The Duke And Trains

Even if The Times photo archivist could have done a better job for this article, an interesting vignette from pages of our history we would collectively like to forget, makes for an interesting read:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/trav ... =url-share

The Reader's Comments are also worth your while.

Fair Use:

Jazz lovers worldwide know well the passion that Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Louis Armstrong had for trains, especially for the elegant Pullman cars that toted them to gigs across the country. Within the velvet-appointed sleeping carriages, African American porters shined the musicians’ shoes, nursed their hangovers, clipped their hair and served them mint juleps and Welsh rarebit — the same service afforded wealthy white passengers.

GBN - Good historical article about Duke Ellington's interest in passenger train travel...
The only problem is dealing with the NYT paywall for non-subscribers...

Many of us know that there is a certain NYC Subway route that the Duke made famous...
I thought of that song instantly being one of his best-known jazz compositions...MACTRAXX

Oh wow Mr. MACTRAXX, is Gray Lady getting "natty natty".

I used one of my ten articles a month to link the full article here at the Forum. I can share unlimited links to articles with other Times subscribers.

But if you were not able to open that article, she is now prohibiting full article links to other websites.

Bad girl; Gray Lady

Try try again:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/trav ... =url-share

Come on Gray Lady; don't be so chintzy with a guy who has been reading your rag for now seventy-five years - and who just sent you $474 to have that "thump on the porch" for another Quarter.

Somehow I got under the wire last night although I'm not a subscriber. In any case, thank you, Mr. Norman, for using one of your 10 freebies; that sort of history needs to be recorded and remembered.

"Fit to print," but not to give away?