1949-1958: We don't reach back to this incredible music often enough. Listen to Roy Byrd, aka Professor Longhair, sound so fresh, and from 1949! Or how about two Louie's, Jordan and Armstrong, rapping in 1950. Or a song about domestic violence in 1953. There were clearly many rockin' parties in the fifties. The roots of so much of the music I love are in this playlist. Listen, almost nothing is really new....

The tracks are chronological, by recording date.

10 tracks