A Birth of Rock & Roll
A You Tube History of Music
Featured on this page loosely in order of first recording or record release (as possible):
Boswell Sisters The Ink Spots T-Bone Walker Albert Ammons Sister Rosetta Tharpe Big Joe Turner Lucky Millinder
Wynonie Harris Nat King Cole Roy Brown Hank Williams Fats Domino The Orioles Ruth Brown
Bobby Day & the Flames Fontane Sisters Little Willie Littlefield The Clovers Billy Ward & the Dominoes Tommy Edwards
The Five Keys Ike Turner Faye Adams Bobby Bland Hadda Brooks The Checkers Jimmy Forrest Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Richard Little Walter Elvis Presley Big Mama Thornton Johnny Ace Bill Haley & the Comets Grady Martin
Big Maybelle Ray Charles Chuck Berry Bo Diddley Connie Francis Etta James The Platters Johnny Burnette
The Coasters Brenda Lee Carl Perkins Warren Smith Conway Twitty Ricky Nelson Muddy Waters Dion & the Belmonts
Lloyd Cowboy Copas Moon Mullican Ritchie Valens Chubby Checker Webb Pierce
Not on this page? See history tree below.
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T-Bone Walker
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Lucky Millinder
Wynonie Harris
Roy Brown
Fats Domino
Ruth Brown
Fontane Sisters
The Clovers
Tommy Edwards
Faye Adams
Bobby Blue Bland
The Checkers
Jerry Lee Lewis
Little Walter
Big Mama Thornton
Bill Haley
Big Maybelle
Chuck Berry
Connie Francis
The Platters
The Coasters
Carl Perkins
Conway Twitty
Muddy Waters
Lloyd Cowboy Copas
Ritchie Valens
Webb Pierce
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"Rock & Roll" is a sexual term. 'Rock and Roll' by the Boswell Sisters, 1934, has more to do with bobbing over waves of water in a boat than rock and roll. But the coincidence is fun. More of the Boswell Sisters will be found in Swing Jazz 3. Boswell Sisters 1934 Long before anyone had any notion of rock and roll The Ink Spots were performing music that would give rise to R&B which would in turn develop into rock and roll. The Ink Spots made their first recordings in 1935 with 'Mama Don't Allow It' and 'Swingin' On the Strings'. The Ink Spots 1935 The Ink Spots 1935 The Ink Spots 1939 The Ink Spots 1940 The Ink Spots 1940 The Ink Spots 1941 I Don't Want to Set the World On Fire The Ink Spots 1942 The Ink Spots 1955 The Ink Spots 1956 T-Bone Walker was the first musician to record electric guitar. He began his recording career in 1929 with 'Trinity River Blues' and 'Wichita Falls Blues' (both in A Birth of the Blues). Listed below are a couple tunes T-Bone Walker released in the forties, a touch ahead of his times. Indeed, if there is a first rock n roll song or a "Father" of rock n roll it is (by) either T-Bone Walker or Wynonie Harris below. T-Bone Walker exemplifies a transition from swing jazz to rock. (There are other blues musicians who did early rock and roll in A Birth of the Blues.) T-Bone Walker 1942 T-Bone Walker 1945 T-Bone Walker 1946 Boogie woogie pianist Albert Ammons first recorded in 1936 with his band The Rhythm Kings. Boogie woogie was an limb of jazz (originally the southern equivalent of ragtime, likely arising out of Marshall in eastern Texas) that transitioned to rock and roll as smoothly as swing jazz. Albert Ammons 1936 Albert Ammons 1936 Albert Ammons 1936 Albert Ammons 1938 Albert Ammons 1939 Albert Ammons 1941 Albert Ammons 1944 Albert Ammons 1946 Gospel singer and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe released her first recordings in 1938 with pianist Albert Ammons and bandleader Lucky Millinder (see A Birth of the Blues). The samples below, recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1938, are also with Lucky Millinder and Albert Ammons, recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1938. Lucky Millinder was largely a bandleader. He played no instrument and rarely sang. Rosetta Tharpe will also be found at A Birth of Jazz 3. Sister Rosetta Tharpe 1938 Live at Carnegie Hall Piano: Albert Ammons Sister Rosetta Tharpe 1938 Live at Carnegie Hall Piano: Albert Ammons Among the oldest musicians to contribute to rock & roll is Big Joe Turner, recording blues and boogie woogie as early as 1938. Though Turner worked a score of years with an impressive lot of musicians, not until 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' in 1954 did he make the big time. 