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R&B "You Gotta Have A Beat" By Louis Jordan
You Tube Louis Jordan
Jordan, called “the Father of Rhythm & Blues" was known for vocals and saxophone. He was inducted into the Rock and RollHall of Fame on January 21, 1987. -
R&B "Five Guy's Named Moe" by Louis Jordan
YouTube - Louis Jordan "Five Guys Named Moe"
Jordan was born on July 08, 1908 and died on February 4th 1975. -
R&B "The Fat Man", Fats Domino
The Fat Man
Recorded in New Orleans, December 10, 1949. "The Fat Man" landed on the Billboard chart on April 1st, 1950. The record made it to number two on the R&B charts, and sold a million copies. It has been consistently singled out as a candidate for the first rock & roll record. -
R&B "Rocket 88" Ike Turner and Jackie Brenston
Rocket 88
It was the second-biggest rhythm and blues single of 1951, reaching #1 on 9 June 1951 and staying there for five weeks. A second version was covered by the country music group Bill Haley and the Saddlemen at a recording session on June 14, 1951. Ike Turner's piano intro to this song was later used by Little Richard in "Good Golly Miss Molly". -
R & B "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" by Ruth Brown
Ruth Brown
"(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean" is a 1953 song by Ruth Brown, written by Johnny Wallace and Herbert J. Lance. It became Brown's third number one on the R&B chart. Brown had many #1 hits during her career and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on January 12, 1993. She died on November 17, 2006. -
Rock "Rock Around the Clock," by Bill Haley and the Comets, released in 1954
Rock Aound The Clock"Rock Around the Clock" was written by songwriter Max Freedman, and was intended for Haley, but due to industry politics he was kept from recording the song. The original version was recorded in October, 1953 by Sonny Dae and His Nights, but it sank without a trace. Haley was finally able to record it in 1954 and the song became hit. The song stayed at number one for eight weeks. It was the original opening theme song for the TV show Happy Days in the 1970's. -
Rock and Blues "That's Alright Mama" by Elvis Presley
Elvis
This was Elvis' first single. On June 7, 1954 WHBQ Radio in Memphis was the first radio station to play this, the day after Elvis recorded it. On July 30, 1954, Elvis opened for Slim Whitman in Memphis'. This was the first song Elvis played in concert. -
R&B"Ain't That a Shame" by Fats Domino
Originally released by Fats domino. After being re-recorded by Pat Boone the song gained national fame. This song is about a breakup that was the other partner's fault. It was written by Domino and Dave Bartholomew, who worked on most of Domino's hits. -
Rock "Hound Dog" by Elvis Presley
Originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1953, Elvis recorded the song himself in 1956 during the same recording as "Don't Be Cruel". This song was written by Leiber and Stoller, who also wrote songs for the Coasters. This was released as a single with "Don't Be Cruel." It is the only single to have both sides reach #1 in the United States. -
Rock "Long Tall Sally" by Little Richard
You Tube Long Tall Sally
Richard wrote this song while he was working as a dishwasher at a bus station in Macon, Georgia. This song is about a transvestite. Although it contained sexual references,they were vague enough that many people didn't catch them, keeping the song form getting censored. -
Soul "You Send Me" by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke was the inventor of soul music and was the most important soul singer in history. You send me was written by Written by Charles "L.C." Cooke, Sam's brother. The song reached #1 on the Top 40 chart, and stayed for three weeks, and the R&B chart for six weeks in 1957. It was Sam Cooke's first of 29 Top 40 hits. Sam Cooke was Born: January 22, 1931 and Died: December 11, 1964. -
Rock "Peggy Sue" by Buddy Holly
This song was originally called "Cindy Lou", and was named for Buddy Holly's niece, the daughter of his sister Pat Holley Kaiter. The title was later changed to "Peggy Sue" which reffered to the Crickets drummer Jerry Allison's girlfriend (and future wife), Peggy Sue Gerron. John Lennon covered the song on his 1975 album Rock 'n' Roll. -
Rock "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry
This song is based on the life of Chuck himself. The story of a poor country boy who becomes a celebrity by hard work and inspired guitar playing. It has been covered by Peter Tosh, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles, and was was featured in the 1985 movie Back To The Future. -
Rock"Yakety Yak" by The Coasters
This song was written by the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They had written Elvis Presley's hits "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock." "Yakety Yak" was one of several hits they wrote for The Coasters. "Yakety Yak" was The Coasters' first recording in New York in 1958. The Coasters became the frist group to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. -
R&BMotown was founded
On January 12th 1959, Motown was founded by Berry Grody in Detroit. "Please Mr. Postman" by the Marvelettes was the labels first number one song. -
R&B and Rock"Charlie Brown" by The Coasters
Leiber and Stoller wrote the song to tell the made up story about Charlie Brown, a kid who is always getting in trouble and wonders why everyone's always picking on him. On March 9, 1959: “Charlie Brown,” by the Coasters, reaches #2 on the pop and R&B charts. -
Soul"Chain Gang" by Sam Cooke
When released as a single in 1960, the song reached #2 in the United States pop and R&B charts, and #9 in the United Kingdom. The inspiration for the song came when Sam and his brother Charles saw a chain gang in one of the Carolinas. The song was written by both Sam and Charles. -
R&B and Rock"Hit the Road Jack" Ray Charles
The song was written by Ray's good friend Percy Mayfield.
