Fifties R&B
The music that helped birth early rock and roll. Featuring the great R&B and urban blues stars of the late 40s and early 50s, and those who stayed with the raw music even after rock took off.
Oldies Music Glossary: "Boogie-Woogie"
A basic guide to "Boogie Woogie" music, its best and most popular artists, bands, singers, and songs, and a history of how the style fits into other areas of pop and rock music. From the Oldies music guide at About.com.
A basic guide to "Boogie Woogie" music, its best and most popular artists, bands, singers, and songs, and a history of how the style fits into other areas of pop and rock music. From the Oldies music guide at About.com.
Profile: Etta James
Etta James is best known for the wedding-day standard "At Last," but the hardwon (and sexy) joy in that song shines through the rest of her Fifties and Sixties R&B catalog in hits such as "Tell Mama," "A Sunday Kind Of Love," and "The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)." This Etta James profile is the latest in a series on music's most popular artists of the rock and roll oldies era, written and compiled by your oldies Guide here at About.com.
Etta James is best known for the wedding-day standard "At Last," but the hardwon (and sexy) joy in that song shines through the rest of her Fifties and Sixties R&B catalog in hits such as "Tell Mama," "A Sunday Kind Of Love," and "The Wallflower (Roll With Me, Henry)." This Etta James profile is the latest in a series on music's most popular artists of the rock and roll oldies era, written and compiled by your oldies Guide here at About.com.
Profile: Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan was the father of rhythm and blues, the man who took swing to a harder, funnier, jumpier place, scoring an uncommon number of smash hits and paving the way for rock and roll with "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby," "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry." This Louis Jordan profile is the latest in a series on music's most popular artists of the rock and roll oldies era, written and compiled by your oldies Guide here at About.com.
Louis Jordan was the father of rhythm and blues, the man who took swing to a harder, funnier, jumpier place, scoring an uncommon number of smash hits and paving the way for rock and roll with "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby," "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry." This Louis Jordan profile is the latest in a series on music's most popular artists of the rock and roll oldies era, written and compiled by your oldies Guide here at About.com.
Profile: Hank Ballard and the Midnighters
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters were a crucial link between R&B and the development of rock and roll, charting with bawdy stompers like "Work With Me Annie" and more clean-cut fare like "Finger Poppin' Time," while also helping to invent the dance craze with their original version of "The Twist." This Hank Ballard and the Midnighters profile is the latest in a series on music's most popular artists of the rock and roll oldies era, written and compiled by your oldies Guide here at About.com.
Hank Ballard and the Midnighters were a crucial link between R&B and the development of rock and roll, charting with bawdy stompers like "Work With Me Annie" and more clean-cut fare like "Finger Poppin' Time," while also helping to invent the dance craze with their original version of "The Twist." This Hank Ballard and the Midnighters profile is the latest in a series on music's most popular artists of the rock and roll oldies era, written and compiled by your oldies Guide here at About.com.
Big Joe Turner
He was a leading light on the Kansas City jazz scene, brought boogie-woogie to the masses, and rocked Carnegie Hall. But it was only much later, in his forties, that Big Joe Turner cut the jump blues sides that put the swing in what was to become known as "Rock and Roll." Learn more about the big belter behind "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Flip, Flop and Fly" here.
He was a leading light on the Kansas City jazz scene, brought boogie-woogie to the masses, and rocked Carnegie Hall. But it was only much later, in his forties, that Big Joe Turner cut the jump blues sides that put the swing in what was to become known as "Rock and Roll." Learn more about the big belter behind "Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Flip, Flop and Fly" here.
Jackie Wilson
The tragically short, wonderfully entertaining, and brutally real life of one of rock's greatest unsung heroes... the R&B legend "Mr. Excitement" of "Lonely Teardrops" fame who helped give birth to soul while keeping one foot in the pop mainstream.
The tragically short, wonderfully entertaining, and brutally real life of one of rock's greatest unsung heroes... the R&B legend "Mr. Excitement" of "Lonely Teardrops" fame who helped give birth to soul while keeping one foot in the pop mainstream.
LaVern Baker
When white pop artists made carbon copies of black R&B hits in the Fifties, LaVern Baker was the first to speak up... and her versions of "Tweedle Dee," "Jim Dandy," and "I Cried A Tear" are now the ones we remember most fondly. Yet an illness kept this groundbreaking rhythm and blues diva out of the country for two decades. Read more about LaVern, the original "Little Miss Sharecropper," here.
When white pop artists made carbon copies of black R&B hits in the Fifties, LaVern Baker was the first to speak up... and her versions of "Tweedle Dee," "Jim Dandy," and "I Cried A Tear" are now the ones we remember most fondly. Yet an illness kept this groundbreaking rhythm and blues diva out of the country for two decades. Read more about LaVern, the original "Little Miss Sharecropper," here.
Lloyd Price
One of Fifties America's more successful black musical stars, this young entrepreneur rose up from a humble fish-fry shack to become one of R&B's biggest crossover successes... and, later, a successful promoter and businessman. Read my profile to see what "Mr. Personality" had to do with Muhammed Ali, murder, and a 19th-century legend!
One of Fifties America's more successful black musical stars, this young entrepreneur rose up from a humble fish-fry shack to become one of R&B's biggest crossover successes... and, later, a successful promoter and businessman. Read my profile to see what "Mr. Personality" had to do with Muhammed Ali, murder, and a 19th-century legend!
Ruth Brown
Sitcom star, R&B belter, Broadway diva, radio host, and tireless advocate for her neglected musician peers... there's a lot more to Ruth Brown than the woman who helped the Atlantic label get its feet under it with songs like "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean." This profile details it all, along with the rest of "Miss Rhythm's" amazing tale.
Sitcom star, R&B belter, Broadway diva, radio host, and tireless advocate for her neglected musician peers... there's a lot more to Ruth Brown than the woman who helped the Atlantic label get its feet under it with songs like "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean." This profile details it all, along with the rest of "Miss Rhythm's" amazing tale.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
For years he was known for only one hit, and a hit that never made the charts at that. So how does the legacy of this wild voodoo man of early rock and roll, including his notorious roar, his terrifying stage antics, his spooky-comic lyrics, and his freewheeling offstage antics, continue to endure?
For years he was known for only one hit, and a hit that never made the charts at that. So how does the legacy of this wild voodoo man of early rock and roll, including his notorious roar, his terrifying stage antics, his spooky-comic lyrics, and his freewheeling offstage antics, continue to endure?
blues.about.com
About.com Guide John Babich has a wealth of information on his site about Blues music of the immediate postwar period.
About.com Guide John Babich has a wealth of information on his site about Blues music of the immediate postwar period.