Various Bear Family Records Rocks Vol. 1 (CD)

Bear Family’s mammoth series of ‘Rocks’ CDs have set a lofty standard for savage rocking. ‘Bear Family Records ROCKS, Vol. 1 - Rockers and Rhythm 'n' Blues From The 1950s’ is sure to rip the roof off any no-holds-barred juke joint soiree, its 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. 

Every one of these 30 artists has his or her own entry in the ‘Rocks’ series save one: Johnny Otis, whose Good Golly makes it obvious that he deserves the honor in the not-too-distant future. Get ready to rock, jump, and roll with this one!