Wynonie Harris
Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris (1915-1969) was an American blues and rhythm and blues singer, born in Omaha, Nebraska.
Harris traveled as a singer and dancer with the Lucky Millinder Big Band in his youth. His first big solo hit was in 1944 with his record "Who Threw The Whiskey in the Well". He was a dynamic live performer who brought a lot of attention to the emerging styles of rhythm and blues.
Harris made a major contribution to the birth of rock and roll when he covered "Good Rocking Tonight", written and originally recorded by Roy Brown. Brown's version was a jump blues with a jazz rhythm section. Harris's cover version was much more frantic and played with a much stronger back beat. In effect, Harris, a black artist, had done what many white artists were to do later. He had turned rhythm and blues into rock and roll and made one of the first rock and roll records. The song was later covered by Elvis Presley.
Referenced By
Aladdin Records | First rock and roll record | Johnny Otis | Jump blues | List of R&B musicians | List of artists who died of drug-related causes | List of blues musicians | List of notable drug-related deaths | List of people by name: Har | Lucky Millinder | Notable Drug-related Deaths | Rock'n'Roll | Rock & Roll | Rock 'n' Roll | Rock 'n' Roll music | Rock and Roll | Rock and roll. | Rock music | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll
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