The song has been immortalized and covered by more musicians in more languages than can be possibly listed here. Cab Calloway, the famous jazz singer, was one of the first, releasing his cover that same year. Carmen Miranda, the Portugese-Brazilian singer and dancer made it her only non-Spanish hit, with Bando da Lua in 1942. Everybody from the Andrews Sisters to Elvis Presley wanted to make the song about the little locomotive steaming through Tennessee.

On this day, May 7, 1941, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded the American standard,  Chattanooga Choo Choo, written by Harry Warren, with his companion Mack Gordon composing the lyrics.

Warren and Gordon wrote the song while traveling on the Birmingham Express line, thereafter forever re-christened as the “Chatanooga Choo-Choo” thanks to the efforts of the two men and Glenn Miller, as well the producers of the Sun Valley Serenade who introduced the song, performed in the film by performed by Tex Beneke and the Modernaires, to the nation.