Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Montreal Express

I'm not a betting man, but I'm willing to wager that 99.9% of you have never heard this little winter song.  It appears to be a promo item for BostonGas, touting the benefits of switching to gas heat.  And why do you need gas heat?  To fight off the cold chill of The Montreal Express, a weather system that seems to have been blamed for all of Boston's cold weather.  Those of you from Beantown will enjoy the sites they namecheck in this song.  The rest of us will just nod knowingly and ignore you.  It's a neat little record, with music pressed on only one side but a neat checkerboard pattern in the blank grooves on the flip.  Lemme know what you think of Al Sears And His Countrymen-The Montreal Express (Blue Flame Records 1-Sided 7" 45 RPM, Stereo).

MediaFire

Posted by Ernie at 12/11/2011 11:57:00 AM

8 comments:

  1. RavelMonday, December 12, 2011 8:36:00 AM

    Interesting tune! I lived in Montreal for 25 years (in the very next suburb now). I knew about the Long Island Express but not the Montreal one, hahaha! I don't feel guilty for sending some winds away. Now, about those mini-skirts in the song: some ladies still wear them in Winter, but I saw some pestering about the cold. Go figure. Thanks for sharing !

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  2. AnonymousSaturday, December 17, 2011 12:12:00 AM

    Years ago I found this record in a box of random 45s someone had given me. No idea it actually had a picture sleeve too. Is your copy a one sided promo or does it have a b-side?

    Any idea of the year this was issued? I vaguely remember hearing it on the radio, probably as a commercial during Boston Bruins games back in the early 70's.

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  3. AnonymousTuesday, June 12, 2012 9:56:00 AM

    Brilliant, thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gordy BrownMonday, February 18, 2013 9:17:00 AM

    I used to play this record on cold blistery days of Winter and on annual Christmas Shows on WHRB Boston's) Hillbilly at Harvard, WCAV (Brockton's) Homegrown Tomatoes shows and other Christmas Shows. There was a series of radio commercials written by Courtney Crandall for this which became so popular, he wrote the longer version which was used as a fund raiser for some non-profit. I believe there were only 500 copies pressed.
    Al Sears was a folk singer from Middleboro, MA. Names of the backup band escape me. Anybody know?
    Gordon Brown, Founder NE Country Music Historical Soc. CountryGordy@AOL.com

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  5. AnonymousTuesday, January 07, 2014 4:03:00 PM

    I have always thought that the Montreal Express melody came from "The Last Ride," as recorded by Hank Snow about 1959:

    Steve B

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  6. UnknownTuesday, February 25, 2014 9:14:00 PM

    I was a little sprout in the Boston area in the late 60's early 70's. And yes indeedy I remember this little ditty. Our local AM station was WCAP out of Lowell MA. The lyrics are pretty funny given all the local references.

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  7. geoSaturday, February 14, 2015 12:29:00 PM

    just heard this today on Hillbilly @ Harvard via web. your media file is not responding:
    Lake effect in ChiTown, blizzard in BeanTown.

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  8. AnonymousSaturday, July 18, 2015 5:22:00 PM

    HI,KINDA NEAT 45,I HAVE A MINT COPY WITH PICTURE SLEEVE IF ANYONE INTERSTED,EMAIL johnevangelista93@yahoo.com,THANKS.

    ReplyDelete

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