“Rock n roll smells phony and false…It is sung, played, and written for the most part by cretinous goons, and by means of its almost imbecilic reiteration and sly, lewd, in fact plain dirty, lyrics…it manages to be the most martian music of every side-burned delinquent on the face of the earth.”1
Unlike Frank Sinatra, given his quote above, I love rock n roll music. It’s a kind of music that’s been around for over 70 years but is still as thrilling to hear now as it was when I first heard it. In the ‘68 Comeback Special Elvis describes rock n roll as simply “Gospel and Rhythm & Blues” and it really is interesting to listen to the way different forms of music slowly blended together to create it: Swing, jazz, gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, jump.
Here’s a journey through 25 sounds spanning a nine-year period that fomented rock n roll: a music that then inspired countless other bands throughout the 60s and 70s2.
Prelude: Rock and Roll - The Boswell Sisters [1934]
Before we start, let’s have a quick listen to this track by jazz harmony group, The Boswell Sisters. It’s a smooth and swinging jazz tune, with the three sisters, Vet, Connie and Martha, harmonising with perfection and singing the words “rock and roll” albeit to describe the motion of a ship at sea. It’s fun to hear an early example of the phrase, which didn’t really become commonplace as a way to describe the music for another 20 years.
The playlist
Hit play and listen along as you read
That’s All Right - Arthur Crudup [1947]
That’s All Right - Elvis Presley [1954]
To think that this song was released just after WW2. “Big Boy” Crudup took a traditional blues song for this release, and the track has many touches of traditional blues - the way the rhythm jumps and tweaks its timing. Crudup’s voice is deep and sonorous, but also languid over his twanging guitar and the song plays a vital part in the story of rock n roll.
Elvis recorded the song in 1954 and released it as his debut single on Sun records, with Bill Black on upright bass and Scotty Moore on electric guitar. Elvis clearly loved the song and his version is similar to the original, but his voice is higher and sounds younger and more energetic. It’s not obvious that the songs has no drums as Black’s slapping acoustic bass drives the beat so well. It has a rockabilly sound - it basically invented rockabilly - but it wouldn’t exist without Crudup.
Good Rocking Tonight — Roy Brown [1947]
Good Rocking Tonight — Wynonie Harris [1948]
Good Rocking Tonight — Elvis Presley [1954]
Written and performed originally by Roy Brown, it’s a classic jump blues track. Brown’s version has a wonderful walking bass line and he has a powerful and clear voice. It’s a song that is designed for dancing. When I was in my 20s I used to go to a bar in Manchester called Cuba Cafe - the bar was full of rockabilly cats jitterbugging away. This would have slayed them. It features a pretty heavy guitar solo - real rock n roll stuff - which sounds slightly out of place to the rest of the piano led jump blues track.
A year later Wynonie Harris released his version of the song. It’s dirtier and ever so slightly slower, with a squawking saxophone at the start and infectious handclaps. When James Brown did a cover in the early 60s, you can hear that it was this version he was copying. The sax drives this song alongside a barrelling piano groove, and Harris improvises lyrics as the song moves on, yelling “Hoy hoy hoy!” as it fades out.
Elvis would record his own version in 1954, an acoustic guitar driven rockabilly version of Harris’, and another fantastic one at that. It’s common to talk about appropriation when talking about Elvis but I see him as someone who simply loved music - ballads, country, R&B, blues, and wanted to play them all. This version is stripped down because his band were a three piece, but no lesser for it.
We’re Gonna Rock, We’re Gonna Roll - Wild Bill Moore [1948]
Using the words “Rock” and “Roll” was still rare, but Wild Bill Moore and his band used them to great effect on this jumping jazz blues track, Moore’s saxophone absolutely swinging throughout. We’ve still got a cool walking bass from an upright here, setting a jitterbug pace that swings.
Guitar Boogie - Arthur Smith & His Crackerjacks [1948]
Arthur Smith was in his early 20s when he first recorded this country influenced 12 bar blues track, and it was given a major release a couple of years later. It has the style of guitar jazz of the time but is notable by how Smith uses his guitar to play what would usually be piano parts and blends the sounds of country with the blues in a really interesting way.
