Tag: The 1950’s
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Charles Mingus ‘Mingus Ah Um’ (1959)
Charles Mingus is one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history, an American icon in the genre whose legacy has lived on long after his death in 1979. A fiercely passionate artist, Mingus was known for being religiously uncompromising with his compositions, prone to violent eruptions (he once punched renowned trombonist Jimmy Knepper…
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Fats Domino ‘Fats Domino Swings’ (1959)
Fats Domino boogy woogie piano licks, arrangements that emphasized the upbeat, and infectious energy helped define the early sound of rock and roll. Fats was a true pioneer of the genre, with an estimated 110 million records sold over his lifetime, and has gone down in history as one of the critical pieces of bringing…
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Howlin’ Wolf ‘Moanin’ In The Moonlight’ (1959)
Known for his raucous live shows and larger than life figure (it’s been said that he weighed 300 pounds during “his salad days”, which is frankly a helluva quote) 6 foot 3 Chester “Howlin’ Wolf” Burnett was an imposing presence in the early days of acoustic Delta Blues and played a pivotal role in transforming…
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The Crickets ‘The Chirping Crickets’ (1957)
Despite dying at the age of 22 years old in a tragic plane crash that was called “The Day The Music Died” (an event forever immortalized in Don McLean’s cultural cornerstone “American Pie”), Buddy Holly was a pioneering force in the meteoric rise of rock and roll in the mid-1950’s. Along with helping to establish…
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Chuck Berry ‘Chuck Berry Is on Top’ (1959)
Nicknamed “The Father of Rock and Roll” throughout his career, Chuck Berry laid the blueprint for translating 12-bar blues into a more energetic and electric version, inspiring artists like Little Richard and Elvis Presley. Berry was effectively the change agent that transformed the face of popular American music at the time and ushered in the…
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Chet Baker ‘Chet Baker Sings’ (1954)
It’s funny how music can provide such vivid imagery of a place and time you haven’t experienced. Chet Baker Sings is the sound I hear when I imagine what it would be like to sit down at a romantic white tablecloth dinner in New York City in the 1950’s, dressed in a suit with a…
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Count Basie ‘The Atomic Mr. Basie’ (1958)
This was the first time I’ve ever knowingly listened to Count Bassie, who was an incredibly influential jazz musician in the 40’s and 50’s. The Atomic Mr. Bassie is considered one of the best albums of his career (keep in mind Basie’s career apex occurred before the business of recording music professionally really took off)…
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Little Richard ‘Here’s Little Richard’ (1957)
It’s been nearly 70 years since the release of Little Richard’s 1957 debut, and it’s easy in retrospect to sort of haphazardly lump this album into the category of a “classic example of American rhythm and blues”. It’s the “sound” you hear in your head when you think of the genre, especially after so much…
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The Flamingos ‘Flamingo Serenade’ (1959)
Doo-wop music always makes me incredibly nostalgic for my grandparents. There’s a charming simplicity in the a capella approach, 4-5 voices sung over a sparse arrangement of drums, guitar, bass and orchestral strings all laying a foundation for the vocals to take center stage. The Flamingos were one of the preeminent leaders in doo-wop, their…
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