LOUIS JORDAN & HIS TYMPANY FIVE: "Saturday night fish fry" (1949)

Classic song #39:
LOUIS JORDAN & HIS TYMPANY FIVE: "Saturday night fish fry" (1949)

Este fin de semana escuché un excelente recopilatorio de los años 40 de Louis Jordan que me grabó en su día un colega y la verdad es que disfruté como un bellaco. La antesala a lo que se iba a llamar rock'n'roll lo tenemos en grabaciones hechas por este hombre. Es increíble comprobar como todo ese genuino jump/blues, R&B y Swing, donde Louis Jordan era uno de los grandes exponentes, te llena de felicidad y vitalidad para el resto de la jornada.

Lo que grabó este hombre con sus Tympany Five es de obligatoria escucha. Dadle al play a temazos como "G.I Jive", "Caldonia", "Let the good times roll", "Ain't nobody here but us chickens", "Jack, you're dead", "Boogie woogie blue plate "Choo Choo Ch' boogie", "Barnyard boogie" o "Beans and corned bread" " y veréis que este genio fue todo un precursor de lo que se avecinaba en la siguiente década.

Para ilustrar este post y rendirle un tributo como se merece en esta sección de clásicos, voy a decantarme por "Saturday night fish fry", grabada en el año 1949, por la cual muchos la consideran una de las primeras grabaciones del rock'n'roll y la verdad razones no les faltan. Sólo hace falta poner el oído y uno no puede quedarse impasible ante ese endiablo ritmo. Hasta el mismísimo Chuck Berry dejó esta frase para la posteridad: "To my recollection, Louis Jordan was the first one that I hear play Rock'n'Roll". ¿Alguién va a contradecir al maestro? Pues eso, escuchemos con devoción al Grandfather of Rock'n'roll...Mr. Louis Jordan con "Saturday night fish fry".

Now if you've ever been down to New Orleans

Then you can understand just what I mean

All through the week, it's quiet as a mouse

But on Saturday night, they go from house to house

You don't have to pay the usual admission

If you're a cook, a waiter or a good musician

So if you happen to be just passin' by

Stop in at the Saturday Night Fish Fry

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now my buddy and me was on the main stem

Foolin' around just me and him

We decided we could use a little something to eat

So we went to a house on Rampart Street

We knocked on the door and it opened up with ease

And a lush little miss said, "Come in, please"

And before we could even bat an eye

We were right in the middle of a big fish fry

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now the folks was havin' the time of their life

And Sam was jivin' Jimmie's wife

Over in the corner was a beat up grand

Being played by a big fat piano man

Some of the chicks wore expensive frocks

Some of them had on bobbie socks

But everybody was nice and high

At this particular Saturday Night Fish Fry

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Now the women were screamin' and jumpin' and yellin'

The bottles was flyin' and the fish was smellin'

And way up above all the noise they made

Somebody hollered, "Better get out of here, this is a raid"

Now I didn't know we was breakin' the law

But somebody reached up and hit me on the jaw

They had us blocked off from the front to the back

And they was puttin' 'em in the wagon like potato sacks

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

I knew I could get away if I had a chance

But I was shakin' like I had the St. Vitus dance

Now I tried to crawl under a bathtub

When the policeman said, "Where you goin' there, bub?"

Now they got us out of there like a house afire

Put us all in that Black Maria

Now, they might have missed a pitiful few

But they got poor me and my buddy too

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

We headed for jail in a dazed condition

They booked each one of us on suspicion

Now my chick came down and went for my bail

And finally got me out of that rotten jail

Now if you ever want to get a fist in your eye

Just mention a Saturday night fish fry

I don't care how many fish in the sea

But don't ever mention a fish to me

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

It was rockin', it was rockin'

You never seen such scufflin'

And shufflin' 'til the break of dawn

Give me one of them, their fish sandwiches

Get away from there, boy, yowza