The Roots of Rock 'n' Roll: 1946-1954 [Box set, Original recording remastered, Import, Compilation]

Certainly, this collection lays waste to the first two notions. In his informative liner notes, Pete Grendysa tells us that rock and roll existed long before the main (i.e. middle-class white) record-buying public knew about it. And the country examples are relatively few. I'd have been happy if they were none, but I can live with the well-chosen examples here.

In particular, Hank William's "Move It On Over," while not exactly rock and roll (a two-beat pulse doesn't qualify as such, to my ears), does feature a verse identical to the first four bars of "Rock Around the Clock." And, like Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On" (Disc 2, track 4), it is a hillbilly boogie in standard twelve-bar blues form. It's not far from the mark.

And The Delmore Brother's "Freight Train Boogie," from 1946, turns into pure Carl Perkins near the end, easily out-rocking anything Elvis recorded at Sun. Having heard other Delmore Brothers sides that aren't anything like rock and roll, I was surprised and delighted by this number.

But the black recordings are the real, and whole, point of this collection. Such sides have far too often been disgracefully dismissed by too many rock historians as primitive, artistically-incomplete efforts by African-American musicians struggling toward something higher--"something higher" meaning, of course, Elvis. But listen for yourself. Most of these African-American numbers rock with the force of a thousand Elvises. And these are not performances striving to become whole; they are more than whole. The musicianship, for the most part, is assured and aggressive and infinitely more competent than some of what was to come after rock and roll had conquered the pop charts.

Many thanks to the genius who thought to include Lionel Hampton's 1946 if-it-ain't-rock-and-roll-what-the-heck-is-it masterpiece "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" (with its wonderful, be-boppy jazz piano chords in eight-note triplets at the start). Many more thanks for Jimmy Preston's 1949 recorded-in-an-insane-asylum "Rock the Joint" (however did Bill Haley manage to tame this tune down so drastically?). More thanks, even, for Hal Singer's proto-surf "Cornbread" (1948), Percy Mayfield's masterful "Please Send Me Someone to Love" (1950), and Ruth Brown's superbly soulful "Teardrops from My Eyes" (1950, again--a great year for Soul).

The best compilation of its kind. If you want to know the real Story of Rock and Roll, you've got to hear the records. And they're here.

Featuring an astounding group of musicians ~ Johnny Ace, Faye Adams, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, Tiny Bradshaw, Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats, Roy Brown, Ruth Brown, Roy Byrd & His Blues Jumpers, The Chords, The Clovers, Pee Wee Crayton & His Guitar, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Five Keys, Delmore Brothers, Fats Domino, The Drifters, Five Royales, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jimmy Forrest, Rosco Gordon, Guitar Slim, Bill Haley & His Comets, Lionel Hampton, Peppermint Harris, Wynonie Harris, Ivory Joe Hunter, Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, B.B. King, The Larks, Joe Liggins, Little Junior's Blue Flames, Little Richard (w/Johnny Otis Orch), Little Willie Littlefield, Willie Mabon, Percy Mayfield, Steve McGhee & His Buddies, Amos Milburn, Wild Bill Moore, The Orioles, Johnny Otis Orchestra (w/Mel Walker & Little Esther), Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians, Lloyd Price, The Ravens, Johnnie Ray (w/Four Lads), The Robins, Hal Singer, Hank Snow, Sister Rosetta Tharpe & Marie Knight, Big Mama Thornton, Merle Travis, Big Joe Turner, T-Bone Walker, Billy Ward & The Dominoes, Muddy Waters, Hank Williams, Paul Williams, Chuck Willies, Howlin' Wolf ~ each track strongly rooted into the classic genre that will last forever ~ showcasing various sub-genres like country, blues, soul and even big band, yes this new music from the undercurrent of what was going to be bigger than anyone had expected ~ the youth loved and craved every tune that came out during the mid '40s and '50s ~ it came out of nowhere and was gaining steam and coming up fast!

Each selection has been re-mastered with that original sound, works so well with todays collectors of lost music ~ entire 3-CD set is uniquely, so personal and chuck full of wonderful memories ~ regardless of the time or place, this compilation is the ultimate of talent weaving a timeless tapestry that we've come to love and appreciate ~ and you know we gotta love it!

Total Time: 3-CD-Set ~ Hip-O Records 62006 ~ (4/13/2004)