Wynonie Harris - Rock Mr. Blues

Issued in September of 1950. In July 1945, Harris signed with Philo, a label owned by the brothers Leo and Edward Mesner. Harris’ band was assembled by Johnny Otis, and the group recorded the 78-rpm record “Around the Clock“. Although not a chart-topper, the song became popular, and cover versions were recorded by many artists, including Willie Bryant, Jimmy Rushing and Big Joe Turner. Harris went on to record sessions for other labels, including Apollo, Bullet and Aladdin. His greatest success came when he signed for Syd Nathan’s King label, where he enjoyed a series of hits on the U.S. R&B chart in the late 1940s and early 1950s. These included a 1948 cover of Roy Brown’s “Good Rocking Tonight“,[ “Good Morning Judge“ and “All She Wants to Do Is Rock“. In 1946, Harris recorded two singles with the pianist Herman “Sonny“ Blount, who later earned fame as the eclectic jazz composer and bandleader Sun Ra. Some reviewers state that Good Rocking Tonight, by Roy Brown (1947) or by Harris (1948) is one of the contenders for the title of “first rock’n’roll record“. The label of the 45 RPM record by Brown included the words “Rocking blues“. According to the Paul McCartney Project, “Harris’s version was even more energetic than Brown’s original version, featuring black gospel style handclapping“. The Project adds that “the song has also been credited with being the most successful record to that point to use the word ’rock’ not as a euphemism for sex, but as a descriptive for the musical style. In 1950, Harris released the double-sided hit “Sittin’ on It All the Time“ backed with “Baby, Shame on You“ (King 4330), and in 1951, he recorded a cover version of Hank Penny’s “Bloodshot Eyes“ (King 4461). His risque approach to material at times made his tracks “Keep On Churnin’“ (1952) and “Wasn’t That Good“ (1953) jukebox favorites in the early 1950s. Other lascivious songs he recorded include the earlier tracks “I Want My Fanny Brown“ and “Lollipop Mama“. Harris definitely achieved a great deal of success, with “16 Top 10 R&B hits between 1945 and 1952, including the definitive version of Roy Brown’s “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” a disc that spent 25 weeks on Billboard’s chart in 1948“.