On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe
"On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" is a popular song which refers to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF). It was written for the 1946 film, The Harvey Girls, where it was sung by Judy Garland, with support from Ben Carter, Marjorie Main, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and the MGM Chorus.[1] It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year.[1]
The music was written by Harry Warren, and the lyrics by Johnny Mercer.[1] The song was published in 1944, but the most popular recordings were made the following year.
Charting versions were recorded by Mercer, Bing Crosby, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and Judy Garland and the Merry Macs.
Recorded versions
- The Johnny Mercer recording was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 195. The recording, with backing vocals by The Pied Pipers, first reached the Billboard charts on July 5, 1945, and lasted 16 weeks on the chart, peaking at number one.[2]
- The Bing Crosby recording (backing vocals by Six Hits and a Miss) was released by Decca Records as catalog number 18690. The record first reached the Billboard charts on July 19, 1945, and lasted ten weeks on the chart, peaking at number four.[2]
- The Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra recording, vocal by The Sentimentalists, was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-1682. The record first reached the Billboard charts on August 2, 1945, and lasted six weeks on the chart, peaking at number six.[2]
- The Judy Garland/Merry Macs recording was released by Decca Records as catalog number 23436. The record reached the Billboard charts on September 20, 1945, at number ten, its only week on the chart.[2]
- It has been covered by other artists including Petula Clark, Louis Jordan, Harry Connick, Jr., Mandy Patinkin, The Four Freshmen, Henry Mancini, John Denver, and Rosemary Clooney with Harry James and His Orchestra.
Other uses
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 134. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- 1 2 3 4 Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
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- Music of Hawaii (1939)
- Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939)
- Patriotic Songs for Children (1939)
- Cowboy Songs (1939)
- Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939)
- George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939)
- Ballad for Americans (1940)
- Favorite Hawaiian Songs (1940)
- Christmas Music (1940)
- Star Dust (1940)
- Hawaii Calls (1941)
- Small Fry (1941)
- Crosbyana (1941)
- Under Western Skies (1941)
- Song Hits from Holiday Inn (w/ Fred Astaire) (1942)
- Merry Christmas (1945)
- Selections from Going My Way (1945)
- Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's (1946)
- Don't Fence Me In (1946)
- The Happy Prince (1946)
- Selections from Road to Utopia (1946)
- Stephen Foster Songs (1946)
- What We So Proudly Hail (1946)
- Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One (1946)
- Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two (1946)
- Blue Skies (w/ Fred Astaire) (1946)
- Jerome Kern Songs (1946)
- St. Patrick's Day (1947)
- Victor Herbert Songs (1947)
- Cowboy Songs, Vol. One (1947)
- Selections from Welcome Stranger (1947)
- Our Common Heritage (1947)
- El Bingo (1947)
- The Small One (1947)
- The Man Without a Country (1947)
- Drifting and Dreaming (1947)
- Blue of the Night (1948)
- Selections from Showboat (1948)
- The Emperor Waltz (1948)
- St. Valentine's Day (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (1948)
- Selections from Road to Rio (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan (1948)
- Cowboy Songs, Vol. Two (1948)
- Auld Lang Syne (1948)
- A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court (1949)
- Bing Crosby Sings Songs By George Gershwin (1949)
- South Pacific (1949)
- Christmas Greetings (1949)
- Ichabod - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
- Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz (1949)
- Songs from Mr. Music (1950)
- Go West Young Man (1950)
- Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953)
- Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954)
- Selections from White Christmas (1954)
- Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954)
- High Tor (1956)
- A Christmas Sing with Bing around the World (1956)
- High Society (w/ Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Louis Armstrong) (1956)
- Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around (1956)
- Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956)
- Bing with a Beat (1957)
- A Christmas Story (1957)
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1957)
- Never Be Afraid (1957)
- Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1957)
- New Tricks (1957)
- Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1958)
- How the West Was Won (1959)
- Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong) (1960)
- 101 Gang Songs (1960)
- Holiday in Europe (1960)
- The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
- On the Happy Side (1962)
- On the Sentimental Side (1962)
- I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962)
- Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)
- Return to Paradise Islands (1963)
- Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1963)
- America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring) (1964)
- 12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring) (1964)
- That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1965)
- Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie) (1972)
- A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire) (1975)
- Seasons (1977)
- Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998)
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