Long Train Running - The Doobie Brothers (1973)
Coming all the way from 1973 and a guaranteed toe tapper with a killer guitar riff is our LCM Classic today, Long Train Runnin' from The Doobie Brothers taken from their 'The Captain and Me' album. A perfect slice of Funk Rock, it was released as a single, becoming a top 10 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 8.
The song is sometimes titled "Long Train Runnin' (Without Love)" due to the words "without love" being sung frequently during the song. The harmonica bridge is played by lead vocalist Tom Johnston.
The tune evolved from an untitled and mostly ad-libbed jam that the Doobies developed onstage years before it was finally recorded. Its working title, according to Johnston, was "Rosie Pig Moseley" and later "Osborn". "I didn't want to cut it," Johnston later confessed. "...I just considered it a bar song without a lot of merit. Teddy Templeman, on the other hand, thought it had some." Templeman convinced Johnston to write words to the song.
Johnston performed the lead vocal and the rhythmic guitar strumming that propels the song.