Rock music was essentially invented in the early 1950s. Listening back to the tracks from the era, you can hear the genre coming of age. You can hear the beginnings of a musical style that would soon take over the world.
Here below, we wanted to highlight four songs from back in the day that showcase the unique aesthetic from the fertile time period. Indeed, these are four rock songs that define the classic sound of the early 1950s.
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“Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston And His Delta Cats (Single, 1951)
While this rollicking, piano-driven track features vocals from Jackie Brenston, it also includes music from Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. Listening back to this track now, it, of course, feels dated. But in the moment? This was the kind of stuff that got hips shaking and feet a-flying. The track was popular, too, rising up various early Billboard charts and influencing a number of artists in its wake, including Little Richard.
“Hound Dog” by Big Mama Thornton (Single, 1953)
Before this song was a hit for Elvis Presley in 1956, it was recorded in 1952 by one of the founders of rock music, Big Mama Thornton, and released in February of 1953. With her big, booming vocals, Big Mama decried the subject of this song, basically saying he wasn’t worth her time or effort. He hasn’t brought home the bacon; he hasn’t produced what a relationship needs. So, Mama says, he’s out on his own!
“Crazy Man, Crazy” by Bill Haley And His Comets (Single, 1953)
Bill Haley saw what was happening with early R&B and rock music and decided he wanted in. The artist brought upbeat energy and a sense of the moment to his music. And his tune “Crazy Man, Crazy” was an early example of that. If you wanted to bring the energy up at a party in the early 1950s? Haley was who you turned to.
“Mess Around” by Ray Charles (Single, 1953)
Ray Charles is one of the greatest and most important songwriters of all time. But even the greats have to start somewhere, and for the Florida-born artist who began writing and recording songs on the West Coast in Seattle and L.A., his tune “Mess Around” was a jump-start to his career. It jumps and dives, leaps and swells. It’s just pure fun.
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