'Roll Em Pete', below, refers to pianist Pete Johnson. (Find more Big Joe Turner in A Birth of the Blues.) Big Joe Turner 1938 Big Joe Turner 1953 Big Joe Turner 1954 Big Joe Turner 1955 Big Joe Turner 1956 Big Joe Turner 1956 Bandleader Lucky Millinder is another important figure in the transition from jazz to rock. He began his career as a bandleader in 1932 but released no recordings until 1941, his first with gospel musician Rosetta Tharpe (see A Birth of Jazz 3). Millinder is also found in A Birth Of Jazz 2. Lucky Millinder 1941 Lucky Millinder 1950 Vocals: Wynonie Harris Lucky Millinder 1951 Vocals: John Carol As above, if there is a first rock n roll song or a "Father" of rock n roll it is (by) vocalist Wynonie Harris (if not T-Bone Walker above). 'Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well' was Harris' first release, with Lucky Millinder, in 1945 (recorded in 1944). Like T-Bone above, Harris exemplifies a bridge from jazz to rock Wynonie Harris 1945 Who Threw the Whiskey In the Well Wynonie Harris 1945 Wynonie Harris 1948 Wynonie Harris 1948 Wynonie Harris 1948 Wynonie Harris 1951 Don't Roll Those Bloodshot Eyes At Me Wynonie Harris 1951 Wynonie Harris 1953 Wynonie Harris 1953 Wynonie Harris 1954 The great success of 'Route 66' by jazz pianist Nat King Cole in 1946, also helped prepare the public for the rock & roll beat. (It is beat by which the Oxford Dictionary of Music has in the past distinguished rock and roll from other forms of music.) Indeed, we call 'Route 66' rock and roll, and place it among the first rock and roll songs, together with tunes done by T-Bone Walker and Wynonie Harris exampled above. Nat King Cole will also be found in Jazz 6. Nat King Cole 1946 Roy Brown first recorded with 'Good Rockin' Tonight' in 1947. Roy Brown 1947 Roy Brown 1950 Roy Brown 1951 Roy Brown 1958 The thing with rock n roll is that it came from everywhere. One can think of Hank William's honky tonk sound as rockabilly a touch more countrified. 'Move It On Over', obviously a rocker, was a huge success for Williams in 1947. See A Birth of Country Western for more Hank Williams Sr. (as well as Jr.). Hank Williams 1947 Fats Domino released his first recording, 'The Fat Man', in 1948. He would later record 'Blueberry Hill' (composed many years earlier by Al Lewis and Vincent Rose) in 1956, which some consider, could one choose, to be the quintessential rock and roll song. (At the bottom of this page are links to renditions of ‘Blueberry Hill’ by various musicians spanning seventy years. Jazz bandleader Sammy Kaye was the first to record the song in 1940.) Fats Domino 1948 Fats Domino 1956 In 1948 the Orioles, an R&B band, released their first recording, 'It's Too Soon to Know', written by Deborah Chessler, their manager. The Orioles 1948 Ruth Brown, an R&B singer, released her first single, 'So Long', in 1949. Ruth Brown 1949 Ruth Brown 1949 Ruth Brown 1953 Ruth Brown 1953 Ruth Brown 1954 Ruth Brown 1955 Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean Ruth Brown 1959 Ruth Brown 1960 Ruth Brown 1961 In 1949 Bobby Day (Robert Byrd) formed the (Hollywood) Flames, a Los Angeles doo-wop band, and recorded 'Young Girl'. The Flames recorded under various names for several years, and Day was very popular locally. But he didn't arrive to substantial national recognition until forming the Satellites and recording 'Rockin' Robin' in 1958 (a less successful