• Track Listing

Bear Family Records Rocks, Vol. 1 - With more than 70 CD releases since 2002, the 'Rocks' series on Bear Family Records® is one of the most successful and extensive in our catalog. -Specializing in artist CDs full to the brim, 'Rocks' presents R&B pioneers as well as popular and obscure rockers of various origins. -The compilation 'Bear Family Records ROCKS, Vol. 1' provides a thorough overview of the genre - featuring 30 outstanding rocking black jumping R&B, R'n'R and blues performers such as Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Jimmy Reed, Slim Harpo, the Drifters, etc. -The 'Rocks' series is characterized by excellent sound quality and informative liner notes by Bill Dahl from Chicago - as is the case here with this extremely entertaining cross-section. Bear Family's mammoth series of 'Rocks' CDs have set a lofty standard for savage rocking. 'Bear Family Records ROCKS, Vol. 1 - Black Rockers and Rhythm 'n' Blues From The 1950s' is sure to rip the roof off any no-holds-barred juke joint soiree, it's 30 selections ranging from New Orleans R&B legends Fats Domino, Lloyd Price, and Smiley Lewis to guitar scorchers Clarence 'Gatemouth' Brown and Bo Diddley. Chuck Berry and Little Richard show why they're regarded as the fathers of rock and roll, though their forefathers Big Joe Turner, Amos Milburn, and Roy Milton and His Solid Senders illustrate that jumping R&B thrived long before the emergence of either one of them. The set offers plenty of rocking blues via Jimmy Reed, Little Junior Parker, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, and Slim Harpo, encompasses the era's top vocal groups in the '50s R&B field with The Coasters, Drifters, Midnighters, "5" Royales, and Cadillacs, and pays loving tribute to the best lounge acts ever with storming entries by The Treniers and Louis Prima. Get ready to rock, jump, and roll with this one! 1-CD (Digipak) with 36 -page booklet, 30 tracks. Total playing time approx. 79 minutes.