# Eerie recordings from before 1950 that influenced rock n roll **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813 "2015-08-14T06:03:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/21 "2015-08-15T02:03:08Z")
Son House said that Robert Johnson was taught to play by the devil, not Johnson. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/22 "2015-08-15T02:53:58Z")
Then that means that Son House was the Devil? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/23 "2015-08-15T03:14:50Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Then that means that Son House was the Devil? 😉 No, I believe Son House was a Baptist Minister, despite having an inebriated argument with Howlin Wolf, Leadbelly or some like fellow. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/24 "2015-08-15T03:21:22Z")
I watched a documentary about Robert Johnson. An elderly Black Woman was interviewed, and asked if he played _Love in Vain_ for her. She responded, “Yes,that’s how I got pregnant.” He would make eye contact with a girl while playing, and usually sleep with her afterwards. It was his undoing. He beat a woman he slept with and she told her Father, Husband or Brother. The guy poisoned a bottle of whiskey Johnson drank while playing, and he died. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/25 "2015-08-15T03:28:55Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I don’t think of the songs mentioned as “eerie,” as much as a part of my life for decades. > > Skip James with a Cream song: [I’m So Glad" (1931)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byZXD-AHg3g) James was a better guitarist than Johnson, but so were a lot of people. When Johnson claimed the Devil was teaching him to play, his contemporaries thought instead that he had taken a year off to practice. Skip had practiced already. > James “Iron Head” Baker -or- Chain Gang meets Ram Jam: [Black Betty (1933)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaQv3Cl06ow) John Hammond collected another old one, but I can’t find it. A woman sang it. Loud, fast, and stupid; real Rock & Roll. > Ma Rainey vs pretty much everybody: [See See Rider (1925)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9duTAcatzIM) > Big Joe Williams vs everybody else: [Baby, Please Don’t Go (1935)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g22l1hnAnlA) Ted may be crazy, [but he wins.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi8h9_KgFpc) > > This is is fun! I could do it all night. Re: Baby Please Don’t Go: No No No! not Ted Nugent. When there’s so many worthies? What about Van Morison and Them from the 60s. Big Bill Broonzy does one on acoustic that’s different from all the others; and The Original: By Joe Williams is one of the great success stories in Black music. He kept his copyright you see. Very rare to do that, and I think that’s uplifting. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/26 "2015-08-15T03:43:40Z")
Eerie? Check. Influenced rock? Check. [**Charley Patton _Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues_, 1929**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhUVzBzqqV4). ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/27 "2015-08-15T03:53:00Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > No, I believe Son House was a Baptist Minister, despite having an inebriated argument with Howlin Wolf, Leadbelly or some like fellow. It was Howlin’ Wolf and he just took apart Son House [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xza8J9DZUv4). “That man there, he got the blues.” Anything by Howlin’ Wolf will qualify for this thread. [Smokestack Lightin’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTDjD_UdJYs)being the most obvious and covered by the Yardbirds. Or you can listen to the Howlin’ Wolf [London Sessions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfC1TPE9bR8) featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Wynwood, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman. I LOVE the intro to Little Red Rooster, where someone asks the Wolf to play guitar so they can follow better. And the [Wolf busts their balls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFMDmSglfc0)as “all you have to do is count off” (it’s a crappy recording on the link but you can hear it). Search and watch all of the Howlin’ Wolf story. It’s a great documentary and worth the 10 hours or so that it takes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/28 "2015-08-15T07:03:36Z")
Here’s one that barely makes the cut: [Drinkin’ Wine Spo-de-o-dee](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37avLRywxGQ) by Stick McGhee from 1949. He recorded the same song in 1947 for the Harlem label, but that record didn’t get the notice that the later one did. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/29 "2015-08-15T07:17:19Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Damn, she is pretty. You should see [Caldonia](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR6pHtiNT_k). ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/30 "2015-08-15T08:27:21Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Yeah, heaven forbid you hear any music from before 1950 that has nothing to do with rock. You don’t want to turn into that icky dude from _Ghost World._ whatEVER ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/31 "2015-08-15T08:36:35Z")
Les Paul’s late 1940s-early 1950s recordings are unbelievable - some sound 15-20 years ahead of their time. Check out this one from 1948, the clarity is amazing. Some of his music sounds almost psyechedelic. His work with Mary Ford is also great. This may be a little "mellow" to be 'rock' but it's still amazing and ahead of its time. “Smoke Rings” (This is actually from 1952) The production is very influential and the guitar work has tremendous influence, but it doesn’t quite fit into any genre. Its not quite country, not really rock, its too quirky to be straight pop. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/32 "2015-08-15T08:47:03Z")
I realized I broke the rules and posted a song from after 1950. Here is a very trippy Les Paul instrumental song from 1949, “What is this Thing Called Love.” [What Is This Thing Called Love - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNeqRLTZjh8) ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/33 "2015-08-15T17:04:07Z")
Dude named Esquerita was a 6 1/2 foot gay black guy, with a huge pomp, who apparently was the inspiration for Little Richard. Believe it or not Richard was very together in order to bring that look and music out and have the career with it. Esquerita was the real deal but couldn’t take it all the way. Sorry this is 1950s though ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/34 "2015-08-15T23:52:47Z")
How about the Rondo from the Bee’s Piano Concerto #1? That shit would make Scott Joplin, Fats Waller, and Jerry Lee Lewis fall to their knees. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3EfeRPmad0Q/maxresdefault.jpg "Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15, 3. Rondo: Allegro") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EfeRPmad0Q) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/35 "2015-08-16T00:35:22Z")
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were pioneering rock and roll rhythms and instruments in the 1940’s [BOB WILLS BOOGIE by Bob Wills 1946](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5XejdVq0tk) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/36 "2015-08-16T04:11:02Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > How about the Rondo from the Bee’s Piano Concerto #1? And played on an early pianoforte–those wouldn’t stay in tune for, well, by the time you were done tuning one it was already out of tune. And likely to explode. Ludwig Van could be depended on to crank it to eleven. Here he gathers all the sound in the known universe and [unleashes it in a concert hall.](https://youtu.be/ChygZLpJDNE?t=846) You want eerie? Henry Thomas on guitar and quills, a kind of home-made pan flute: [Bull Doze Blues (1928ish).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1yhaBsD8Vw) Born in 1874, his music was directly connected to that of the slaves and, before them, Africa. You’ll know the tune. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/37 "2015-08-16T06:36:45Z")
I’ve always thought [Gene Krupa’s drumming on “Sing, Sing, Sing” in 1938](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NigiwMtWE0) had a lot to do with rock-‘n’-roll. Once Gene had thumped the living daylights out of those toms, rock inevitably had to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/38 "2015-08-16T06:56:02Z")
Also note that there is a direct lineage from Krupa to rock: among Krupa’s drum students were Jerry Nolan of the New York Dolls and Peter Criss of KISS. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/39 "2015-08-16T08:15:11Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Ludwig Van could be depended on to crank it to eleven. Here he gathers all the sound in the known universe and [unleashes it in a concert hall.](https://youtu.be/ChygZLpJDNE?t=846) This is getting off topic but he invented ragtime almost a century ahead of time: Not to mention his Grosse Fugue which sounds like something from the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813/40 "2015-08-16T15:59:00Z")
I can hear a connection between minor key murder ballads like “Pretty Polly” and heavy metal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eerie-recordings-from-before-1950-that-influenced-rock-n-roll/727813.md?page=3)