by Robert Wilkinson
We close our musical weekend with short sets of 5 famously obscure legends, including three of the "grandfathers of rock and roll," a little known and much loved songwriter, and THE voice that made a million women swoon for about 3 years. This is where R&B met Rock and Roll!
We begin with the music of Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915-June 14, 1969), an R&B legend in the blues shouter tradition. He did a LOT of very raunchy material and according to wiki, “He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is generally considered one of the forerunners of rock and roll.”
Here’s the one song he’s most famous for, which is always in the running for “the first Rock and Roll song!” From 1948, “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
This is the original by Roy Brown! “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
Here’s the 1954 version by a Memphis teenager that blew the doors down and created a tsunami! “Good Rockin’ Tonight”
Here’s his first major tune he debuted at the Apollo Theater in April 1944! Singing lead, here’s “Who Threw the Whiskey In the Well?”
Another early “rock and roll” prototype, since the lyrics say to “rock and roll me! ‘ From 1945, “Around the Clock” (Pts. 1 & 2)
Here’s Big Joe Turner’s version of “Around the Clock”
From 1946, some scat singing! “Hey Ba Ba Re Bop”
Is this the first rock and roll song? It has the phrase “rock and roll” in it! This was raunchy and huge in 1949! “All She Wants to Do is Rock”
From 1950, “Put It Back”
He did a lot of raunchy tunes in the post war period!
"Lolly Pop Mama" (1948)
"I Like My Baby's Pudding" (1950)
"Keep On Churnin'" (1952)
From the Summer of 1952, "Night Train."
"Wasn't That Good" (1953)
This was huge! “Quiet Whiskey”
From 1951, “Lovin’ Machine”
We’ll close with a couple of hits from 1949, "Sittin' on It All the Time" and here’s the “B” side, complete with screaming trumpet, "Baby, Shame on You"
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Our next birthday boy is also born August 24, is also from the same era, and also has a tune that is always at or near the top of the list for “the first Rock and Roll song.” Jackie Brenston (August 24, 1928 or 1930 – December 15, 1979) was a tenor sax player and vocalist for Ike Turner and a seminal rock and roll pioneer. Sam Phillips used his share of the profits from Jackie’s #1 hit “Rocket 88” to launch Sun Records, and the rest is history!
Is this the first rock and roll song? It’s always at or near the top of the list! Performed by Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner in 1951, here’s the iconic “Rocket 88”
Also from 1951, continuing the theme! “My Real Gone Rocket” Here’s the “B” side, “Tuckered Out”
He cut this two sided hit in 1951 “Juiced” and “Independent Woman”
From 1956, classic R&B rock and roll! “Gonna Wait For My Chance”
This 1958 tune is definitely rock and roll! “Trouble Up The Road”
Singing the blues in 1952! “Blues Got Me Again”
From 1953, “Starvation”
And from 1956, “Much Later”
We’ll close this brief birthday set with the one that brought us here! “Rocket 88”
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Finishing our trio of talents who all contributed to the birth of rock and roll, we now celebrate the music of Arthur William "Big Boy" Crudup (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974). Mainly active from the mid-30s through the mid-60s, he is still considered one of the “fathers of rock and roll” for the one gigantic tune he did that turned Elvis from a teen driving a truck to the King of Rock and Roll!
Here’s his original 1946 version of "That's All Right"
Here’s the version that freaked out several million people! “That’s All Right”
At the beginning in 1941, here’s some authentic blues! “Death Valley Blues”
From 1942, "Mean Old 'Frisco Blues"
Another early one! “Rock Me Mama”
From sometime between mid-1946 and Spring 1949, “Any Time Would Be The Right Time”
From 1950, "My Baby Left Me"
From 1951, “I’m Going to Dig Myself A Hole”
The King put his imprint on this one in 1956! Scotty Moore’s lead is prototypical. "So Glad You're Mine"
Another early R&B and rock and roll amalgam! “I Don’t Worry”
We’ll close with this 1954 rocker titled “She’s Got No Hair”
For the encore, what else? “That’s All Right”
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We now celebrate the birthday of Jim Ford (August 23, 1941 – November 18, 2007), an obscure singer/songwriter who Sly Stone is once said to have called “the baddest white man on the planet.” He only released one album in his life, but it was a huge dose of “country soul”!
Here’s his biggest, delivered by Bobby Womack! “Harry Hippie”
“I’m Ahead if I Can Quit While I’m Behind”
“Happy Songs Sell Records, Sad Songs Sell Beer”
We’ll close with his album Harlan County - 1969
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We finish these short sets with one of the sweetest voices of the early 60s! August 23 is the birthday of Rudy Lewis (born Charles Rudolph Harrell; August 23, 1936 – May 20, 1964), lead vocalist for the Drifters who replaced Ben E. King when he split to do his solo career. Though he was only with the Drifters a relatively short time, dying as an early member of “the 27 club,” he gave us some classics!
He did the lead vocals on these lesser known tunes:
"Somebody New Dancing With You"
"She Never Talked To Me That Way"
We’ll close his tenure with the Drifters with these two classics!
"Stranger On The Shore" and one of my all time favorite satiric commentaries on our great nation, the classic "Only In America"
Our encore is a solo from 1963, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
© Copyright 2024 Robert Wilkinson
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