Awright, maybe we're no more likely to get a consensus about identifying the very first rock 'n' roll record than we are to agree on a definition of power pop. But I have yet to hear a compelling argument that anything other than Amos Milburn's 1947 boogie-woogie jumper "Down The Road Apiece" could claim that title.
(Um, I mean that First Rock 'n' Roll Record title. Calling it power pop would be a little bit of a stretch.)
When I was freelancing, unsolicited promo CDs routinely turned up in the mail. I was writing a lot of reviews then, and if I liked something enough to wanna write about it, I'd pitch Goldmine editor Jeff Tamarkin to get a review assignment. I never got a review assignment for Down The Road Apiece, a 1993 EMI Records compilation of R & B singer/pianist Amos Milburn's 1946-1957 output for the Aladdin label, but its title track grabbed me at first boogie-woogie.
The song itself dates back to a 1940 version by the Will Bradley Trio. Milburn speeds it up just a little, and just enough to make it a bona fide rock 'n' roll song. Furthermore, it's a bona fide rock 'n' roll song that predates the rock 'n' roll era.
No one can tell me "Down The Road Apiece" ain't rock 'n' roll. If there was something earlier that rocks like this does, I haven't heard about it yet. Barring evidence to the contrary, I insist that Milburn's "Down The Road Apiece" is the very first rock 'n' roll record. It predates Fats Domino's "The Fat Man" (1949) and Jackie Brentson and his Delta Cats (1951), the latter really Brentson singing with Ike Turner's group.
The first rock 'n' roll record? There is no reasonable definition of rock 'n' roll music nor any understanding of its origin that could exclude Amos Milburn's "Down The Road Apiece." Better'n chicken fried in bacon grease. If you wanna hear some boogie, stick with me. I know just the place.
And I know just where to find it. Keep walkin'!
If you like what you see here on Boppin' (Like The Hip Folks Do), please consider a visit to CC's Tip Jar. You can also become a Boppin' booster on my Patreon page.
My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. You can read about our history here.
Don also wrote the Andrews Sisters' Boogie Woogie bugle boy of Company C which has a similar rhythm and only slightly different melody
ReplyDelete