On his way to becoming one of the biggest blues stars of the 1950s and ’60s, Little Junior Parker rocked out some classic blues at Sun Records in Memphis. ‘Mystery Train,’ recorded in October 1953, rolled along to a locomotive rhythm laid down by the Blue Flames, featuring guitarist Floyd Murphy (brother of 2012 Blues Hall of Fame inductee Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy) and pianist Bill ‘Struction’ Johnson, with saxophonist James Wheeler blowing train whistle phrases. Sun recorded a famous cover version by Elvis Presley in 1955 with an arrangement that resembled the flip side of Parker’s record, ‘Love My Baby.’ The ‘train I ride’ lyric has been traced back to a 1930 Carter Family record, ‘Worried Man Blues.’
