WHAT WAS THE FIRST ROCK & ROLL RECORD? (Part 1 of 2)

[NightTrain]

I excerpted the following from the 1992 book, WHAT WAS THE FIRST ROCK AND ROLL RECORD, by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes. The authors chose 50 songs as contenders for that coveted title. Here are the first 25:

1. BLUES, PART 2 – Jazz at the Philharmonic

RELEASE DATE: Late 1944
WHY IMPORTANT: It was one of the first “live” commercially released recordings; the musicians influenced the coming revolutions in music; and tenorist Illinois Jacquet’s solo performance launched a school of highly emotional, “honking ‘n’ squealing” saxophones.


2. THE HONEYDRIPPER – Joe Liggins

RELEASE DATE: April 1945
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the earliest runaway hit in the formative R&B combo style.


3. BE-BABA-LEBA – Helen Humes

RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1945
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first example of be-bop’s influence on R&B, which had evolved primarily from big-band swing and the blues.


4. HOUSE OF BLUE LIGHTS – Freddie Slack with Ella Mae Morse

RELEASE DATE: April 1946
WHY IMPORTANT: Morse and Slack were the first two white R&B stars, and their records helped establish Capitol as the first major West Coast record company.


5. THAT’S ALL RIGHT (MAMA) – Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup

RELEASE DATES: Late 1946 and March 1949
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first blues/R&B record released on 45 RPM, and a prototype of early rockabilly.


6. OPEN THE DOOR, RICHARD! – Jack McVea & His All-Stars

RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1946
WHY IMPORTANT: It was an early R&B novelty record, a genre that evolved into a staple of ‘50s rock ‘n’ roll; the first commercial record to fade out instead of ending cold; and the first popular record to inspire a spate of highly successful covers and answer records.


7. TOMORROW NIGHT – Lonnie Johnson

RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1948
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first country blues pop hit.


8. GOOD ROCKIN’ TONIGHT – Wynonie Harris

RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1948
WHY IMPORTANT: It started a trend of records concerned with “rockin’.”


9. WE’RE GONNA ROCK, WE’RE GONNA ROLL – Wild Bill Moore

RELEASE DATE: June 1948
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first “honking” hit record.


10. IT’S TOO SOON TO KNOW – The Orioles

RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1948
WHY IMPORTANT: It was one of the first R&B vocal group hits, and the inspiration for countless “bird” groups that defined the music of the “doo-wop” era.


11. BOOGIE CHILLEN – John Lee Hooker

RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1948
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first major electrified Delta blues hit.


12. GUITAR BOOGIE – Arthur Smith & His Crackerjacks

RELEASE DATES: 1945 and Nov. 1948
WHY IMPORTANT: It popularized boogie-woogie music on the guitar.


13. DRINKIN’ WINE SPO-DEE-O-DEE – Stick McGhee & His Buddies

RELEASE DATE: March 1949
WHY IMPORTANT: It was one of the first party-time drinking songs to become a hit.


14. ROCK THE JOINT – Jimmy Preston

RELEASE DATE: May 1949
WHY IMPORTANT: It was an early all-out R&B rocker, and it led ultimately to Bill Haley’s changeover from country music to proto-rockabilly.


15. SATURDAY NIGHT FISH FRY – Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five

RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1949
WHY IMPORTANT: It was one of the first unabashed, uninhibited pop hits about African-American highlife.


16. MARDI GRAS IN NEW ORLEANS – Professor Longhair

RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: “Mardi Gras” was the first of many New Orleans R&B recordings to capitalize on the Crescent City’s peculiar rhythms.


17. THE FAT MAN – Fats Domino

RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first of almost 70 Imperial records and 63 R&B charters for Domino; it was the first New Orleans hit that *sounded* New Orleans and convinced record companies elsewhere to record local musicians. Fats Domino became the biggest-selling R&B star of the 1950s.


18. ROLLIN’ AND TUMBLIN’ – Muddy Waters

RELEASE DATE: April 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: It was one of the earliest modern, amplified Chicago blues records.


19. BIRMINGHAM BOUNCE – Hardrock Gunter

RELEASE DATE: March 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: It was one of the earliest white popular records about “rockin’” on the dance floor.


20. I’M MOVIN’ ON – Hank Snow

RELEASE DATE: June 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first major train-song hit set to a boogie rhythm.


21. TEARDROPS FROM MY EYES – Ruth Brown

RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first major jump hit for Atlantic’s earliest consistent hitmaker, and established her as the first lady of R&B.


22. HOT ROD RACE – Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys

RELEASE DATE: Dec. 1950
WHY IMPORTANT: It introduced automobile racing into popular music and underscored the car’s relevance to American culture, particularly youth culture.


23. HOW HIGH THE MOON – Les Paul & Mary Ford

RELEASE DATE: March 1951
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first major pop hit to use extensive overdubbing, speeded-up tapes and other gimmicks; it also featured the first distinct rock ‘n’ roll-like guitar solo.


24. ROCKET 88 – Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats

RELEASE DATE: April 1951
WHY IMPORTANT: It indirectly helped launch Sun Records; the performance itself, powered by a distorted electric guitar and a relentless boogie beat, influenced countless records in the 1950s.


25. SIXTY MINUTE MAN – The Dominoes

RELEASE DATE: May 1951
WHY IMPORTANT: It was the first R&B hit to cross over to the pop charts, the first double-entendre hit, and the first million-seller by a formative R&B vocal group.

Coming soon to DU: records #26 - 50!

[johnnie]

1. Hard to pick but

I am going to try to find each one of these and burn them to disc. That would be a cool collection.

[NightTrain]

4. I have all 50 songs on two CDs.

Does your e-mail account accept MP3s?

[johnnie]

8. I have a g-mail account

I bet that would work. I'll PM you the addy. Thanks.

[pinto]

2. Though I favor Honeydripper as candidate, Sixty Minute Man best fills the

bill, in this list, primarily for it's crossover status and the all important double-entendre it brought to pop from the blues.

[Norbert]

3. Our Public radio station played a couple Louis Jordan tunes this weekend

Choo Choo Ch' Boogie and Saturday Night Fish Fry. I have overlooked him for many years until now. I don't know if he had the first R & R record but he was certainly ahead of his time.


Very good list.

[ZoCrowes]

6. Love Louis Jordan

Kansis City Jump is a form of blues that never really gets it due

[ZoCrowes]

5. FLAME ON

We had this argument at work the other night (I work at a record store on the weekends.)We agreed that rock n roll was either one of two things

1)hillbilly and R&B formed meshed together (under this definition Little Richard would not really be Rock N Roll)

2)Amped up R&B first done by groups like The Dominoes and Ike Turner

I personally think the answer has been lost in the sands of time

[KittyWampus]

7. #15.

[FredScuttle]

9. Rock Around The Clock

While my technical vote would go to Rocket 88, I'd have to give props to Bill Haley & The Comets and "Rock Around The Clock" - the first rock song to hit #1 on the Billboard charts and the starting point of a revolution.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Around_the_Clock

[NightTrain]

11. That one's coming up in Part 2.

[-..__...]

10. "Freedom Rock"!

"Well, turn it up man!"

[ladjf]

12. "Rock Around the Clock" 1953.

This was, as far as I know, the first hit that used the electric bass guitar and it was the advent of the electric bass that put "Rock and Roll" on the map. Prior to that, none of the ensembles had enough power in the bass range to balance the guitars. I believe that the electric bass was invented in 1953 by the Fender company.

[hickman1937]

13. I watched the Sam Phillips bio last night.

He considered Rocket 88 the first rock and roll song. The distorted guitar sound happened because some one dropped the amp, getting it out of the car trunk, and busted a tube. Sam Phillips loved the sound.