The Last Music Company is bringing a long-lost treasure back into the light with its reissue of Last Train to Memphis, the powerful late-career statement from Louisiana songwriter Bobby Charles. Originally released in 2004 and unavailable since shortly before Charles’ death in 2010, the collection assembles more than three decades of recordings—tracks written, sung, and produced by Charles during his reclusive years in Abbeville. With its November 21 release, fans will finally have access to a 2-CD edition and, for the first time ever, a 2-LP vinyl version.
Far from a typical compilation, Last Train to Memphis plays like a single, lived-in narrative, tracing the arc of an artist who remained remarkably true to his tone, humor, and heart across the years. Songs recorded in the ’70s seamlessly sit beside those from the ’90s, unified by Charles’ unmistakable melodic ease. These sessions also capture the deep respect he commanded: Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Fats Domino, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Sonny Landreth, Delbert McClinton, Dan Penn, Maria Muldaur, and Spooner Oldham all make appearances.
Charles, who first hit the charts in the ’50s with “Later, Alligator” and wrote iconic songs like “Walking to New Orleans” and “(I Don’t Know Why) But I Do,” spent most of his life happier behind the scenes than in the spotlight. But Last Train to Memphis foregrounds his warm, raspy voice—an instrument Bob Dylan once praised as “one of the most melodious ever transmuted into a piece of vinyl.” Across the album, that voice anchors stories of longing, grit, and lived-in wisdom.
The new reissue honors the original intent of the 15-track core album, which Charles considered the project’s heart. From the title track’s rollicking journey, through the bayou-rooted balladry of “The Legend of Jolie Blonde,” to quietly devastating moments like “The Sky Isn’t Blue Anymore,” the album unfolds as a testament to Charles’ lifelong devotion to songwriting. Sessions from Dockside Studios, Willie Nelson’s Pendernales Studio, and pivotal Nashville dates weave together into a portrait of an artist who never stopped creating, even after losing nearly everything in a house fire in the ’90s.
The vinyl edition adds “The Jealous Kind,” Charles’ take on one of his most-recorded compositions, while the CD includes the original 2004 bonus disc collecting songs from Wish You Were Here Right Now and Secrets of the Heart. Those tracks—with guest turns from Fats Domino and other friends—complete the picture of a quietly prolific American original.
With Last Train to Memphis, Bobby Charles’ voice and vision return in full: unvarnished, soulful, and gently rebellious, a songwriter forever blending blues, country, R&B, and rock & roll into something distinctly his own.
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