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Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer who started his career in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1923 Morton record the hit "Wolverine Blues" and released the first of his commercial recordings, first as piano rolls, then on record, both as a piano soloist and with various jazz bands. -
Bessie Smith: The Empress of the Blues
Bessie Smith, nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on other jazz vocalists. Bessie Smith was signed by Columbia Records in 1923 and her first session for Columbia was February 15, 1923. For most of 1923, her records were issued on Columbia's regular A- series; when the label decided to establish a "race records" s -
Invention of the 78 rpm record
In 1894-95, Emile Berliner created the first viable record player. Varying from 65 to 100 rpm, the earliest speeds represented compromises between groove and needle size, wear on records and needles, and amount of music that fit on a side. The 78 rpm speed did not become standardized until 1925. Produced from shellac resin the three-minute pop format that holds sway in today's radio formats started with 78s. -
W. C. Handy : The "Father of the Blues"
W. C. Handy, widely known as the "Father of the Blues", remains among the most influential of American songwriters. Though he was one of many musicians who played the music known as the blues, he is credited with giving it its contemporary form. He was not the first to publish music in the blues form, he took the blues from a regional music style with a limited audience to one of the dominant national forces in American music. In 1926 Handy authored and edited a work entitled Blues: An Anthology -
The great flood of 1927
The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States.The flood affected Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Arkansas was hardest hit, with 14% of its territory covered by floodwaters. By May 1927, the Mississippi River below Memphis, Tennessee, reached a width of 60 miles. -
Charley Patton: The "Father of the Delta Blues",
Charley Patton, also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician. He is considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", and is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta blues. Musicologist Robert Palmer considers him among the most important musicians that America produced in the twentieth century. At the time he was about 19, he had become an accomplished performer and songwriter in his own right. -
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began in August of 1929, when the USA economy went into an economic recession. Although declining GDP, it was not until the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 that the effects of a declining economy were felt. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. -
Robert Johnson
Robert Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generations of musicians. His first recording sessions was in San Antonio, Texas. The recording session was held on November 23, 1936 in room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, which Brunswick Records had set up to be a temporary recording studio. -
Muddy Waters: First Alan Lomax recording
In the summer of 1941, Alan Lomax went to Stovall, Mississippi, on behalf of the Library of Congress, to record various country blues musicians. First Muddy Waters recording. -
Muddy Waters Chess/Aristocrat Record
In late 1947 Muddy Water began recording for Aristocrat Records, a newly formed label run by two brothers, Leonard and Phil Chess. -
John Lee Hooker Detroit Years
John Lee Hooker was a highly influential American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Mississippi, and rose to prominence performing his own interpretation of what was originally a unique style of country blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that became his trademark. He would record songs under obvious pseudonyms such as John Lee Booker, notably for Chess Records and Chance Records in 1951/52. -
Willie Dixon signed to Chess Records
William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. Next to Muddy Waters, Dixon is recognized as the most influential person in shaping the post-World War II sound of the Chicago blues.Dixon signed with Chess Records as a recording artist, and stayed with the label from 1948 to the early 1960s. -
Fats Domino first rock'n'nroll
Antoine "Fats" Domino Jr. is an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. Domino released five gold (million-copy-selling) records before 1955. He also had 35 Top 40 American hits and has a music st. Domino first attracted national attention with "The Fat Man" in 1950 on Imperial Records. This song is an early rock and roll record, featuring a rolling piano and Domino doing "wah-wah" vocalizing over a strong back beat. -
Foundation of Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record company based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz recordings, released on several labels including Chess, Checker, Argo and Cadet. -
Howlin´ Wolf first record on Chess
Chester Arthur Burnett known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was born in West Point, Mississippi. Chess Records issued Howlin' Wolf's "Moanin' At Midnight" b/w "How Many More Years" on August 15, 1951. -
Elvis First recording session on Sun.
On July 18, 1953, Presley first went to the Memphis Recording Service at the Sun Record Company, now commonly known as Sun Studio.[2] He paid $3.98 to record the first of two double-sided demo acetates, "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin." Presley reportedly gave the acetate to his mother as a much-belated extra birthday present,[3] although many biographers suggest that Presley simply wanted to get noticed by Sun owner Sam Phillips. -
First Elvis Rcord released on Sun.
Elvis Presley recorded at least 24 songs at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee between 1953 and 1955. The recordings reflect the wide variety of music that could be heard in Memphis at the time: blues, rhythm & blues, gospel, country & western, hillbilly, and bluegrass.
First record from Elvis officially launched at Sun Record (#208) "That's All Right Mama". -
Chuck Berry first record on Chess.
On May 21, 1955 Chuck Berry recorded an adaptation of "Ida Red"—"Maybellene"—which featured Johnnie Johnson on piano, Jerome Green (from Bo Diddley's band) on the maracas, Jasper Thomas on the drums and Willie Dixon on the bass. "Maybellene" sold over a million copies, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart and No. 5 on the September 10, 1955 Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart. -
Little Richard's Tutti-Frutti
Richard Wayne Penniman, known by his stage name Little Richard, is an American recording artist, songwriter, and musician. Penniman's most celebrated work dates from the mid 1950s where his dynamic music and charismatic showmanship laid the foundation for rock and roll. Recorded in three takes in September 1955, "Tutti Frutti" became an instant hit, reaching reaching No. 2 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues Best-Sellers. -
Elvis in the Army,
Elvis Aaron Presley served in the United States Army between March 1958 and March 1960. At the time of his draft he was one of the most well-known names in the world of entertainment. Before entering the Army, Presley had caused national outrage with his sexually charged performances and rock and roll music. Many parents, religious leaders, and teachers groups saw his draft, removing him from public view, as a positive thing. -
The Day the Music Died
The Day the Music Died is a reference to the deaths of rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. The investigation of the incident determined that soon after take off, a combination of poor weather conditions and pilot error caused spatial disorientation that made pilot Roger Peterson lose control of the plane. -
Chuck Berry's prison term
On December 23, 1959, Chuck Berry is arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, on charges relating to his transportation of a 14-year-old girl across state lines for allegedly "immoral purposes." Between 1960 and 1963, the man who helped invent rock and roll spent 20 months in federal prison following his conviction on charges of violating the Mann Act.The Mann Act is the common name for a piece of federal legislation originally known as the United States White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910.
