Johnny Duncan ( bluegrass musician ) - wikipedia Johnny Duncan ( bluegrass musician ) Not to be confused with Johnny Duncan ( country singer ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( February 2007 ) John Franklin ' Johnny ' Duncan ( September 7, 1931 -- July 15, 2000 ) was an American skiffle star. He was born in the Windrock coal mining camp overlooking the town of Oliver Springs, Tennessee, and became a British skiffle star in 1957 with the hit record `` Last Train to San Fernando ''. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Chris Barber 's Jazz Band 1.2 Big solo hit 1.3 Demise 2 References 3 External links Biography Johnny Duncan entered the United States Army and was sent to the United Kingdom where he met and married his wife Betty in 1952. After a short return to the United States he went back to the UK with Betty who needed a hospital operation. Chris Barber 's jazz band On a visit to London Duncan went to hear Chris Barber 's Dixieland Band which had turned Lonnie Donegan into a star with his international skiffle hit recording of `` Rock Island Line ''. Barber signed Duncan to play with his band where he stayed for a year. Big solo hit His first unsuccessful solo recording was a cover version of Hank Williams ' `` Kaw - Liga '', but in 1957 his recording of a calypso called `` Last Train To San Fernando '' became the seventeenth most popular recording of that year in the UK, when amongst its rivals were Buddy Holly 's `` That 'll Be The Day '' ; `` True Love '' by Bing Crosby and `` Diana '' by Paul Anka. The track was arranged by guitarist Denny Wright, who thought that San Fernando was in Texas and gave the piece a strong ' country ' feel. As a result of his chart success he became a regular on 6.5 Special, the first pop music programme on BBC Television and his own program Tennessee Songbag on BBC Radio. Duncan had two other entries in the UK Singles Chart in 1957, with `` Blue, Blue Heartaches '' and `` Footprints in the Snow ''. Demise Although Duncan continued to record for a period of time, the skiffle fad faded and so did his success. Following his divorce he emigrated to Australia, briefly returned to the United Kingdom, and then back to Australia where he married for a second time. On occasion he did perform in Australia, but he had basically left the music industry after his return to Australia. In 1999, while his health was fading, he did make new recordings in Australia just before he died there of cancer in 2000. References ^ Jump up to : Roberts, David ( 2006 ). British Hit Singles & Albums ( 19th ed. ). London : Guinness World Records Limited. p. 172. ISBN 1 - 904994 - 10 - 5. External links Mini biography @ Oshistorical.com VIAF : 261261704 ISNI : 0000 0003 8142 3680 BNF : cb14002753q ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Duncan_(bluegrass_musician)&oldid=798848841 '' Categories : 1931 births 2000 deaths People from Oliver Springs, Tennessee American male singers Singers from Tennessee Skiffle 20th - century American singers Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from February 2007 All articles needing additional references All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2007 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 4 September 2017, at 05 : 13. About Wikipedia

Question: who sang the last train to san fernando
Answer: John Franklin 'Johnny' Duncan