The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore may be one of Kentucky folk musician Jean Ritchie’s most popular songs. This tune has been recorded by country music giants including Kathy Mattea and Johnny Cash. When Ritchie released the song in 1965, coal employment was in steep decline in her native Perry County, Kentucky. The L & N is short for the Louisville and Nashville railroad, which was built to take coal from eastern Kentucky to ports along the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers.
Here is a rare live video of Jean Ritchie performing The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore at the Hindman Settlement School’s family folk week. She is accompanied by fiddler Art Stamper and guitarist Sonny Houston.
Scroll down to hear additional versions of The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore from Kathy Mattea and Marty Stuart.
Jean Ritchie, The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore
Kathy Mattea, The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore
Marty Stuart, The L&N Don’t Stop Here Anymore