This has to be the craziest lineup of guitar talent ever seen on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame stage! For their Hall induction, Metallica teamed up with rock royalty Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Ron Wood and Joe Perry for a rollicking cut of “The Train Kept A-Rollin’”. There was no shortage of talent in the low end too, as Metallica made a rare reunion with former bassist Jason Newsted that night, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea also joined the fun.
The appearance of Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck also brought two former Yardbirds guitarists back together. “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” was a staple of the setlists of The Yardbirds and later Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, so it was a very fitting jam for the night. Needless to say the vocal power of ‘Tallica frontman James Hetfield gave it plenty of extra biffo. The Music Man has to say the fiery lead breaks were a treat for any rock ‘n’ roll fan!
Fan channel BestMasterGuitar uploaded the all-star jam on “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” to YouTube. Jimmy Page didn’t take a solo during the performance. Footage of the all-star lineup rehearsing the song has also been released.
Metallica has featured in some epic collabs over the years at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. One of their greatest collabs came when they hit the stage with Ozzy Osbourne to perform the Black Sabbath essentials “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”. The Four Horsemen are some of the biggest Sabbath fans on the planet, so this must have been a huge moment for the boys.
“The Train Kept A-Rollin’” was written by Tiny Bradshaw, Lois Mann and Howard Kay. It was first recorded by Tiny as a jump blues tune.
The Yardbirds recorded a blues-rock version of “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” for a 1965 release, which popularised the tune. Jeff Beck’s fuzz guitar parts on the recording caught a lot of attention.
After Jimmy Page joined The Yardbirds, the Beck-Page lineup adapted the song with new lyrics as “Stroll On” for the 1966 film Blowup. Led Zeppelin subsequently used “The Train Kept A-Rollin’” as a show-opener for a number of years, and it was also featured frequently in Aerosmith’s early live shows. The Music Man readers may recall that Aerosmith also released the song as the second single from their second album Get Your Wings.