Rock Awhile - Goree Carter [1949]
Continuing the theme of age, Goree Carter was only 19 when his most famous track was recorded and released. It starts with his electric guitar playing an opening riff that is not a million miles from something like Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode, although in contrast the solo is then taken by the saxophone. However, that guitar sound is electric rock n roll. It’s a straight blues song, as all these track are, but Carter add a rock n roll sound with his fantastic soloing. I feel that in just a year or two jump blues had become harder and stronger, opening the door to rock n roll.
Rock the Joint - Jimmy Preston and his Prestonians [1949]
Rock the Joint - Bill Haley and the Saddlemen [1952]
Rock Around the Clock - Bill Haley and his Comets [1954]
In the Jimmy Preston original the horns play the rock n roll bass line here before the band come in singing over a wailing sax. The setup of this song is simple, with the way it stops at the start of each verse. This song conjures imagines of people jiving up and down in clubs: "tear up the floor until the law comes knocking at the door”.
Three years later Bill Haley recorded an almost identical version, although it’s more stripped down, the walking bass leaning to more of a rockabilly sound. What’s really important is the guitar solo by Danny Cedrone. He used it pretty much note for note two years later when Haley and his Comets recorded their huge smash hit Rock Around the Clock. That song is clearly an interpolation of Rock the Joint, even though different songwriters are credited. In 1955 the song was used in the film The Blackboard Jungle and that propelled it to hit status.
Saturday Night Fish Fry - Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five [1949]
This may feel like a little step back from the previous tracks, as it is most definitely a jump blues track, horns at the start and end but mainly piano led with a lovely guitar line, but it’s important because it reminds me of where rock n roll was emerging. The song is about a party (a fish fry) that is “rocking” and is broken up by the law in the way that Jimmy Preston warned in the previous track. It’s great fun, and an important track to know, in my opinion, Jordan has such command over the song and his voice that it is joyful.
The Fat Man - Fats Domino [1950]
Just one year later session piano player Fats Domino took a classic old New Orleans sound and song and filled it with his incredible piano playing. Without a doubt this is rock n roll, the melody is so recognisable over the three chord 12 bar groove. Domino singing about himself
They call, they call me the fat man
Cause I weigh 200 pounds:
All the girls they love me
Cause I know my way around
He adds his own version of a wah-wah trumpet to this twisting groove and is in command of his keyboard as the track stomps along.
I’m Moving On - Hank Snow [1950]
Somewhat different from what we’ve heard so far, Hank Snow, who was born in Canada but was the epitome of country music, recorded a 12 bar country track with fiddle and lap steel. It has that chugging rockabilly sound that because so common in the later 50s. Another track recorded by Elvis Presley, this time during his 1969 Memphis recordings.
Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats [1951]
When young, when I first started reading around the music I was listening to, Rocket 88 was the track I often found pushed as the “first rock n roll song”. Another straightforward 12 bar blues track, what sets this apart is the fuzzing and buzzing sound of the guitar as it lays down the bluesy riff. Producer Sam Phillips said that , “The bass amplifier fell off the car. And when we got in the studio, the woofer had burst; the cone had burst. So I stuck the newspaper and some sack paper in it, and that's where we got that sound.” First rock n roll track or not, it certainly sounds unique, and incredibly exciting. Jackie Brenston was the vocalist, but the band were in fact Ike Turner and his Rhythm Kings.
"I don't think that 'Rocket 88' is rock 'n' roll. I think that 'Rocket 88' is R&B, but I think 'Rocket 88' is the cause of rock n roll existing” - Ike Turner
Sixty Minute Man - Billy Ward and the Dominoes [1951]
Although most definitely an R&B song, this great track is important because some writer say that DJ Alan Freed, who really popularised the phrase “rock n roll”, took it from the line “I rock 'em, roll 'em all night long” in this track. A big hit, it’s wonderfully risque, with Bill Brown’s claim that
There'll be fifteen minutes of kissin'
Then you'll holler “Please don't stop”
There'll be fifteen minutes of teasin'
Fifteen minutes of squeezin'
And fifteen minutes of blowin' my top
I love hearing Clyde McPhatter’s distinctive voice in the background too, as he took a step back from his usual lead vocals role.
Train Kept a Rollin’ - Tiny Bradshaw [1951]
Train Kept a Rollin’ - Johnny Burnette and the Rock n Roll Trio [1956]
This is a delightful pair of songs for me to write about. The original track, by Tiny Bradshaw, is a fantastic jump blues songs that swings from the first moment. There’s a lovely moment near the start when Bradshaw sets up the call and response: “Boh-dah” he sings, and “Boh-dah” the band sing back. “Boh-day” he then sings, and “Boh-day” they sing back. Apart from one guy, who sings “Boh-dah” again. I love that this little mistake was kept in - the joy of live recording in the blink of an eye. You can just about tell that it was based on the little known country blues track by Ella Fitzgerald, Cow Cow Boogie:
In 1956 Johnny Burnette and his band totally reinvented the song, turning it from a jump song into a snarling, lund rockabilly track with a buzzing lead guitar and frantic, yelping vocals. One of my favourite tracks of all time, it set the template for this song. Later versions by The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith3 all copy this version and not Tiny Bradshaw’s song.
Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Lloyd Price [1952]
Allegedly the recording of this track was not going well until Fats Domino turned up at the New Orleans’ recording studio and started to add his rolling piano sound. Price sings with power and precision and the drums just about keep the beat, playing straight ahead 4-4 time rather than the more common jump blues influenced groove of the time. The melody is a reworking of Domino’s The Fat Man, and it’s another song on this list that Elvis loved and recorded, most famously during his ‘68 Comeback Special.
Honey Hush - Big Joe Turner [1953]
Honey Hush - Johnny Burnett and the Rock and Roll Trio [1956]
Big Joe Turner’s jump blues song swings into view breezily, as he sings in his distinctive deep tenor. “Turn off the waterworks, baby, they don’t move me no more!” he sings as the piano rolls and the horns bump behind him. It’s great bluesy jazz, two wonderful sax solos jostling for position before he comes back with the famously nasty
Honey, come in this house, stop all that yackety yak
Come in here woman, stop all that yackety yak
Don't make me nervous 'cause I'm holdin' a baseball bat
The songs ends with the call and response of “Singin' hi-yo, hi-yo silver, hi-yo, hi-yo silver” in a style that reminds me of Cab Calloway.
Burnette opens his electrifying version of the song with “Honey, come in this house, stop all that yakety yak” although he leaves the baseball bat for later on in the song. Like their version of Train Kept a Rollin’ The Rock and Roll trio make this song as energetic (and for the time, modern) as possible. Another buzzing and loud lead guitar make this an incredible version a million miles away from the original jump blues song.
Money Honey - Clyde McPhatter and the Drifters [1953]
McPhatter gets to sing on this one, its sliding two chord piano opening a rock n roll staple4. After he left The Dominoes he formed The Drifters recording on Atlantic Records. This version of The Drifters is a million miles form (and a million miles better) than the soulful pop group that followed over the next 60 years, and featuring nearly over 60 members. This band was a tight R&B band that rocked form the very start. Money Honey was one of a collection of incredible tracks they recorded in the single year McPhatter was lead. McPhatter’s high tenor is beautiful, and the backing band’s vocal prowess enhances the doo-wop style of the song. The song features an amazing sax solo from Sam "The Man" Taylor and is another track Elvis loved and recorded (just three years later).
McPhatter himself succumbed to an alcohol related illness and died aged just 39 in 1972.
Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton [1953]
Hound Dog - Elvis Presley [1956]
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote this blues song in 1952 and Thornton recorded her verison in early 1953, giving her her one and only hit. Its a swampy blues track, propelled by Thornton’s powerful voice and a liquid, bending guitar, the stirpped down song more akin to the delta blues than the jump blues I’ve been writing about. Clearly written form the point of view of a woman wronged by an untrustworthy man, [“You can wag your tail…But I ain't gonna feed you no more”]. It was a big hit and ended up being covered by comedy band Freddie Bell and the Bellboys- a version that had been cleaned up lyrically and increased in tempo.
It was this version that Elvis heard whilst playing in Las Vegas and used to build his own style, resulting in one of the greatest rock n roll songs of all time. The song is a blast from start to finish, with a real rock n roll rhythm. Scotty Moore has two guitar solos, the second of which has possibly the most exciting opening notes of any. The whole track is electric, and I love the live versions where Elvis would add a slowed down echo of Thornton’s original. Famously having to perform the song to a basset hound on the Steve Allen show it was also one of the songs deemed to be contributing to the delinquency of the youth of the day. I think it’s one of the best songs of his early RCA period.
Shake, Rattle & Roll - Big Joe Turner [1954]
Shake, Rattle & Roll - Bill Haley & His Comets [1954]
More jump blues from Big Joe with a track that is not a million miles away from Honey Hush in style and sentiment. Even though R&B was maturing in different ways he stays true to the jump style with this delightful song, drums and clap bouncing on as he singing his lascivious lyrics, “Way you wear those dresses, the sun come shining through”. The chorus is infectious, one of the best in rock n roll history Just as Big Joe Turner’s version his the top of the R&B charts, Bill Haley and his band released their version, still horn heavy but with that rockabilly rhythm from the standup bass. This version, an even bigger hit, pushes the chorus even further, bringing it in earlier and using it more regularly. Haley was an odd sort - he looked out of time, and reminds me a little of my grandad, even though he would have only been 30 at the time, he always make me think of those old teddy boys still dress in crepe shoes in their 60s.
Tweedlee Dee - LaVern Baker [1954]
Women played a vital part in the story of rock n roll, and I know I’ve not properly recognised that in this stack. LaVern Baker recorded this stylish R&B song with its slinky, almost Latin riff adding to the groove. Her voice is sweet and sonorous, with touches of raunch when she wants as it is clear she is in total control. It was a huge hit in the UK at the time, hitting the top ten, and as a result has always played a part in the story of UK rock n roll.
Tutti Frutti - Little Richard [1955]
Allegedly an obscene song about sex before its lyrics were rewritten, Tutti Frutti is one of the most primal forces in music. It explodes from the very start with Richard’s famous “A-wop-bop-a-loo-mop-a-lop-bam-boom”. In 1955 it must have soudned liek it came form space. This is the piano driven R&B of The early Drifters but dailled up to 100. It thunders along, led by Richard’s voice and piano playing, genuinely exciting. A teenage Paul McCartney listened to this and took notes, trying to find his rock n roll voice. I have kept out of writing about race in this article, even though the treatment of black and white artists sits deep inside the history of rock n roll. Most of the artist I’ve written about loved music, and advantages given to white musicians were not the reasons behind cover versions or adaptations for the most part. Tutti Frutti, however, gives a perfect example of a record label looking to “sanitise” black music for a white audience. Pat Boone quickly record a version to compete with Richard’s. It so weak in comparison, but it was a bigger hit.
“They needed a rock star to block me out of white homes because I was a hero to white kids. The white kids would have Pat Boone upon the dresser and me in the drawer 'cause they liked my version better, but the families didn't want me because of the image that I was projecting.” - Little Richard
Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins [1956]
Written and performed by Carl Perkins, this is a perfect example of that rocakbailly sound, where the blues style was matched to a country sound. Another huge hit for Elvis, who seems to be hoovering up the rock n roll hits here, Perkins’ original is slightly more laid back, slightly more country, slightly more down home. It’s another great sounding track with wonderful stand up bass lines running throughout and a great solo. You can hear his influence on the young George Harrison in his picking.
Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley [1956]
Around about the same time as Blue Suede Shoes Elvis released his first single for his new major label, RCA Victor. For a single it’s remarkable sparse and stripped down, opening with just Presley’s voice, punctuated by sharp blasts from Scotty Moore’s guitar before the band come in. DJ Fontana’s drums sit right at the back, hardly audible, adn the song is propelled by Floyd Cramer’s boogie-woogie piano and Elvis’ echoing, sad voice. A huge hit in the US and the UK, it’s a song that set the spark in hundreds of musicians. John Lennon and George Harrison have both spoken of the joy and shock they felt when they first heard it. Elvis clearly became bored of his early rock n roll stuff in the 70s (ofting singing “Heartburn Motel”) but it’s an incredible moment in rock n roll history.
Be-Bop-a-Lula - Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps [1956]
The day I met Paul I was singing that song for the first time onstage. There’s a photo in all the Beatles books - a picture of me with a checked shirt on, holding a little acoustic guitar - and I am singing Be-Bop-a-Lula… John Lennon [1980]
The hiccuping style of Gene Vincent’s singing and the sparse, slinky music propel this song upwards. It’s a powerful piece of music, almost sounding dangerous, with a superb guitar solo in the middle of it. Vincent, who was in the car and survived the crash that killed Eddie Cochran, was another hero to many musicians, and was given a wonderful tribute by Ian Dury:
That’ll Be The Day - Buddy Holly & The Crickets [1957]
After watching the incredible John Ford western, The Searchers, Buddy Holly was inspired to borrow the phrase that John Wayne used throughout the film to create this song. Another example of how R&B and country sounds can be used together to give rockabilly, Holly and his Crickets perform with perfection, Buddy’s voice hiccuping and the band harmonising in the background. A huge hit - no.1 in the US and the UK - it inspired hundred of musicians to pick up guitars and try to play. Holly was tragically killed in February 1959 in a plane crash that also killed musician Ritchie Valens and “The Big Bopper” JP Richardson, often described as “The Day the Music Died”. Six months early, a group of young Liverpudlians called The Quarrymen, featuring John Lennon5, Paul McCartney and George Harrison, recorded a version of this track as they were trying to enter the music world:
Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry [1958]
Berry had already had a few rock n roll hits from 1955 onwards, including introducing a powerful rock guitar sound on Maybellene. Johnny B Goode was another huge hit and it stars with a superb guitar riff, not a million miles from that by Goree Carter on Rock Awhile [Berry acknowledges it’s based on the opening of Louis Jordan’s Ain’t That Just Like a Woman6]. It’s more than “based”, it’s the same, but Berry has it overdriven and uses it throughout this song about the power of success and fame. Berry played guitar like a piano7, hitting two strings and bending them with his strong fingers, and he uses that to great effect on this barnstorming rock n roll track.
Jugue - Johnny Amelio [1958]
I finish with a lesser known track, but one that stands shoulder to shoulder with everything else here. Johnny Amelio is an artist I know nothing about - I bought a compilation of obscure rockabilly songs called Party Crasher. This song was the opening track, starting with a powerful, twanging guitar riff and with a band that come crashing in, just about holding on to the rhythm and the groove. Amelio sings a raucous songs about dancing (“the Jugue?”) and it’s over in a breathless two minutes. As far as I know he had one other single, another rocker called Jo Anne Jo Anne, but to me he is an example of the link between rock n roll and the garage rock of the 60s.
Frank Sinatra - “Western World” magazine, 1957
Although, as you’ll see, there are more than 25 songs on the playlist!
The first version I ever heard was on Aerosmith’s Live! Bootleg album.
Think of the opening to Jailhouse Rock
What a rock n roll voice Lennon had!
Have a listen:
Not like he was ringing a bell!
Congratulations on 100 subscribers, Kal. Three years ago, I got stuck at 300 for like a month; did a long piece about George Harrison and thought surely a Beatles thing would be a hit. Nope. But then you hit your sweet spot and just keep going. I might have been better off with the Boswell Sisters and all the other influencers that are still part of my life.