This is another branch in the roots of rock’n’roll, and Johnny Otis was a key figure in many ways, but he may not actually play on this tune. (more…)

I’m not normally one for novelty songs but this one is different – perhaps because it’s almost 75 years old. I remember it featuring in the film Thank You For Smoking and I know it’s been covered countless other times. (more…)

Louis Jordan was already the biggest black music star when he staked his claim for the first rock’n’roll song way back in 1945. (more…)

The exuberant brass motif that drives this swinging soul number sounds instantly familiar, perhaps because of the many lives this song has had since it was written by The Chi-Lites’ lead singer Eugene Record and Sonny Sanders.

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This may be the most extraordinary discovery I’ve stumbled upon.
It was recorded in 1963 but its psych-tinged blend of jazz, soul and blues is way ahead of its time. (more…)

Whoever said white men can’t sing the blues (or play them) had clearly never heard this tune by Blood, Sweat & Tears. (more…)

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band created the template for Acid Rock with the sprawling title track of their second album East West in 1966. (more…)

There’s something horribly prophetic in the lyric of Gil Scott-Heron’s song The Bottle: “Look around on any corner/If you see some brother lookin’ like a goner/It’s gonna be me.”
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Quincy Jones came up with the song named after the Japanese arthouse porn film that gave me one of my most memorably horrible experiences in a cinema. (more…)

The most frightening musical term for me is “free jazz.” So it’s odd that I should enjoy this nine-minute noodle by the Art Ensemble of Chicago. (more…)