version released the year before by the Valiants, another doo-wop group). Bobby Day 1949 With The Flames Bobby Day 1952 With the Flames Bobby Day 1958 With the Satellites Bobby Day 1959 With the Satellites The Fontane Sisters released their first recordings with Perry Como (Jazz 7) in 1949. One can hear their progression into rock n roll in the examples below. Fontane Sisters 1949 With Perry Como Fontane Sisters 1949 With Perry Como Fontane Sisters 1949 With Perry Como Fontane Sisters 1954 Fontane Sisters 1955 Fontane Sisters 1955 Fontane Sisters 1955 Fontane Sisters 1955 Fontane Sisters 1955 Fontane Sisters 1956 Fontane Sisters 1956 Fontane Sisters 1957 R&B pianist Little Willie Littlefield made his first recording, 'Little Willie's Boogie', in 1949. (Boogie woogie was the southern equivalent of ragtime, the latter out of which jazz developed.) His enormously popular 'Kansas City' was first released as 'K C Loving' in 1952. Little Willie Littlefield 1949 Little Willie Littlefield 1952 Little Willie Littlefield 1952 Little Willie Littlefield 1959 Little Willie Littlefield 1959 There was further R&B influence when the Clovers made their first recordings in 1951 ('Don't You Know I Love You' their initial release). Their song, 'One Mint Julip', was also written by Rudy Toombs. The Clovers 1951 The Clovers 1952 The Clovers 1954 The Clovers 1954 The Clovers 1959 Billy Ward and the Dominoes well represent doo wop, an arm of R&B. Ward first recorded with 'Do Something For Me' in 1951. The Dominoes 1951 The Dominoes 1951 The Dominoes 1956 Also in 1951 R&B singer Tommy Edwards made his first recording, 'All Over Again'. Tommy Edwards 1951 Tommy Edwards 1951 The R&B influence was reinforced with the first release by the Five Keys, 'With a Broken Heart', in 1951. The Five Keys 1951 The Five Keys 1956 Also released in 1951 was Ike Turner's (father of Tina Turner) 'Rocket 88', which many like to consider to be the “first” rock & roll song. Ike Turner 1951 Faye Adams released 'That's What Makes My Baby Fat' in 1952. The song wasn't a great success but Adams persevered and became a popular R&B singer. Faye Adams 1952 Faye Adams 1953 Faye Adams 1953 Faye Adams 1954 Faye Adams 1955 Faye Adams 1957 Faye Adams 1960 Soul singer Bobby Bland released his first single ('Booted' with 'I Love You Til the Day I Die' flip side) in 1951 (unfound). He produced several more singles in 1952, one among them below. More of Bobby Bland in A Birth of the Blues. Bobby Bland 1952 Jazz pianist Hadda Brooks, popularly known as the Queen of Boogie Woogie, was an early natural to rock and roll, first recording in 1945. (More Hadda Brooks in A Birth of Jazz 6.) Hadda Brooks 1952 The Checkers, largely given to doo-wop, first recorded in 1952. The Checkers 1952 The Checkers 1952 The Checkers 1952 The Checkers 1952 Yet more jazz influence on early rock was wrought by saxophonist Jimmy Forrest whose first recording, 'Night Train', in 1952 was a giant success. Jimmy Forrest 1952 Jimmy Forrest 1959 Boogie woogie pianist Jerry Lee Lewis, released his first recordings in 1952. Jerry Lee Lewis 1952 Jerry Lee Lewis 1952 Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 R&B pianist Little Richard also released his first song, 'Every Hour', in 1952. But Richard didn't make it big until he made fuller transition to rock & roll with 'Tutti Frutti' in 1956. Little Richard 1952 Little Richard 1956 Little Richard 1958 Recorded 1956