This song was the winner of the 1961 Grammy for Best Male Rhythm and Blues Recording. -
Rock "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" was the first Beatles song recorded on 4 track equipment. It was also the first song to catch on in the United States. It was therefore the song they chose to perform on their first 2 Ed Sullivan Show appearances, which took place on Feb 9th and 16th, 1964. -
Rock "Henry the VIII, I Am" by Herman's Hermits
This novelty song was the seventh single by Herman's Hermits. It was re-recorded by Herman's Hermits and released in June 1965. It was the group's second number-one on the Hot 100 chart. It was written by R.P. Weston and Fred Murray. -
Rock "California Girls" by the Beach Boys
California Girls
Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. David Lee Roth released "California Girls" as his first single after leaving Van Halen with Carl Wilson singing backup. -
Rock "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones
This song started with the lyrics and a guitar riff by Keith Richards after a concert in Clearwater, Florida. Keith woke up in the middle of the night and recorded guitar riff and lyric "Can't get no satisfaction" on a portable tape deck. Mick Jagger wrote all the lyrics to the song except the line "Can't get no satisfaction." -
Rock "Red House" by Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix recorded many versions of this song. Version 1:
Recorded December 13, 1966. Version 2: recorded March 29, 1967. Version 3: Recorded October 29, 1968. -
gospal and soul "In The Ghetto" by Elvis Presley
Elvis PresleyThis song was written by Mac Davis. Davis titled this as "In The Ghetto (The Vicious Circle)." RCA Records requested Davis' permission to drop the subtitle before presenting it to Elvis. It is a narrative story of a young boy who grows up in the ghetto, fights and steals, and eventually, gets shot and killed. In 2007, Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley recorded this song with her father by using tracks that were composited with Elvis' original version creating a duet. -
Rock "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen
Released on August 25, 1975, "Born To Run" is the third album by Springsteen. The first time Springsteen played the song was on May 9, 1974 when he opened for Bonnie Raitt at Harvard Square. There was a movement to make this the official state song of New Jersey. -
disco"Stayin' Alive" by the BeeGees
A number one song in the 70's disco era. The BeeGee's made up of the brother's Gibb - Barry, Maurice, and Robin. The BeeGee's Helped make the "Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack" top the charts in 1977. -
Metal Metallica
Metallica was easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the 1980s. The band formed 1981 in Los Angeles, CA. Members have included: Cliff Burton, Dave Mustaine, James Hetfield, Jason Newsted, Kirk Hammett, and Lars Ulrich. -
Dance Pop, "Thriller", Michael Jackson
Song's include:
1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
2. "Baby Be Mine"
3. "The Girl Is Mine"
4. "Thriller"
5. "Beat It"
6. "Billie Jean"
7. "Human Nature"
8. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
9. "The Lady in My Life"
Thriller won album of the year in 1984. -
Hair Metal, "Hysteria" by Def Leppard
The band was formed in 1977, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. Band members have included Joe Elliott, Pete Willis, Phil Collen, Rick Allen, Rick Savage, and Steve Clark. Their fourth album "Hysteria" released in ealry 1987 has been their most popular to date. -
Grunge - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana
Member of Nirvana include Chad Channing, Dave Grohl, Jason Everman, Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain, and Pat Smear. The band was formend in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987. Smells Like Teen Spirit" was Nirvana's first and biggest hit, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is the opening track and lead single from the band's second album Nevermind.
