131 Songs - Numbers 4 and 5

Number 4 - The Fat Man by Fats Domino

The early fifties were marked by the transition of black American rhythm and blues into white rock and roll, led by Bill Haley and the Comets. There are a number of black artists who pioneered rhythm and blues, from Muddy Waters to Little Richard. But for me, Fats Domino was the greatest. Even Little Richard wanted to sound like him. The Fat Man, released in 1950, was his first hit record, and predates many of his contemporaries. It may be cruder than his subsequent, and probably better successes from incredibly four years later of Ain't that a Shame, Blueberry Hill and, what was almost my first pick, the little known Let the Four Winds Blow, but the sheer power of his dominant piano sounds like he was teaching the world how a few basic chords can get you on your feet. When you think that Bill Haley and Elvis were unknown before 1953/4, Fats may have been the first to make the transition from blues to the raw sound of rock and roll. I cannot think of anyone else.

Number 5 - Roll Over Beethoven by Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry often covered the songs of his idol Muddy Waters. But his moulding of rhythm and blues with rock and roll brought much bigger success than his idol. There are just too many great songs to pick from. Maybellene was his break through record in 1955 when he was signed by Chess records. And Chuck was still composing fabulous songs in 1964 such as No Particular Place to Go, and two songs that also make it onto my list. Promised Land appears later under a section of favourite cover versions, and You Never Can Tell in those from movies. But going back to Roll Over Beethoven, recorded in 1956, it obviously inspired groups like The Beatles who used it on their second LP, and the Rolling Stones who also made a cover version. I saw Chuck in concert at what was then the Odeon (now Apollo) Hammersmith, and as I said in a previous posting, ".... in May 1964 by the best rock and roll show ever with Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins. They were supported by new British groups such as The Nashville Teens (Tobacco Road had not yet entered the charts), The Swinging Blue Jeans and The Animals. Wikipedia confirms they played their version of House of the Rising Sun on their tour with Chuck Berry in May 1964 but did not release a recording until a month later. I can still remember what a great job they did with Alan Price on keyboards." And I now have the programme, courtesy of eBay.