Thanks, Zach! I never knew that the opening guitar riff on "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" was used for "Johnny B. Goode". I'm continuing to learn more and more about the background of rock and roll and as you said, I do have a deep appreciation for singers like Robert Johnson and Hank Williams who helped make rock and roll!

Posted by Andrew on Saturday, 01/26/2013 @ 21:51pm

Here's a red-hot performance from Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five in the 1946 film Swing Parade of 1946, which also features The Three Stooges! The song is Caldonia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCH_n9CTTbA

Posted by Zach on Wednesday, 05/15/2013 @ 23:07pm

A highly popular and influential saxophonist, Louis Jordan was one of the chief builders of the R&B idiom. People haven't called him "the Father of R&B" or "the Father of Rock N' Roll" for nothing. In the 40s, Jordan was a wild bandleader who pioneered a mix of jazz and blues.

The swinging rhythms played by Jordan and His Tympany Five was called "jump blues" and it served as a prequel to R&B and rock n' roll. In fact, it could be argued that "Saturday Night Fish Fry," is the first rock and roll song because it contains many of the key ingredients of rock n' roll like a distorted electric guitar, party themed lyrics and up-tempo music.

Similarly, the songs "Saturday Night Fish Fry" and "Look Out" with their manic spoken delivery are early examples of rapping. Also, Jordan was the first black performer to sell records to the pop section and some of his duet mates were Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald.

Despite his passing, Louis Jordan's influence on rock n' roll and rap is still going strong as people like Little Richard and Chuck Berry have followed his musical footsteps.

Lastly, people who think The Sugarhill Gang invented rap should listen to Louis Jordan.

Posted by Andrew on Saturday, 07/27/2013 @ 22:49pm

As always, Andrew, your comments on the originators of rock 'n roll are perceptive, informative, and all-around enjoyable to read.

Another fine example of Louis Jordan's proto-rap vocals can be found in his song Beware (Sometimes listed as "Beware, Brother, Beware"). He and his band perform this tune in the 1946 film, Beware. Jordan starred in a few all-black cast films made during the 1940s, including the aforementioned Beware, Reet, Petite, and Gone (1947), and Look-Out Sister (also 1947). These films were typically short on plot and long on musical interludes, but the historical value and the opportunity to see the Father of Rock 'N Roll (IMHO) perform are reason enough to seek out these underappreciated gems.

As if being a pioneer of rhythm & blues, rap, rock 'n roll, and jump blues were not enough, Louis Jordan was also a frequent fixture in soundies, the 1940s forerunners of music videos. Soundies were typically three-minute films featuring performances from the top singers and bands of the era and were distributed in nightclubs, restaurants, bars, and other venues on Panorams, which were film juxeboxes. Some of the soundies in which Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five appear include Five Guys Named Moe (1943), Caldonia (1945), Fuzzy Wuzzy (1946), and If You Can't Smile and Say Yes (also 1946).

Posted by Zach on Sunday, 07/28/2013 @ 23:56pm