Wynonie Harris

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Wynonie Harris was born in 1915 and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. As a boy he formed a dance duo, later he performed in clubs, and in Kansas City he listened to blues shouters such as Jimmy Rushing and Big Joe Turner. In 1940 he moved to Los Angeles, where he became known in a club as Mr. Blues. In 1944 he joined Lucky Millinder's orchestra. With the record Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well, released in 1945, he became known to a wide audience, including among white listeners.

Music and breakthrough

As a solo singer he had his greatest success at the label King. There in 1948 he recorded a version of Good Rocking Tonight, the song by Roy Brown from 1947. Harris sang it more energetically, with hand-clapping in gospel style. The song is seen as one of the candidates for the first rock 'n' roll record. Between 1946 and 1952 he had fifteen top ten hits, often with funny and risqué lyrics, such as Lolly Pop Mama and Keep On Churnin'.

Influence

Harris was a blues shouter: a singer who had to rise above a band with horns using a hard, loud voice. He died in 1969. His fiery way of singing and his self-assured stage presentation were a model for the first generation of rock 'n' roll singers.

Listening

• 
  Good Rocking Tonight · Wynonie Harris, 1948
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 2022Wasn't That Good

See also

• Jump blues