The new album is called ‘The First Rock and Roll Record’. It’s a huge 3CD set which presents recordings that may have been considered the first rock record by someone at some time in rock history.
Of course, Hank Williams has to be on this record. The company has chosen ‘Move it On Over’. Scores of commentators and critics through the years have identified Hank as a founder of rock and roll, and ‘Move it on Over’ is often mentioned because Bill Haley’s seminal ‘Rock around the Clock’ sounds so much like Hank’s very inventive witty and funny story about a man who’s locked out of his house by his wife and moves into the dog house for the night.
Readers will remember that I wrote a lengthy and I must say very thorough and quite brilliant article called ‘Hank Williams writes all time greatest rock lyric’. In that essay I argue that ‘Hey Good Lookin’ is a rock lyric and led directly to the later work of Buddy Holly, Faron Young, and Chuck Berry. In that essay I also talk about ‘Move it on Over’ ‘Honky Tonkin’, ’Why Don’t You Love Me’ and ‘Mind Your Own Business’. That essay is here.
Although there are 82 tracks on this album there is only the one from Hank Williams. I would think ‘Hey good Lookin’ should have made it, and if only one Hank recordings could be included I would take ‘Hey Good Lookin’ over ‘Move it on Over’.
Here are some of the artist names from the record just to shake up your memories and curiosity:
Trixie Smith, Charlie Patton, Boswell Sisters, Benny Goodman, Robert Johnson (of course), Ella Fitzgerald, Sister Rosetta Thorpe, Bob Wills, Big Joe Turner, The Andrew Sisters, T-bone Walker, Arther ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith, Delmore Brothers, Pee Wee King, Muddy Waters, Fats Domino, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Big Mama Thornton, Arthur Crudup, and Jackie Brenston (Famous for Rocket 88 considered by many the first rock record)
The last part of Disc 3 contains recordings that are already considered rock and roll by Carl Perkins, Elvis, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. The last track is ‘Heartbreak Hotel’.
The details about the record are on Amazon UK, and it will be available on Amazon US and Canada by the end of November.
Please feel free to used the comments section to submit your own ideas on the first rock and roll record, and which Hank record made the greatest contribution to rock music.
