OUR HEROES:
Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Bill Haley, Louis Prima, and Sam Butera
Jump Blues pioneer Wynonie Harris' pivotal single "Good Rockin' Tonight" (1948). Intensity in music as we know it today begins with this very song, which spent six months in the R&B Top Ten and permanently raised the noise level in both R&B and popular music. |
In this section, we feature detailed introductory articles and/or discographies for some of our musical heroes from the 1940's and 1950's, namely Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, Bill Haley, Louis Prima, and Sam Butera. We hope that these pages will help you appreciate these great artists more, as well as assist you in your own research if you are trying to learn more about them.
Wynonie Harris Complete Discography
Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris is the man who started intensity in music as we know it today with the release of the single “Good Rockin’ Tonight” (1948). This is the first and only full, detailed Wynonie Harris discography on the web. It is thoroughly annotated to make it easy to follow and understand.
An Introduction to Louis Prima
A look at the career of the man who gave us “Jump Jive an’ Wail”, “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody”, and “Sing, Sing, Sing”. Where this the intensity of his music come from and why do we love it so much? This article helps answer those questions, and brings the many facets and accomplishments of Prima’s career together in one rollicking read.
A Brief Introduction to Sam Butera
Basic information about Louis Prima’s sax man and secret weapon.
LOUIS JORDAN
We have two entries for this foundational R&B artist, both of which concentrate on his
1954-1958 Rockin' Period:
Louis Jordan's "Rockin' Period" (1954-1958) Discography
The godfather of Jump Blues’ best-known and most important music was released in the 1940’s and very early 1950’s. But as Louis Jordan’s popularity began to wane, his music began to intensify. It is this hard-rocking, post-Decca period, covering his sessions with Aladdin, "X", Vik, and Mercury Records, that we examine in this detailed and annotated discography.
Collecting Louis Jordan
Collecting Louis Jordan's Rockin' Period just got much easier and cheaper with the 2011 release of Jasmine Records' 2-CD compilation The Rock 'n' Roll Years 1955-58. Here we discuss the rather convoluted and spotty reissue treatment Louis Jordan's rockin' era received before the advent of this release, and offer some advice on what to supplement this purchase with to get a complete collection.
BILL HALEY
We have two entries for this musical pioneer:
An Introduction to Bill Haley
Subtitled “The Man Who Turned Jump Blues Into Rock ’n Roll,” this article looks at the story of how Haley managed to create the hybrid genre of Rock ’n Roll, and why his own creation left him behind. The article discusses Haley’s four theme albums, as well as the Comets spinoff group The Jodimars. The Jodimars would later become Bill Haley’s Original Comets, one of rock music’s longest-running nostalgia acts.
Bill Haley Essex and Decca Discography
Complete and annotated discography of Haley’s most famous period, spanning 1952 to 1959. Features descriptions and reviews of the LP’s Bill Haley released for Decca Records, including reviews of his four theme LP’s, Rockin’ The Oldies (1957), Rockin’ Around the World (1958), Bill Haley’s Chicks (1959), and Strictly Instrumental (1959).
