JIMMY PRESTON
Jimmy Preston (b August 18, 1913, Chester, Pennsylvania – d December 1984, Philadelphia, PA) was an American R&B bandleader, alto saxophonist, drummer, and singer who made an important contribution to early rock and roll. Preston’s first R&B top ten hit was with “Hucklebuck Daddy” in 1949, recorded for Philadelphia’s Gotham Records. His main claim to fame was to record, as Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians, the original version of “Rock the Joint” for Gotham in 1949. The sax breaks on “Rock the Joint” were the work of tenor player Danny Turner (1920-1995). “Rock The Joint” was re-recorded by Jimmy Cavallo in 1951, and Bill Haley and the Saddlemen in 1952. (More from Wikipedia)
Now, Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88” is named by many rock critics and music historians as “the first rock and roll record”; what’s more, “Rocket 88” as recorded by Bill Haley and the Saddlemen is one of the very earliest recordings in what would later become known as “rockabilly”, the musical style pioneered by Elvis Presley and others. The Saddlemen’s follow-up single, “Rock the Joint” is yet another contender for the first rock record, that is, the version of “Rock the Joint” as performed in 1949 by Jimmy Preston.
(June 2013/1)
