First rock and roll record

There are many candidates for the title of the first Rock and Roll record. Numerous recordings mark the development of rock and roll as a separate musical form. These include not only hits from the 50s when the music emerged on the national and international scene, but also earlier precursors.

The hits from the 50s typically are seen with an early performance much in the rhythm and blues style and a later cover performance more in the rock and roll vein. Often, the first performance was by a black artist and the second by a white artist. These white covers, much disdained at the time, and later, were a necessary part of the transition of the music. Nor were they all pale imitations, but sometimes genuine remakes in the new style.

• "Good Rockin Tonight" (1949) by Roy Brown and Wynonie Harris, both black artists; Harris's version is definitely more modern. Later covered by Elvis Presley.
• "Rocket 88, by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats ([1949]) and Bill Haley and his Comets ([1951])
• "Crazy Man, Crazy", ([1953]) Bill Haley and his Comets, first rock and roll record on Billboard chart. Not a cover, but an original. Haley said he heard the phrase at high-school dances his band was playing.
• "Rock Around the Clock", ([1954]) by Bill Haley and his Comets, first number 1 rock and roll record
• "Shake, Rattle and Roll", ([1954]) by Big Joe Turner, Bill Haley and his Comets, and Elvis Presley
• "Sh-boom" ([1954])by the Chords and the Crewcuts
• "Maybellene", ([1955]) by Chuck Berry

Tunes from the 30s and 40s that were early indicators of an important change in the music world:

• "Flying Home" by Lionel Hampton and his orchestra (1942), tenor sax solo by Illinois Jacquet, recreated and refined live by Arnett Cobb, the model for rock and roll solos ever since, emotional, honking, long, not just an instrumental break but the keystone of the song.
• "I Wonder" by Cecil Gant 1944, an early black ballad performance that became widely popular, the first of the black tenors.
• "Roll 'Em Pete" by Pete Johnson and Joe Turner (1938) driving boogie woogie and a masterful collation of blues verses
• "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee"; by Stick McGhee and his Buddies
• "Ragg Mopp" by Johnny Lee Wills and Deacon Anderson (1949), strange little novelty tune, the lyrics are simply the title spelled out or yelled out, re-released in 1954 by the Ames Brothers.

Wild cards from the 20s and 30s that seemed then to have come from nowhere but now clearly foreshadow rock and roll:

• "My Daddy Rocks Me (with One Good Steady Roll)" by Trixie Smith (1922). Although it was played with a backbeat and was one of the first "around the clock" lyrics, this was by no means rock and roll. On the other hand, the title certainly underscores the original meaning attached to those two words (of four letters) , "rock" and "roll".
• "Tiger Rag" by the Washboard Rhythm Kings, (1931) virtually out of control performance with screeching vocals, a strange tiger roar, and rocking washboard.