Rock Awhile

"Rock Awhile" is a song by American singer-songwriter Goree Carter, recorded in April 1949 for the Freedom Recording Company in Houston, Texas.

"Rock Awhile"
A-side
Single by Goree Carter & His Hepcats
B-side"Back Home Blues"
ReleasedApril 1949 (April 1949)
RecordedApril 1949
StudioACA Studios
GenreRock and roll[1][2][3][4]
Length2:38
LabelFreedom Recording Company
Songwriter(s)Goree Carter
Goree Carter & His Hepcats singles chronology
"Rock Awhile"
(1949)
"I'll Send You"
(1949)
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

The song was released as the 18-year-old Carter's debut single (with "Back Home Blues" as the B-side) shortly after recording. The track is considered by many sources to be the first rock and roll song,[1][2][3][4] and has been called a better candidate than the more commonly cited "Rocket 88", which was released two years later.[1][2][5] The song features an over-driven electric guitar style similar to that of Chuck Berry years later.[1][2][3]

Personnel

  • Goree Carter – vocals, electric guitar
  • Lonnie Lyons – piano
  • Louis "Nunu" Pitts – bass
  • Allison Tucker – drums
  • Conrad O. Johnson – alto saxophone
  • Sam Williams – tenor saxophone (rhythm)
  • Nelson Mills – trumpet (rhythm)

References

  1. Robert Palmer, "Church of the Sonic Guitar", pp. 13-38 in Anthony DeCurtis, Present Tense, Duke University Press, 1992, p. 19. ISBN 0-8223-1265-4.
  2. John Nova Lomax (December 2014), Roll Over, Ike Turner, Texas Monthly
  3. Roger Wood (2003), Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues, pages 46-47, University of Texas Press
  4. "Uncovering Houston's lost music history". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  5. Palmer, Robert; et al. (1992). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll:The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music. Random House. p. 12. ISBN 0-679-73728-6. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.