remembering rock and roll pioneer Louis Jordan on his birthday

In the 1940s, Louis Jordan took big-band jazz and stripped it down to a small, loud, and fast rhythm section. He cranked up the energy. His wild, screaming vocals directly inspired early rock stars like Little Richard, and his guitar player Carl Hogan invented the driving guitar riffs that Chuck Berry later copied note-for-note. By focusing on loud instruments, fast speeds, and a boisterous attitude, he took this jump blues sound in new directions. Wikipedia says, in part:

Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American jazz, blues and jump blues saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "the King of the Jukebox", he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states that two of the most important originators of rhythm and blues were Big Joe Turner and Louis Jordan with his Tympany Five. The two artists helped to lay "the foundation for R&B in the 1940s, cutting one swinging rhythm & blues masterpiece after another". The Hall also describes Jordan as "the Father of Rhythm & Blues", "the Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll" and "King of the Juke Boxes". Another source states that with Caldonia (1945), Jordan was "already crafting the classic rock 'n' roll sound". The Hall of Fame considers "his classic 'Saturday Night Fish Fry' (1949) as an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording".

Louis Jordan - Caldonia (1945)

Caldonia / Louis Jordan

Louis Jordan - Saturday Night Fish Fry (1949)