Rocks

• Track Listing

Contains 'Roll 'Em Pete' with Pete Johnson, a record that propelled bobby-soxers into a boogie-woogie frenzy. 'Shake, Rattle And Roll' helped jump-start the rock 'n' roll revolution. It's here along with a truck-load of R&B hits including Honey Hush, Flip, Flop And Fly, Hide And Seek, Corrine Corrina, Lipstick, Powder And Paint and many more. These immortal rock-till-it-hurts classics inspired an uncountable number of rockabilly covers from Elvis Presley to Jerry Lee Lewis to Shakin' Stevens. 'The quintessential American singer' said Doc Pomus. 'Rock 'n' roll would never have happened without him'. Big Joe Turner first shouted timeless blues couplets in the Kansas City of the '30s, partnering stomping pianist, Pete Johnson, for almost two decades. Together they ignited the boogie-woogie craze that led to the post-war emergence of R&B and ultimately, the revolution that was rock 'n' roll. This set, compiled by Trevor Cajiao, Editor of 'Now Dig This,' embraces all phases of Big Joe Turner's career but concentrates, inevitably, on the hard-rocking records which made Big Joe Turner a rock 'n' roll star and unlikely teen idol at the age of 43. Discs like Honey Hush, Shake, Rattle And Roll (bowdlerised by Bill Haley), Flip, Flop And Fly, Boogie Woogie Country Girl, Teen Age Letter and Lipstick, Powder And Paint were among the most exciting records of the '50s and led to literally hundreds of covers by legions of rockabilly singers.