Its skittering groove would underpin many of rock’n’roll’s dancefloor cuts, most dubiously Jive Bunny’s 1988 megamixes where the Big Bopper’s “Ooh, baby, that’s what I like!” provided regular punctuation. The grubby fuzz that attached itself to the tinny twang of Burlison’s guitar lent ‘Train Kept A-Rollin” a roughneck danger that still sounds seedy and threatening five decades on.Ĭhunky Jiles Perry Richardson went down in the same plane crash that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, but not before releasing this twisting paean to a cute girlfriend. Memphis-born Johnny Burnette and his trio patented that dirty rock’n’roll sound pretty much by accident when guitarist Paul Burlison knocked over his Fender Deluxe amp. Although it was wholesome crooner Pat Boone who took ‘Ain’t That A Shame’ to the top in the States, the song was Domino’s entry to the mainstream, paving the way for ‘Blue Monday’ and ‘Blueberry Hill’.ĩ1 Johnny Burnette & The Rock’n’Roll Trio, ‘Train Kept A-Rollin’ New Orleans pianist Antoine ‘Fats’ Domino was a profound influence on later pop idols Elvis Presley and John Lennon, bringing swing to rock’n’roll’s baby steps. The walking bass and skipping keys found favour with the late 80s jazz vampires who sent it top 5 in the UK. Nina Simone’s hepcat jazz cut was a cover of a number from the 1930 musical Whoopee! that appeared on her debut album but only made megahit status when it was used for a 1987 Chanel No.5 advert. For Ray, ‘Cry’ was the start of a long, successful career in music and film.ĩ3 Nina Simone, ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’
It later became a standard, providing teen idol David Cassidy with a bit of emotional heft and giving Crystal Gayle a country chart No.1. Weepy Johnnie Ray found his signature tune here, swamping Churchill Kohlman’s song with his sobbing tones and topping the Billboard chart too. Still, his salsa-tinged instrumental lives on, a cheeky soundtrack to shenanigans the world over. But Flores was under contract elsewhere and the writing credit had to go to one ‘Chuck Rio’. The man behind The Champs’ one and only hit (a massive one, mind you – No.1 in the US, No.5 in the UK) was Danny Flores, who played the wild sax solo and blurted out “tequila!”, as you do.
Lee’s version might be the one everyone remembers but Little Willie John’s swinging soul take was a specialist US hit and million-seller in its own right. She’d actually written the mesmeric ‘Freight Train’ when she was 12 – after 50 years in mothballs, it was soon covered by artists including country star Chet Atkins and folkie Joan Baez.Ĭovered by countless artists – Peggy Lee, Madonna, Beyoncé, funk don George Clinton, The Doors, you name ’em – Otis Blackwell and Eddie Cooley’s ‘Fever’ was originally recorded, reluctantly, by R&B warbler Little Willie John. Elizabeth Cotten got her belated break in 1957 at the grand old age of 62 when her shimmering guitar playing talents were finally spotted by the Seeger family.
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