"Old Toy Trains" (sometimes titled "Little Toy Trains") is a Christmas song written and originally recorded by American musician Roger Miller. It was released in late 1967 as a single for Smash Records. Since the original recording, the song has also been covered by various other artists including Miller's son Dean Miller (for whom the song was written), as well as Toby Keith.
History
Roger Miller wrote "Old Toy Trains" in 1967 for his son, Dean Miller. Released on Smash Records late in the year, the song ended an eight-year ban on Christmas single releases by the label.[1]
Critical reception
An uncredited review in Billboard gave Roger Miller's original version a positive review, saying that "Miller has composed one of his most moving and touching ballads for all ages which he performs to perfection."[2]
Toby Keith covered the song for the 2000 multi-artist album A Country Christmas 2000.[3] Keith's rendition spent two weeks on the Hot Country Songs charts that year, peaking at number 57.[4]
Two years later, Universal South Records released a version that incorporated Roger Miller's original vocals with those of Dean Miller.[5]
Scott Miller recorded the song for his 2010 EP Christmas Gift.
The tune has been popular in other languages, notably it was translated to French and recorded in 1968 just one year after the English version by the New Zealand / French singer songwriter Graeme Allwright as "Petit Garçon" (meaning "little boy") in French.
It was covered in French by Greek singer Nana Mouskouri in 1972 as one of the tracks of her album Pour les enfants'(for children).
In 2014, the song was adopted as the official tune for the annual French charity event Téléthon 2014. The Canadian French singer Garou that year's main campaign sponsor (parrain) recorded Graeme Allwright's French version "Petit garçon" with Ryan, a young French singer for official release. The song was included in Garou's new album It's Magic released 1 December 2014 in France.[6] During the Téléthon, Garou sang it live accompanied by Hélène Ségara and tennisman and singer Yannick Noah.