Bluesman, Little Walter, was the first to amplify harmonica, holding the instrument to the microphone. His first recording, 'Ora-nelle Blues' was released in 1947 (A Birth of the Blues). Below is but one example of Little Walter's blues with an unmistakable rock and roll beat. More of Little Walter and rock and roll merging with the blues in our You Tube History of the Blues. Little Walter 1952 In 1953 Elvis Presley, a truck driver, made his first two recordings, 'My Happiness' and 'That's When Your Heartaches Begin'. Though not popular, Presley persisted and became whom many have long since called the King of Rock & Roll. Elvis Presley 1953 Elvis Presley 1953 That's When Your Heartaches Begin Elvis Presley 1956 Elvis Presley 1965 Crazy Little Thing Called Love Blues singer, Big Mama Thorton, also made her debut in 1953, with 'Hound Dog', and found herself an overnight success. (Her rendition of Gershwin's 'Summertime' is included below.) Big Mama Thorton 1953 Big Mama Thorton 1966 Big Mama Thorton 1966 Big Mama Thorton 1968 Big Mama Thorton 1968 R&B continued to influence rock & roll via Johnny Ace who spent a couple years making records until he struck the big time in 1954. Johnny Ace 1954 Johnny Ace 1954 Johnny Ace 1954 Johnny Ace 1955 Bill Haley pursued country western for several years but didn't make the big time until he transitioned to rock and roll with 'Crazy Man, Crazy' in 1954, changing the name of his band from the Saddlemen to the Comets. Some think if Elvis Presley weren't the King of Rock and Roll it would be Bill Haley. Bill Haley 1954 Bill Haley 1955 Bill Haley 1956 Bill Haley 1956 Bill Haley 1956 Bill Haley 1968 Extraordinary guitarist, Grady Martin, wont to fuse jazz with country, could get right down and rock as well. He first recorded with his band, Slew Foot Five, in 1951. (Visit A Birth of Jazz 7 for more Grady Martin.) Grady Martin 1954 Big Maybelle first recorded in 1944 with Christine Chapman, then a few years later with Tiny Bradshaw. Unfortunately her earliest release found for this history is not until 1954. Big Maybelle 1954 Big Maybelle 1956 Big Maybelle 1967 Blind soul pianist and singer Ray Charles (Robinson) could pump it out as well. Ray Charles 1954 Ray Charles 1954 Guitarist Chuck Berry's first two recordings ('Maybelline' and 'Roll Over Beethoven') in 1955 shot him to instant fame. Be as may, of all the rock and roll Berry recorded, his best-selling tune was also his silliest and least expressive of his considerable talents: 'My Ding-a-Ling' in 1972. Chuck Berry 1955 Chuck Berry 1955 Chuck Berry 1958 Chuck Berry 1972
Long a favorite with rockers was Bo Diddley who made his first recording, 'Bo Diddley', in 1955, and became one of the early icons of rock & roll. (Buddy Holly also did a version of 'Bo Diddly' in 1963, included below but to lend a taste of the next decade of American rock and roll. Also below is 'The Story Of Bo Diddley' by Eric Burden and the Animals in 1966, but to touch upon the British invasion that would become major to rock and roll.) Diddley's release, below, of 'Sixteen Tons' in 1960 was written by Merle Travis and first performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford. Bo Diddley 1955 Bo Diddley 1955 Bo Diddley 1955 Bo Diddley 1956 Bo Diddley 1960 Buddy Holly 1963 Eric Burden 1966
Popular singer Connie Francis (Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero) was a girl of Italian heritage with an accordion, until advised to lose the instrument and just sing. Though she didn't stick with it, she early had a rock and roll sense of things. Her first record release in 1955 ('Freddy' with 'Didn't I Love You Enough' B side) was not received well. But she was only about seventeen, and in a couple more years she would be on her way to becoming a household name in modern American music. Connie Francis 1955 Connie Francis 1955 Connie Francis 1957 Connie Francis 1958 Connie Francis 1959 Connie Francis 1960 Connie Francis 1961 Connie Francis 1962 Don't Break the Heart That Loves You Connie Francis 1965 Connie Francis 1966 Connie Francis 1967 Etta James formed a doo-wop band at age fourteen. A few years later, 1955, she released her first recording, 'Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry)', followed by 'Good Rockin' Daddy'. Etta James 1955 Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry) Etta James 1955 Herb Reed formed the Platters in 1953. The next year they were joined by Zola Taylor. The year after that they shot to the stars with their first recording, 'Only You', after which they continued releasing melodies highly esteemed by the public ear, becoming one of the most popular vocal groups associated with rock and roll. The Platters 1955 The Platters 1955 The Platters 1955 The Platters 1956 The Platters 1956 The Platters 1957 The Platters 1958 The Platters 1959 The Platters 1962 The Platters 1967 It was with the Rock and Roll Trio that Johnny Burnette produced his first recordings in 1956, four among them listed below. In 1958 came his first solo single, 'Kiss Me' with 'I'm Restless' B side. Johnny Burnette 1956 Johnny Burnette 1956 Johnny Burnette 1956 Johnny Burnette 1958 Side A Johnny Burnette 1958 Side B Johnny Burnette 1960 Johnny Burnette 1960 R&B band, The Coasters, made their first recording, 'Down in Mexico', in 1956 but didn't become popular until they released 'Young Blood' and 'Searchin'' in 1957. The Coasters 1956 The Coasters 1957 The Coasters 1957 The Coasters 1958 Brenda Lee was age ten when her father died and she became the breadwinner of the family via radio performances, which is how she met country western musician Red Foley. (Foley can be found in A Birth of Country 3). Though Lee got her early start in country she quickly plunged into the new sound of rock and roll. She released her first single, 'Jambalaya', in 1956 with 'Bigelow 6-200' B side. Brenda Lee 1956 Brenda Lee 1956 Brenda Lee 1957 Brenda Lee 1957 Brenda Lee 1960 Brenda Lee 1962 Brenda Lee 1966 Both ironically and not, early rock and roll had something of a stigma about it to much of the country western audience (not to mention classical) which made some country western performers hesitant to dip into it. But that didn't worry guitarist Carl Perkins, largely thanks to whom rockabilly became a limb of rock music. Perkins released 'Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Boppin' the Blues' in 1956. Carl Perkins 1956 Carl Perkins 1956 Carl Perkins 1956 Carl Perkins 1956 Warren Smith was another great rockabilly musician, recording his first song, 'Black Jack David', in 1956. Warren Smith 1956 Warren Smith 1956 Warren Smith 1956 Warren Smith 1957 Warren Smith 1959 Warren Smith 1960 I Don't Believe I'll Fall In Love Today A lot of country musicians have been drawn to rock. Conway Twitty was the reverse, a rocker who went country western. Twitty made his first rock n roll recording, 'Just In Time', in 1956. (To hear his country sound visit A Birth of Country Western.) Conway Twitty 1956 Conway Twitty 1957 Born to Sing the Blues/I Need Your Lovin' Conway Twitty 1958 Conway Twitty 1958 Conway Twitty 1959 Conway Twitty 1960 Conway Twitty 1960 Ricky Nelson was the heartthrob darling of early rock and roll, what teen magazines with pages that unfolded into posters of idols to tack onto the bedroom walls were all about. Nelson began his professional career in 1949 at age nine on 'The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet' radio show. He then became a television star when the televised version began broadcasting in 1952. Nelson recorded his first single in 1957: 'A Teenager's Romance' A side, 'I'm Walking' B side. His untimely death at age 45, due to a plane incident in Dallas, put the whole nation on pause. Ricky Nelson 1957 Side A Ricky Nelson 1957 Side B Ricky Nelson 1957 Ricky Nelson 1957 Ricky Nelson 1957 Ricky Nelson 1959 Ricky Nelson 1960 Ricky Nelson 1961 Ricky Nelson 1961 Ricky Nelson 1963 Ricky Nelson 1967 Ricky Nelson 1972 Ricky Nelson 1979 Another early influence on rock music was blues guitarist Muddy Waters, first recording in 1941 with 'Country Blues' and 'I Be's Troubled', to be found in A Birth of the Blues along with other blues