Oscar Douglas Washington (Feb 18, 1912 Tulsa Reparations Coalition lawsuit. Accessed 1 May 2026– 2004/05) was an American songwriter, guitarist, school teacher and record label owner. Library of Congress Catalog of copyright entries. Accessed 16 April 2012 He is credited as co-writer of the jazz and rhythm and blues classic "Night Train", BMI Repertoire Search, "Night Train" . Accessed 16 April 2012 and was also influential in the early career of Chuck Berry.
Childhood Washington was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His family fled Tulsa during the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Tulsa Reparations Coalition lawsuit. Accessed 1 May 2026
Career By the early 1950s, Washington was working in St Louis, Missouri as a school teacher and guitarist. There he collaborated with saxophonist Jimmy Forrest on the composition of "Night Train", which became a number 1 R&B hit in 1952. Most sources credit Washington with writing the lyrics of the song. He also recorded under the name Faith Douglass.Marv Goldberg's R&B Notebooks, The Regals. Accessed 16 April 2012
In 1953, he started the small independent Ballad record label in St Louis. The label released a series of doo-wop singles by the Swans, which had some regional success.J.C.Marion, Forgotten Sessions, Ballad Records . Accessed 16 April 2012 After hearing an unrecorded guitarist, Chuck Berry, playing in clubs, he persuaded Berry to make his first record as part of another group, Joe Alexander & the Cubans. They released a calypso record, "Oh Maria", in 1954, which was co-written by Washington. It has been suggested that Berry played guitar on the record, though Berry later denied any involvement. Although Washington did not continue to work with Berry, Bruce Pegg, Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life And Hard Times Of Chuck Berry, Routledge, 2005, , pp.27-29 he continued to release occasional records on the Ballad label until the late 1950s. From 1966-1968 he revived the Ballad record label for a group called The Gifts and another called The Citations. In the late 1960s, he was involved in the small SaintMo label, which also released several singles with little success.SoulfulDetroit.com, SaintMo Records. Accessed 16 April 2012
Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) credits Washington with 70 compositions as a songwriter, including "Night Train". BMI Repertoire Search, Oscar Washington . Accessed 16 April 2012
Death In August 2005, human remains unearthed at a property in St Louis were tentatively identified as those of Oscar Washington, aged 93, who had not been seen for over a year. Police had been looking for his son, Farand Washington, in connection with the cashing of Social Security checks made out to his father. After Farand Washington was killed in a crash when he lost control of his car, and following an anonymous tip-off by a neighbor, police undertook a search of the family's property, where they found the buried remains. It was reported that police believed that the remains were those of Oscar Washington, but an autopsy failed to determine the cause of his death."Tip leads police to human bones in backyard", St Louis Post-Dispatch, August 10, 2005. Accessed 16 April 2012
References