The Legends of the Rocking Dutchman - episode 100

Show 100

My own list of most important Rhythm & Blues songs

This is the 100th episode of The Legends of the Rocking Dutchman and for that I'd been searching on-line for lists of top 100's of Rhythm & Blues that spans the era that I'm interested in - say, up to 1955 - and I found no useful one, simply because I could not agree with the choices the editors of them made, for instance by leaving out anything before 1948 or even the mid-fifties, or listing vocal groups only. Or take that one list that mainly had hits of white artists - in that time Rhythm & Blues was an exclusively African American style and the music was strictly segregated, so they completely missed the idea.

And so I made my own list, but as only fifteen fit in the hour, I made it my top fifteen. I'll play them in no particular order, so I didn't have to bother for putting one higher on the list than the other. And of course I've tried to explain what made me choose this list.

Transcript

Playlist

  1. Louis Jordan - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
  2. Joe Turner & Pete Johnson - Roll 'Em Pete
  3. Wynonie Harris - Good Rockin' Tonight
  4. Trixie Smith - My Daddy Rocks Me (with one steady roll)
  5. Ma Rainey & Louis Armstrong - See See Rider Blues
  6. Andy Kirk and His Clouds of Joy - Take It And Git
  7. Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers - The Honeydripper
  8. Harlem Hamfats - Oh! Red
  9. Long Cleeve Reed & Little Harvey Hull Down Home Boys - Original Stack O'Lee Blues
  10. Lionel Hampton - Hey-Ba-Ba-Re-Bop
  11. Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup - That's All Right
  12. Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
  13. Lil Green - Why Don't You Do Right
  14. Hank Ballard & The Midnighters - Work With Me Annie
  15. Ray Charles - I Got A Woman

Outtro:

  • Wild Bill Moore Sextette - Bongo Bounce
The following music served as background music during the spoken parts:
  • Kirk Kirkland - The Saxaphone Rag
  • Four Clefs - Dig These Blues
  • Frank 'Floorshow' Culley - That Girl
  • Harlem Hamfats - Growling Dog
  • Julian Dash - Creamin' Boogie
  • Lloyd Glenn - Chica Boo
  • Sonny Thompson - Mellow Blues Part 2