Rosco Gordon
Rosco Gordon was best known for being one of the progenitors of a slightly shambolic, loping style of piano shuffle called "Rosco's Rhythm." The basic elements of this sound were further developed after Jamaican musicians got a hold of 45s Gordon recorded in the early '50s -- which were not available to Jamaicans until 1959 -- and created ska, which took its name for the sound of this particular shuffle as it sounded being played on an electric guitar (ska-ska-ska).
No less an authority than Chris Blackwell -- he was the founder/president of Island Records who produced Bob Marley, the Wailers, and Peter Tosh, to name a few -- has cited Gordon's importance to reggae and ska music and championed the sound he helped create.
Gordon had originally been a member of the famed Beale Streeters, a Memphis, TN-based group that also featured the considerable talents of Johnny Ace, B.B. King, and Bobby "Blue" Bland, in the late '40s. They were scouted by none other than Ike Turner for Modern Records, who recorded the Beale Streeters' first single in 1951.
Gordon was soon recording sides for Sam Phillips and his Sun Records label. Phillips later sold the master of Gordon's own "Bootin'" to two competing labels, Chess and RPM, both of whom released it as a single. This "mix-up" did not, however, prevent the song from hitting number one on the R&B chart in 1952.
The follow-up to "Bootin'," called "No More Doggin'," was the first song to feature the now-familiar shuffle rhythm of Gordon's design, with a strong accent on the off-beat that repeated the oft-monotonous guitar phrasing. Though Gordon had recorded the song in the living room of a friend's home, in fact, the sound was fully developed and unique for its time. On July 11, 2002, Gordon died of a heart attack at his home in Queens, New York. He was 74.
© Bryan Thomas /TiVo
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Just A Little Bit
Blues - Erschienen bei Vee-Jay Records am 01.01.1993
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Sun Records Originals: Just Love Me Baby
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Memphis, Tennessee
Blues - Erschienen bei Stony Plain Records am 31.10.2000
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Bootin': The Best of the Rpm Years
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Greatest Hits
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Piano Blues On Fire
Blues - Erschienen bei Brownbeats Records am 01.05.2009
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Bootin' (The Best of RPM Years)
Blues - Erschienen bei Fuel Records am 17.09.2001
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Just a Little Bit Plus All the Singles As & BS, 1951 - 1961
Blues - Erschienen bei Jasmine Records am 12.05.2016
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Just Love Me Baby / Weeping Blues
Rock - Erschienen bei Sun Records am 01.01.1955
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Let's Get High
Blues - Erschienen bei Charly Records am 26.05.2006
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Shoobie Oobie / Cheese and Crackers
Rock - Erschienen bei Sun Records am 01.01.1956
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The Chicken / Love for You Baby
Rock - Erschienen bei Sun Records am 01.01.1955
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Rosco Gordon's Weeping Blues
Blues - Erschienen bei Charly Records am 25.06.2006
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Anthology: The Definitive Collection (Remastered)
Blues - Erschienen bei Master Tape Records am 25.09.2020
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Rosco Rocks Again
Blues - Erschienen bei JSP Records am 14.07.2009
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Let's Get High (B)
Blues - Erschienen bei JSP Records am 26.05.2006
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Let's Get High (A)
Blues - Erschienen bei JSP Records am 26.05.2006
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No More Doggin'
Pop - Erschienen bei Black Sheep Music am 13.08.2013
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