musicians who did early rock and roll. Muddy Waters 1960 Muddy Waters 1977 Dion and the Belmonts (front man: Dion DiMucci) were a doo wop group that produced it's first song in 1958. Dion and the Belmonts 1958 Dion and the Belmonts 1959 Dion and the Belmonts 1959 Dion and the Belmonts 1961 Lloyd Cowboy Copas was a country western musician, first recording in 1946, who had no problem diving into rock & roll on occasion. (Visit A Birth Of Country Western for more Cowboy Copas.) Cowboy Copas 1958 Though the example below isn't until 1958, pianist Moon Mullican, who first recorded in 1936, early aligned country western with everything from the blues to boogie woogie to rock and roll. More Moon Mullican will be found in A Birth of Country Western (together with 'Truck Driver Blues', thought to be the first recorded trucking song, released by Mullican in 1939). Moon Mullican 1958 Ritchie Valens (Richard Valenzuela) was a natural in whom a lot of hope had been placed, first recording at age sixteen. A chicano from the Los Angeles region, those recordings gave him reason to quit high school to pursue an already professional career. (Among those recordings in 1958 is a collection of tracks not released at that time called 'Ritchie Valens - The Lost Tapes'. Not included below.) Unfortunately Valens enjoyed one of the briefest careers of anyone. The kid who was expected to rocket to the big time was killed only a year later. Seems misfortune came dressed as a lucky coin toss, after which Ritchie hopped into a three-passenger plane that went down during a snow storm in North Dakota. (Sudden death via air transport has not been infrequent in the music industry. There is a list of such incidents at Listverse.) Ritchie Valens 1958 Side A Ritchie Valens 1958 Side B Ritchie Valens 1958 Side A Ritchie Valens 1958 Side B By the time Chubby Checker makes his first recording, 'The Class', in 1959 rock and roll had become a cultural power like the world hadn't before seen and, this time, America would welcome the invasion of the British that would occur half a decade later. Chubby Checker 1959 Chubby Checker 1960 Chubby Checker 1960 We place a comma in this history with an example of Webb Pierce, another country western musician who liked the upbeat movement of rock and roll, first recording in 1949. (See A Birth Of Country Western for more Webb Pierce.) Webb Pierce 1959
Seventy Years of 'Blueberry Hill' Composition: Vincent Rose Lyrics: Al Lewis & Larry Stock Sammy Kaye Orchestra 1940 Gene Autry 1941 Fats Domino 1956 Elvis Presley 1957 Little Richard 1958 Pat Boone 1958 Duane Eddy 1959 Mose Allison 1959 John Barry 1960 Chubby Checker 1961 Louis Armstrong 1961 Skeeter Davis 1961 Cliff Richard 1962 The Lettermen 1962 The Loved Ones 1966 The Everly Brothers 1967 Led Zeppelin 1970 Loretta Lynn 1971 Jerry Lee Lewis 1973 Adriano Celentano 1977 Jah Wobble 1980 Link Wray 1982 Mud 1982 Yellowman 1987 Bruce Cockburn & Margo Timmins 1999 Elton John 2007 Vladimir Putin 2010
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The Ink Spots
Albert Ammons
Big Joe Turner
Nat King Cole
Hank Williams
The Orioles
Bobby Day
Little Willie Littlefield
The Dominoes
The Five Keys
Ike Turner
Hadda Brooks
Jimmy Forrest
Little Richard
Elvis Presley
Johnny Ace
Grady Martin
Ray Charles
Bo Diddley
Etta James
Johnny Burnette
Brenda Lee
Warren Smith
Ricky Nelson
The Belmonts
Moon Mullican
Chubby Checker
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A Birth of Country 1: Bluegrass
A Birth of Country 3: Country Western
A Birth of Jazz 2: Swing Era 1: Big Bands
A Birth of Jazz 3: Swing Era 2: Song
A Birth of Jazz 4: Modern 1: Saxophone
A Birth of Jazz 5: Modern 2: Trumpet - Other Horn
A Birth of Jazz 6: Modern 3: Piano
A Birth of Jazz 7: Modern 4: Other Instrumentation
A Birth of Jazz 8: Modern 5: Song
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