it is a generally excepted view that rock n’ roll began in the 1950s when black music was half-inched by the white majority of america and revolutionised the world like nothing had done before. in the best traditions of all widely held beliefs, that isn’t strictly true as this boxed set proves with the simple evidence of hundred and two songs from the 1930s and 1940s to make the argument. before the term rock n’ roll became commonplace in music, it was originally a slang street term for sex, there was rhythm and blues, doo-wop and rockabilly, all of which provided parts of the blue print for what was to come.
the protagonists were a mixed bunch of musicians with some fascinating back stories, all highlighted in the in depth booklet that accompanies the four records, and many died in obscurity after giving birth to a form of music they were not destined to master. its easy, lazy and ignorant to think over half a century ago the world was in black and white and the music of the day naïve and twee, but it turns out that just like today most of the songs were about sex – the chorus of ‘we’re gonna rock n’ roll all night long’ has nothing to do with dancing.
the excepted greats of 1950s like chuck berry, little richard and jerry lee lewis don’t get a look in for this compilation chiefly because their stars rose after rock n roll’s inception, but even so a few of the names might be familiar on the track listing to show the development of music through the decades; fats domino, the drifters, bill haley, hank williams and some guy called elvis. my own personal favourite is the wonderfully titled ‘blind lemon jefferson’.
this is a fantastic four hours worth of foot-tapping, spontaneously ass-shaking music for the price of a single album, a must have for anyone who wants to understand the birth of the greatest revolution since some french pheasants decided to hack some toff’s head off.
