illinois Central's train route that ran from Chicago to New Orleans. The singer describes his experience on the train at different times of the day, morning and midnight. He portrays the sighs, sounds, and sights of the journey with vivid descriptions. The song also touches on themes of nostalgia, longing, and the fleeting nature of time, as the train roars towards its destination.
In the first verse, the singer paints a picture of the train and its passengers. He describes the train's fifteen cars, fifteen restless riders, three conductors, and twenty-five sacks of mail. The second verse shifts the focus to the journey itself, with the train rolling past towns and farms, freight yards, and graveyards of rusted automobiles. He then sings the chorus, where he greets America as the "native son" and mentions the distance he would have traveled by the time the day is done.
The third verse portrays the social aspect of the train journey, where he describes playing card games with old men, passing paper bags that hold the bottle, and feeling the wheels rumbling through the floor. He also mentions the sons of Pullman porters and engineers, who ride their father's magic carpet made of steel. The final verse returns to the train's journey, with the singer nearing his destination. He talks about how the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream, while the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.
Line by Line Meaning
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Traveling on the Monday morning Illinois Central from New Orleans
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail,
Traveling by train on Monday morning with Illinois Central Rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders, Three conductors, and twenty five sacks of mail.
There are fifteen train cars filled with riders, three conductors, and twenty-five mail sacks
We're all out on the southbound odyssey, As the train pulls out of Kankakee, And rolls past the houses, farms and fields.
We are all on a journey down south as the train departs from Kankakee, passing through houses, farms, and fields
Passing towns that have no name, And freight yards full of old black men, And the graveyards of rusted automobiles.
Passing through unnamed places with freight yards filled with elderly black men and graveyards of abandoned cars
Good morning America, how are you? Say don't you know me, I'm your native son.
Greetings to America from a native traveling on the City of New Orleans train
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans, I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
The singer is on the City of New Orleans train and will have traveled five hundred miles by the end of the day
Dealing card games with the old men in the club cars, A penny a point, there ain't no one keeping score.
Playing card games with elderly gentlemen who are not keeping score, and betting a penny per point
Won't you pass the paper bag that holds the bottle, You can feel the wheels rumbling through the floor.
Asking for a bottle in a paper bag and feeling the vibrations of the train's wheels beneath the feet
And the sons of Pullman porters, And the sons of engineers, Ride their fathers' magic carpet made of steel.
The sons of train porters and engineers ride the tracks their fathers worked on, feeling they are riding a magic steel carpet
Mothers with their babes asleep, there rocking to the gentle beat, And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.
Mothers with asleep babies are soothingly rocking to the rhythm of the train's rails
Midnight on the City of New Orleans, Changing cars in Memphis, Tennessee. Halfway home, and we'll be there by morning, Through the Mississippi darkness, rolling down to the sea.
It is midnight on the City of New Orleans train, changing cars in Memphis and halfway home. The train will make it to their destination through the darkness of Mississippi and reach the sea by morning
Then all the towns and people seem To fade into a bad dream, The old steel rail still ain't heard the news.
The train ride gives a feeling of towns and people fading into a dream, as the old steel tracks continue without being affected by the current news
The conductor sings his songs again, The passengers will please refrain, This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues.
The conductor sings again, and requests the passengers to refrain from their noise-making. The train is experiencing the disappearing railroad blues
Singin' Goodnight America, how are you? Say don't you know me, I'm your native son. I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans, I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
The singer sings a farewell to America and introduces himself as a native son who is boarding the City of New Orleans train, travelling five hundred miles by the end of the day
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Steve Goodman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind