First Rock'n roll song?! Jimmy Preston - Rock the Joint (DOO WOP CORNER SOUND: SHOW 89)

[JosephNScott719]

There was no fad for secular songs about rocking until '49. In that fad, there was typically backbeat most of the tune. Billboard was calling that music "rockers" in '49. You & I know of no "white" stuff from 12/47-11/49 with lyrics about rocking & backbeat most of the tune, but do know of "black" examples. Thus, the evidence suggests that that music was a "black" creation. Isolated examples of the words "rock"/"roll" in pre-'47 songs have little (& in most cases zero) to do with that fad.

[1954771]

Rock this joint reminds me of.

watch?v=fqQ_uYqUyx8

[58RocknRoller]

I think you will find that the roots for rock'n'roll had been set before either chuck berry or bo diddley made a record. Listen to billy ward & the dominos or clyde mcphatter & the drifters to name but a few. Chuck berry certainly was a brilliant lyricist who took things to another level but for me bo diddley is not in his league and can't hold a candle to him.

[cotrenhas55]

Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley They influenced all, They invented rock and roll 1950 1 - Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley after 1960 2 - Beatles and rolling stones after 3 - Jimi Hendrix

[58RocknRoller]

Precisely RnR was an evolutionary process that was a fusion of all sorts of things. Listen to Bill Haley's early records and they are pure hillbilly/country - he didn't just start playing RnR. It was a very different time when white was totally dominant and whites covered black artists material - Elvis is a prime example but he stayed true to the sound whereas Pat Boones versions of tutti frutti, long tall sally & blueberry hill well a bit like the pope doing rap - not gonna work on any level

[JosephNScott719]

@58RocknRoller "RnR was an evolutionary process that was a fusion of all sorts of things." As of '49 the rock and roll that was already around, such as "Rock The Joint" by Jimmy Preston, "Rock That Boogie" by Jimmy Smith, and "Boogie At Midnight" by Roy Brown, sounded like '56 Penniman, which is to say it differed from '46 jump blues such as Big Joe Turner's only in the amount of backbeat and the popularity of lyrics about rocking. Stuff like hillbilly music got mixed in later.

[pneuma1981]

Yeah the white people had guys like Johnny Rivers to do covers of the black folks RnR to make it acceptable for white folks to listen to its a fact sorry to say but that is how it was back in the day.

[1954771]

Rock and roll is neither a black nor a white creation-if it is tell me who and what day it was created.

It evolved over many years from gospel-which was sung by all for centuries and gradually got mixed with country and R&B which was played by both black and whites.There may be disputes over who wrote what or who should have got more money etc but the music itself didn't have a start date.

[JosephNScott719]

@1954771 "Rock and roll is neither a black nor a white creation" Examples of recordings from the period 12/47 to 11/49 that have both lyrics about rocking & backbeat through most of the tune are "Good Rockin' Tonight" by W. Harris, "Rock And Roll" by B. Moore, this, "Rock That Boogie" by J. Smith, & "Boogie At Midnight" by R. Brown, all "black." I don't know of any "white" recordings from the same period that have lyrics about rocking and backbeat through most of the tune. Do you?

[1954771]

@JosephNScott719 The term "Rock and roll" goes back centuries as does the term"blues" but no one really knows where it started.

Rock can be associated with the way boats rocked and rolled hence the phrases "rocking horse" or "rocking chair" "rock the baby" and the masters encouraged the slaves to sing as they knew when they was more happy they worked harder.

A lot of people say gosple came from Africa- it was the white man that took Christianity to Africa..ctd

[1954771]

@JosephNScott719 ctd..they didn't even know about the gosple until then.

The term blues has many "theories" but the reality is unclear.

Some refer to it as the "blue" notes or flat notes when played which can oftern be found in blues music others refer to it as the devils music because it was said that people who were poor could afford REAL coal so had to make do with a cheap version that burnt blue and they would sit around a fire singing songs of feeling down..ctd

[1954771]

@JosephNScott719 ctd..because they were poor,broke,no job, no woman etc... and it was said that was where the devil worked best,so most things "blue" was associated with the devil-we now have blue films but as I said the term goes back hundreds of years.Later in music rocking and rolling and words like that were put into some music as sexual term instead of saying what was really ment,like in the song "Baby want to play house with you" for example.

[1954771]

@JosephNScott719 You can fing the words even as far back as the early thirties as white Jimmy Rogers Rock all our babies to sleep and Roll along Kentucky moon.

[1954771]

@JosephNScott719 watch?v=fqQ_uYqUyx8

[58RocknRoller]

In the case of many white artists the sound that they created was a result of what they heard growing up and as rock'n'roll kicked off in the souhern states it fused country, gospel, folk and R&B in varying quantities. But the white majority ensured that not too many black artists hit mainstream (that needed mowtown to do that) and that is why RnR seems to be white dominated - because it was but the source was both black and white. Dont get het up about where its from just enjoy its beauty.

[58RocknRoller]

Black music was not acceptable to white respectabilities because of its beat, crude lyrics and the sexually provactive dancing that went with it so record companies needed to produce a white version of their sound. Consequently black influence is heard very much in the sound of white singers. In the case of Elvis and That's alright mama he took to singing it in his style between takes and that was what was recorded - a white mans version of all that he heard before both black and white.

[58RocknRoller]

What you have to do is to understand the social climate in 50's America. This was a country where blacks were an underclass. The music industry was dominated by whites and the major record buying public were white kids. There was a need to sell white music to these white kids as black music would not be acceptable to be pitched to them. That is why Sam Philips said "If I could find a white man who could sing lika a black i'd make a million" That is why blacks were always to the rear in music.

[58RocknRoller]

1st time post. I cant believe that anyone honestly thinks that RnR is a white only music. Even Jerry Lee Lewis's mum told him that Chuck Berry was the king. The beauty of the music is the amalgamation of black & white music. Some you can tell has white country roots, some has black R&B roots, some a mix. I am big Elvis fan & so much of his influence was black R&B such as Clyde Mcphatter. Most agree doowop is RnR yet it is from R&B. RnR is not about black or white it is only about the music!!!

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@58RocknRoller Please name me ten black Rock bands, that is playing TODAY! If Chuck Berry is the King of Rock and Roll, then what do we do with Wanda Jackson, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Eddie Cochran, Carl Perkins and his song "Blue Suede Shoes", Bill Haley and His Comets and his song "Round The Clock," Brenda Lee and her national holiday rock song "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree," Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Les Paul, and SO MANY MORE!!! Huh! What do we do with them!

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@58RocknRoller Chuck Berry as King? Are you kidding me? The token black man in the creative process of Rock and Roll is going to be King! Like I said earlier, if this man can single-handedly take Rock from white people, then he should get a metal. EVERY ROCK CULTURE....Every Single One....was created by white people. From the Diner scene of Rock and Roll to the flannel shirts of Grunge.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@58RocknRoller I don't mind if people wants to play Rock that isn't non-white, and I don't know if you are honestly clueless of what is truly going on here, but the black community is trying to claim Rock and Roll, so they can claim ALL of Rock. Period! They bring up CHUCK BERRY all the TIME! In order to do so. It's a simple FACT that Rock is a WHITE MUSIC CREATION! How many songs do they have to produce in that genre to CLAIM IT!

[mrohyoudidntknow]

This is Jazz. It's quite clear. I don't even have to look up the song on wiki.

They are using the word "Rock" in the song. Big freckin' woop. Stop wasting my time moron. People have been using the word, Rock, in songs way before this one, and since Sea Shanties, and the first official "Rock" song, Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep.

[JosephNScott2]

@mrohyoudidntknow "This is Jazz." If you do a youtube search on charlie parker victory ball you'll hear what jazz sounded like in '49.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 So, what are you trying to tell me idiot. One Jazz song is suppose to sound like another? This is Jazz. You can quote me on that if you'd like. Are you trying to tell me that this is Rock? If that is the case, then Nursery Rhymes is the original Rapping.

[JosephNScott2]

@mrohyoudidntknow "Are you trying to tell me that this is Rock?" It's some of the earliest rock & roll. Rock & roll evolved from jump blues, such as many of the '46 recordings by Roy Milton, Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, & Joe Liggins. Musically, the main difference between '49 rock & roll & typical '46 jump blues was the use of lots of backbeat. The jazz example I gave you from '49 is representative of '49 jazz because it's a bunch of jazz poll-winners playing together.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 Tsk tsk tsk. Another slow poke to the fountain of intelligence. Why do the ones who shouldn't be speaking does. Again, the 40's is the most extremely hardest decade to decipher what came out of those ten years. Seriously. You're a fucking fool, and a loser if you try. There are people who say that the first Rap song, sung by a white band, came from that decade. And they wouldn't be wrong, cause all the "elements" are there.

[JosephNScott2]

@mrohyoudidntknow "the 40's is the most extremely hardest decade to decipher what came out of those ten years." No. Because of the explosion of indie labels in the '40s (& the survival of transcriptions such as AFRS "Jubilee," & Soundies, &...), we actually have a far better record of what music sounded like in the '40s than we do for earlier decades. Understanding how jump blues evolved into rock & roll during the late '40s is very doable if you're willing to do some work.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 I'm not saying that all the songs were lost during the 40's, moron. I'm saying, that you are trying to label a song in the music genre, rock and roll, so you can, well, I don't know what your goal is. I guess, give rock and roll to the black community and therefore, Rock music in general. If that's the case, then fuck that shit. Seriously. As a white person, I'm offended immensely by that. We did 95% of all Rock music. And, 100% of the Rock music after Rock and Roll

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 The other 5% was done by blacks AND Hispanics. La Bamba by Ritchie Valens ring a bell? Rock music is white people's music. And I don't care about the 10 songs and two black musicians that the black community had. If they are trying to hijack Rock music from white people. Piss on their records. Break the shit out of those records, Stewie Griffen and Brian Griffen style!

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 Rock and Roll didn't need black people to catch on. That's a myth. I'm pretty sure that Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, The Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, The Ventures, and so much more, had it taken care of.

And now, blacks are trying to take Rock away from white people, with two words...Chuck Berry. I'm not denying the man's credentials. But, if this man can single-handedly give Rock to black people, then he should get a freckin' medal. Seriously.

[kstarpictures]

@mrohyoudidntknow But don't forget that "rock 'n' roll" came from jump blues, a form of rhythm & blues performed by predominately African-American artists. It all goes back to black musicians originally. I'm white, btw. I'm not trying to pump myself up for whatever reason; I'm just stating the history of it. Naturally, whites were soon performing similar music, and artists like Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley were recording jump blues influenced records by the early '50's.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@kstarpictures Actually, that's not entirely true. All my life, I heard that Elvis was influenced by black people. We've all heard this. You would think the man was born in B.B. King's house for goodness sakes. In music, we only seem to give credit to black men for creating everything. I guess it's easier to do that, instead of actually studying. Elvis was first playing hillbilly music when he was a kid.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@kstarpictures Hillbilly music use to be what Bluegrass was called, before Bill Monroe came along and changed the name of the genre and also tweaked the music a bit. Country music also was known as Hillbilly music as well, before they changed it too. In fact, Elvis and Monroe teamed up during Elvis career. Did Elvis get influenced by black music, yes. Did he also get influenced by white music, yes. Again, this is the problem. Also, Bluegrass music was in this country before Blues.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@kstarpictures I just love how it just HAD to be Bluegrass that was inspired by Blues, even though it came first. Nah, Blues couldn't have been inspired by Bluegrass in any shape or form. Not at all. So yes, we live in a society that gives credit in music only to black musicians. You'll also be amazed by the number of white artists that came up with different ways to play instruments. Like, the people who started Rock and Roll.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@kstarpictures Was Rock and Roll influenced to a degree, genre's that came before it? Yes. But, so did every other genre in existence. To say that Blues was 100% original, would be foolish and downright childish. Rock and Roll was also influenced by Country, which lead to the creation of Rockabilly. Nobody talks about this. Rockabilly was the leading style and creative music genre FORCE to the development of Rock and Roll.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@kstarpictures And when I say that Rock and Roll was a white person thing, I mean Men AND Women created this genre. Just type in Wanda Jackson. So yes, in conclusion, I'm offended by people saying that Rock, in any of its genres, is a black thing. Rock has always been and always will be white music.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 The way it was done, would be the essence of a Rap song. Also, Hip Hop came from ALL parts of the world, during this decade. There are even people who say that Hip Hop originated out of a village in Asia. And they wouldn't be wrong either, cause all elements are there too. And again, like I said earlier, Nursery Rhymes would have the title of the Father of Rap.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 There is no difference between the two, besides rated R material. So, It all depends on how hard you want to look at this, I guess. Bluegrass was in this country before Blues. Can someone make the connection between the two? They can, but it would be lame, and inaccurate. Music genres shouldn't be mixed. And people who talk about the 40's do just that.

[mrohyoudidntknow]

@JosephNScott2 White people created the first headspin, does that mean that the dancing we call the break dance, should be theirs? I know that this is off topic music wise, but it makes sense nonetheless. Essence is everywhere. Graffiti that Hip Hoppers do, is a combination of the Graffiti that was being done in Europe and the artwork of the comic book era of the 50's and 60's. See how freckin' easy this is? Again, if you want to really search, you'll find it.

[stronghurst1]

The opening of this tune is "Trombone Boogie"

[stevepipkin]

Thanks for your input. Excellent points.

[stevepipkin]

The musical elements of early rock and roll are those of boogie woogie. To paraphrase Chuck Berry, "call it what you want, I play boogie woogie". George Clinton of Pfunk fame said, "Rock and Roll is the blues played fast"

"Rocket 88" ihas a boogie woogie structure. Same emphasis on syncopation and bar length. Pinetop's Boogie from 1928 is one of the earliest recordings in the classic boogie woogie style. Add a fuzzy guitar and a sax and you have a rock & roll song.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

@stevepipkin For that matter, Liszt was rocking his ass off during the final four minutes or so of Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 - I always wondered how much that influenced Scott Joplin ...

[nilspn1]

@stevepipkin

I think you sum it up quite well! Pinetop's Boogie is a definite "pre-r'n'r" recording. And R&R's Shakespeare, Mr. Chuck Berry is right: it's all boogie woogie....!

Listen to Wild Bill Moore on his recordings "We're gonna rock, we're gonna roll (Dec. '47) and "Rock and Roll" (1949). He and all the other early pioneers could get the credit as being first, but as in many cases, there were mutual influences and team-work that made the baby grow from blues to rock and roll...

[JosephNScott1]

@nilspn1 "[...] team-work that made the baby grow from blues to rock[...]" The only musical element of '49 r'n'r that wasn't common in '46 jump blues is backbeat through most of the tune. Many bands, individually, copied the Wynonie "Good Rockin'"/Wild Bill "We're Gonna"/Preston "Joint"/McNeely "Deacon's"/Singer "Corn Bread" sound because it sold BIG and they liked it -- imo in very, very much the same way as others copied Charles Brown's sound because it sold BIG and they liked it.

[JosephNScott1]

@nilspn1 "Mr. Chuck Berry is right: it's all boogie woogie....!" That's kind of like saying all disco is soul: Probably virtually all disco _does_ have roots in soul somewhere in its sound, typically a lot... but saying "disco is soul" isn't describing disco very well. If you consider Arthur Crudup's "Where Did You Stay Last Night," for instance, under ordinary circumstances would you tell anyone it's an example of boogie-woogie music? Is it rock and roll?

[tempetiger]

Don't many people consider "Rocket 88" as the first rock 'n roll song?

[hyzercreek]

@tempetiger Sam Phillips claimed it was, because he produced the record. Everybody was claiming his own record was the first. Atlantic claimed the 1949 Wine Spo Dee O Dee was the first. Little Richard claimed Tootie Fruity, RCA Victor claimed Elvis was the first. People are full of s***. The first rock and roll record, in fact, was Wynonie Harris' 1947 version of Good Rocking Tonight. Or maybe not.

[MrGotsquashed]

We may never know when rock and roll really started. I have heard some really rockin' tunes from the 1920's!

[DjElSemtex]

I personally think this is the one.. :-)

youtube.com/watch?v=78M7NB_JrD­Y

The late great Big Joe Turner with Pete Johnson doing this track in.. 1938!.. :-)

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

@MrJNScott Not to forget the studio version of How Many More Years with Hubert Sumlin's guitar and Wolf turning in one of his more uniquely awful vocal performances.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

I always get a kick out of Buddy Jones accidental rock tune from the late 30s >>> youtube.com/watch?v=J2A5wm9P2W­g

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

@MrJNScott That's a great point!!! Yoiu generally think of Chuck Berry making that rock'n'roll synthesis with his brilliant rewrite of Ida Red as Maybelline and perhaps because Chuck was the self-proclaimed "colored hillbilly" but Haley had been doing it all along as well.

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

Bill Haley's version of this tune may be a better candidate although you can theoretically whip out an old tune from the twenties, country, blues, folk, dixieland, etc. and say it's the first rock'n'roll number.

[wrfreytag]

It's easy to call a performance the first rock and roll recording. It's far more reasonable to consider that recordings from a variety of sources (e.g.: Jazz or Blues) built a path to what is considered Rock and Roll. This recording or Rocket 88 are signposts, but not necessarily the "first" of that idiom.

[GreenLightMe]

...created rock and roll is DUMB and shows RACIAL superiority complex, no SINGLE race invented anything in this world...I TAKE THAT back, FIRE and the wheel INVENTED by a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SPECIES, they can have FULL credit as they could not have possibly gotten the idea from HOMO ERECTUS, being they were extinct...point is stop saying jigga boos invented this or that...lets just appreciaate what every human across the globe gives to the music

[ismarythere]

@GreenLightMe Racist says what?  By the way, no examples of Mayan music survive. Which is the least of your problems....

[GreenLightMe]

@ismarythere yes there are many examples in fact, your denial of such shows your racism towards the natives of the Americas, clearly you are a racist.

[ismarythere]

One of the first, yes. Blacks invented this stuff, but because the primary audience for rock and roll is white, that truth is unacceptable to many (if not most) folks. You could dig up a thousand examples as potent as this one, and people would still give the credit to white country musicians. We have the faux scholars at Rolling Stone to thank for that.

[GreenLightMe]

@ismarythere to attribute the creation of a genre of music to a RACE is completely IGNORANT. Blues/country/ the precursor both were HEAVILY influenced by CLASSICAL training and you can see OBVIOUS influences of Mozart, Beethoven, other early BAROQUE, and celtic folk music and we can go to other non white and Non black, but native americans, the mayans and so forth had a very rock and roll sounding music, and when i say rock and roll i mean at its core, the THEORY, so this idea that blacks..

[clh2192]

@scottjosephn I think you are intentionally missing the point. When you say "Electric guitar was common in R&B"... I'd have to say. "No $hit!" Hahaha. I big upped Rosetta Tharpe in my very first post. At the end of the day, there is not a definition of Rock and Roll. Therefore, everyone can have a first. To me, the first was Rosetta Tharpe. But if someone wants to roll with Rocket 88? Might not think the same. But I won't lost sleep.

[scottjoen]

@clh2192 "I think you are intentionally missing the point." Your guesswork about my intentions is inaccurate. Under your understanding of "R&B", how many R&B recordings did Rosetta Tharpe play electric guitar on? I think Camille Howard, for one, had more to do with rock and roll getting going than Tharpe did.

[195477EP]

Rock 'n' roll,boogie woogie,swing,Rocka billy-call it what you will it's great whatever.

"Some people like to tap their fingers some like to stomp their feet some like to just sway back and forth-I just kind of do them altogether"Elvis Presley

"I don't think Rock and Roll will ever completley die out" -again- Elvis Presley...how right was he?

[clh2192]

@scottjosephn Case in point... see 'Trucking Little Woman' BIG BILL BROONZY

[clh2192]

@scottjosephn Again, to me, and I've been consistent- Sister Rosetta Tharpe is the original, so your posts while great to listen to do not move me left or right. You have your opinion as to who was first. We all do. And I've heard godspell, blues, jump blues, boogie woogie from the 30s and 40s that sounds JUST like rock and roll. However, as there does not exist a definition of Rock N Roll, one is as good as another, and if there's a first that meets that defn, then it's first.

[clh2192]

@scottjosephn Great songs! The difference? Ike's guitar is playing the "groove" which is what I meant by lead. Charlie Christian played mean solos too. For whatever reason, it was Rocket 88 and not the others, after which the guitar dominated genre known as Rock N Roll came into existence. Or perhaps it was that it was the first song "jacked" by a white artist and at the end of the day, what can be more Rock and Roll than that-lol.

[wellsy1954]

@scottiosephn . I won't agree or disagree with you.I just think that The Blues had a baby on 10-12-1949 and it was called Rock and Roll.It's just great to read these comments about some of the best music ever made.

[clh2192]

@joenatescott1 Check Tharpe and Ammons "That's All" 1938.

[clh2192]

@joenatescott1 There is not a definition of Rock and Roll. However, it's also like porn you know it when you hear it, but one person's rock is another's boogie woogie. That being said, if one accepts that there were jump blues, godspell...etc. and even some country that can be classified as rock and roll... the elevation of the guitar as lead instrument is probably what makes RnR distinct. Therefore, Rocket 88 represents that shift. Note I also said Rosetta Tharpe had them all beat.

[clh2192]

@joenatescott  "I'm just saying they or you have no _good_ reason to bring up the idea of "Rocket 88" The problem with your rationale is that you are imposing a definition where one does not exist. If you want to say, "According to my [joenateschott] definition..." Then that's fine. Otherwise one definition is as good as any, and, Rocket 88 works as a so-called first. If you disagree, then please produce a universal definition of "Rock N Roll".

[clh2192]

@joenatescott So lyrics and backbeat make rock and roll? I must respectfully disagree. Yes, backbeat, was prominent in many songs of the era. But, a backbeat didn't start with rock and roll, and not all Rock and roll songs had one. For example, Rocket 88. And gospel artist(s) such as Marion Williams and the Dixie Hummingbirds had used backbeat. Check out Arthur Crudup's Mean Ol Frisco Blues- that's Rock and roll. At least to me. I wouldn't say Rocket 88 is first. Just saying some do.

[clh2192]

In fact I heard a song from the late 30s on a Blues Show that was heavy and hard. And to me might make a better claim to the first, using the "guitar" definition that establishes Rocket 88 as first.

[clh2192]

Personally, I'm not a fan of the "label" as it excludes soul, funk, r&b, folks like James Brown and Funkadelic who would have blown LedZep, the Stones, Metallica, U2...etc off the stage. And why was "miss you" by the Stones "rock" and Chic's "I want you love" not?

[clh2192]

1947? How can that be when Caldonia was 1945? The challenge is that there is not an agreed upon definition for what is and what is not Rock and Roll. I caught a Blues Show one time and they played a song that was as heavy as anything played by Sabbath or Funkadelic. Given that... Rocket 88 is as good as starting point as any. I have no particular choice.

[clh2192]

@joenatescott  Do not disagree. Jump Blues was well established. Which is why I pointed out Sister Rosetta Tharpe. "Up above my head" (1948?), when I first heard it on Rhythm Review blew me away. While it might be due to the marketing genius of Philips, or the guitar work of Ike (as opposed to the guitar in Albennie Jones, Papa Tree Blues, for e.g. which has the known jazz sound), there is a school of thought around Rocket 88. Not so for the others. It is what it is.

[MrDt1946]

Ha Ha ha LOVE IT

[SuperCosty2010]

the last comment was about Alright Mamma by Elvis, referred as "that song"

[clh2192]

Rocket 88 by Ike Turner is the official first. But if you listen to Sister Rosetta Tharpe... she had the rock and roll guitar in the 30s.

[vretenartyler123]

What about That's Alright Mamma by Elvis? I probably don't know what I am talking about though.

[SuperCosty2010]

@vretenartyler123 That song is recorded in July 1954. No only that Bill Haley already recorded "Rock Aroung The Clock" (in April) at that time - he already had a whole album of perfect rockabilly numbers ("Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets"), the first of which was cover of this sing (Rock The Joint) in 1952

[wellsy1954]

People such as Louis Jordan and Roy Brown were playing this sort of music in the late 40's but Rock and Roll was born on 10-12-1949 when Fats Domino recorded "The Fat Man".Fats made the piano the lead instrument,opening the door for Little Richard,Jerry Lee Lewis etc.

[southamericanrocker]

This one was the first r&r song you tube /watch?v=cgdzS4OSQ1M

[trueblue08sthlm]

Love it! When you post, please state year of recording in the "headline". This is 1949.

Anyways..., thanks to all you wonderful people out there who are posting these, for many people, lost songs.

[peedee1124]

That's hot music!!! I love it!!!

[BeorhtFrognostic]

i don't know if it's the first rock and roll song but i like it

[Boldorion1958]

That's a hot one!

[dankwarth]

I would say the first rocknroll song is "Strange Things Happening Every Day" or "Good Rockin' Tonight"

[rockitmn]

I say lets none of us kid ourselves. Labels mean nothing. It's ALL derivative and all stands on it's own. Built on the shoulders of our ancestors and their ancestors before that. There is no magic demarcation line, nor does a single label completely define a genre or a song. Only reason we can't trace it back further is there were no phonographs down through the centuries.

[buddyeagle]

YES SIR, THIS IS ROCK AND ROLL.

[mangeldeth74]

Awesome, thanks for this post.

[hyzercreek]

Yes, but the Good Rocking fad was not the first time the rock and roll beat was recorded. Albert Ammons Boogie Woogie Stomp beat it by 11 years and rocked much harder. 1936, dude. Anything after that was Johnny Come Lately.

[hyzercreek]

This argument started when one guy said rock and roll was just white guys playing jump blues. That statement was wrong. White guys playing jump blues is still jump blues. I used to think rock and roll started with Wynonie Harris cover of Good Rocking Tonight in 1947. I no longer believe that. I think Albert Ammons version of Pine Top's Boogie Woogie, in 1936, (Boogie Woogie Stomp) was. Anything after that was just derivative. Name one person who ever rocked harder than Albert Ammons. None!

[hyzercreek]

@joenatescott I disagree. The heart of rock and roll is the beat and Ammons captured the beat for all time in 1936. When billboard identified a song as a rocker how do you know they were talking about a particular song? Songs had been described as rockers for many years before then. It looks like you have decided that rock the joint is the first rock song and so by definition anything before it wasn't. You are just as guilty as the Rocket 88 crowd or the Elvis Sun crowd. I define it as a rhythm.

[hyzercreek]

I will tell you what was the first rock and roll record. Recorded in 1936, the beat is indistinguishable from Rockpile, Stray Cats, Chuck Berry, Beatles, Ramones, and in most cases those are all derivative and not an improvement. Are you ready? It's Albert Ammons version of Pine Tops Boogie Woogie.

Ok class, the question has been answered.  It's on youtube video number 94oSCDFX7oU

[hyzercreek]

@joenatescott Prima had hits on the R&B charts when they were still calling it "Harlem Hit Parade." His big R&B hits in '46 were Robin Hood, his 1950 hit "Oh Babe" was covered by a dozen black guys. It's not entirely about race, white people are allowed to play any music they want. Prima had a great band and he rocked the blues as well as any black guy. It's about music not skin color. Some black musicians really sucked. Ivory Joe Hunter sucked the big one. Nothing he did rocked. Prima rocked.

[hyzercreek]

Prima's 1944 White Cliffs Of Dover has huge backbeat but is a jazz song. His backbeat was called "gleeby rhythm." Prima's first true rock and roll record was his gleeby version of "Come On 'a My House" from 1950. Otis wasn't a real rocker, his records were more bluesy. I think the first white guy who had a real rock and roll act was Harry the Hipster. I will "video respond" to this video with two of his I uploaded...a live radio show 1944, and 1947's "Rocking Old Rocky Rachmaninoff."

[hyzercreek]

@joenatescott Since you asked, I'll upload Rocking Ol Rocky for you. It's a piano solo so there is no backbeat from hand clapping or snare drum. It's kind of hard for a pianist to give that rocking backbeat of rock and roll without a drummer. It's 1947, and in the same video I'll upload the rocking 1947 version of 4F Ferd the F F which is rock and roll without any tiniest chance that it isn't. Harry's actually able to do a backbeat with his left hand, no drummer or hand-clapping or slap bass!!

[josephnathanscott]

And for those who dismiss heavy recordings like Wild Bill Moore's "Rock And Roll" and Big Joe Turner's "Jumpin' At The Jubilee" because they (arbitrarily) say they need to hear a pop gloss/influence for it to be rock and roll, Chris Powell's "Rock The Joint" and Doles Dickens' "We're Gonna Rock This Morning" had that in 1949 -- as did Jimmy Preston, compared to John Lee Hooker.

[josephnathanscott]

Boogie-woogie goes back to the '10s. Backbeat through most of song only became popular in "black" secular music during the mid-'40s, popularized by Lionel Hampton & Buddy Johnson, and then in '47 Wild Bill Moore and Wynonie Harris made recordings that combined that emphasis on backbeat with lyrics about rocking, which led to a fad as of '49 that included this Jimmy Preston recording, Roy Brown's "Boogie At Midnight," Jimmy Smith's "Rock That Boogie," & Big Joe Turner's "Jumpin' At The Jubilee."

[billio0104]

Listen to a song by Danny and the Juniors Rock and Roll s Here To Stay, then listen to a song by James Jimmy Blythe called Chicago Stomp .You tell me where rock and roll came from.

[oramikleepunk]

@billio0104 Yeah,alot of the early Rock n roll from the late 40's and alen freed era sounded like this.I agree with you.

[billio0104]

@billio0104 the jimmy blythe song is from 1928

[NeilThompson30]

I know I'm gonna get a lot of minuses - I don't care - before Haley there was great R&B - Big Joe - Amos - Ike - Joe Liggins - but it was R&B - Bill was the first rock 'n' roller - the only other that can claim the title is Charlie Gracie - but to me it's too country - Haley was rock that made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck in the 50s - and still does today.

[busessuck1]

@NeilThompson30 So... what was the actual difference, can you elaborate to me because the way I figure it what's known as rock n roll is white people playing jump blues

[NeilThompson30]

@busessuck1 - first of all - any fan of Frankie Half Pint Jaxon os OK by me - fairplay to you. I can't really explain a sound - In the 80s I spent all my money on reissue vinyl albums on labels like Ace, Charly, Route 66, Flyright, Pathe etc - so I love late 40s/early 50s R&B - Roy Milton, Amos Milburn, Joe Liggins, Big Joe Turner etc. - and you're right - rock 'n' roll is white people playing jump blues - but when Haley did it, the drums and the slap bass was more rocking than before.

[oramikleepunk]

@NeilThompson30 Whenever you look at those old Rock concerts,and posters of the Alen freed era you see alot of jump-blues,boogie woogie singers from the late 40's-mid 50's.To me,I just don't see anything different from Haley.

[josephnathanscott]

"rock 'n' roll is white people playing jump blues" All the earliest rock and roll style recordings I know of, such as Turner's "Jumpin' At The Jubilee," C. Powell's "Rock The Joint," & F. Mitchell's "Doby's Boogie," were by "black" artists. D. Pomus & J. Cavallo are examples of "white" guys recording excellent rock and roll about '50-'51, but for the initial '47-'49 fad, about Wynonie Harris's "Good Rockin' Tonight" to Roy Brown's "Boogie At Midnight," I can't think of any "white" guys involved.

[hyzercreek]

@josephnathanscott No white guys? You have to mention Louis Prima and Johnny Otis. Although Otis was a white guy passing for black and had an all-black band, Prima was playing the Italian circuit with a gut bucket back-beat at least as early as 1944 when he recorded "White Cliffs of Dover" on the Hit label. That song is pure rocking R&B at least the part in the middle with the gospel hand clapping. Harry the Hipster was also playing rock and roll, 10 years before anybody had a name for it.

[oramikleepunk]

@NeilThompson30 I disagree,Alen freed never stated there was a first rock n roll singer.Whenever you look at the first rock concerts mixed with BLACK & WHITE youths,and singers,and Posters...You'll always see black & white singers enjoying music that came from R&B,BLUES,and C&W.

[josephnathanscott]

"before Haley there was great R&B - Big Joe - Amos - Ike - Joe Liggins - but it was R&B - Bill was the first rock 'n' roller" The new rock and roll fad sound was a subgenre of R&B. Big Joe ("Jumpin' At The Jubilee") and others were making that kind of R&B in 1949. Later Haley was making that kind of R&B too, and mixing it with hillbilly. Haley was very important in popularizing rock and roll mixed with hillbilly. But rock and roll doesn't have to be mixed with hillbilly to be rock and roll.

[RamisAbud1]

Bill Haley have recorded very good when he was in Decca.

This version are the pure r&b.

[bmxgeniesdad]

not sure , bit point less arguing over this one. great track though. best you all listen rather than work out who was the 1st. ( in case good old warner bros take it of) just enjoy.

[stevepipkin]

I forgot about Jimmy Blythe's 1924 boogie woogie song 'Chicago Stomp' which has rock and roll elements throughout the whole song instead of just a chorus or two.

[stevepipkin]

Examples of the earliest songs that can arguably be called rock & roll are 'Pinetop's Boogie' from 1928 and the aforementioned 'Going to Move to Alabama' from 1929. Early artists such as Jelly Roll Morton remember hearing boogie woogie being played much earlier. Leadbelly remembered hearing it for the first time in central Texas in 1899. Remember, anytime you play the blues fast you've got rock and roll.

[stevepipkin]

George Clinton says "rock & roll is just the blues played fast". Early as the 1870s songs with the elements of modern rock & roll were being played in the turpintine camps of east texas (where they played a lot of piano) and farms of Mississippi(where they played lots of guitar). Its probable that the first 'rock & roll' song was never recorded. The first songs with elements of rock and roll that were recorded were boogie woogie piano pieces and fast blues guitar pieces from the late 1920s

[MelvinWren]

who cares. sounds awesome tho/.

[alsgil]

This song was reccorded in 1949 by Gothan Records, Good Rocking Tonight was recorded in 47 and I Consider the first Rock'n Roll Song. The Rock was born there in the middle of R&B. Elvis reccorde Good Rocking tonight after with leess R&B and More Rock'n Roll... But I guess the record of 47 was rock'n Roll... but is a very particulary question...

[AllBobsAllTheTime]

When was Boogie Woogie recorded by Tommy Dorsey???

[dvdsmlprstylr]

rock is a fast beat, roll is the slow blues beat...put the 2 together (thank you Mr. Les Paul and Mr. Chuck Berry)

[Mpower77i]

Not even close to the first rock & roll song. The creation of rock was a steady development. You can go back to Count Basie and notice this sound.

[whitefalcon64]

Sure it was

[susiedarling69]

the everlasting question, what was the first song . . . ;-)

[thecountofbasie]

@susiedarling69 This one has it all...if it ain't the first, maybe it should be...

[susiedarling69]

@thecountofbasie

i agree with you. there is even the song "60 minute man" by the dominos, where

is the item "rock'n'roll" in one word the first time mentioned. and what about "crazy man crazy" (bill haley, late forties) or "the fat man" by FD, even from 1949???

questions over questions . . . ;-)))

[thecountofbasie]

@susiedarling69 and there's a school of thought that 1947's "Drinking Wine Spo-De-O-De," the Sticks McGhee and His Buddies version, might be the first. Haley's "Crazy Man Crazy" actually came out in '53. Doesn't really matter...those are all great historic sides...but it's sure a fun debate...:-))

[susiedarling69]

@thecountofbasie sorry for my mistake at the comeout-year of "cryazy man crazy", ha ha ha. more thoughts: what about "rocket88"? and what is rock'n'roll? then you could take all the r'n'b-versions of the fifites classics where so many were performed in the fourties. joe turner has said that rock'n'roll isn't anything else than a version of boogie. HA! then i suggest the song "boogie woogie bugle boy" by the andrew sisters from 1941!!! best regards and deep respect from germany

[thecountofbasie]

@susiedarling69 WIth equal regards and deep respect (doubly for all the amazing sounds coming from there)....can't fault your suggestion, either...Big Joe should know...Roll'em Pete's another contender