Louis Jordan

Call off the search — our Louis Jordan mix marks the vital link between R&B and rock 'n' roll that would pave the way for practically all of the music we know and love. Every major artist of the '50s saluted Jordan's groundwork, notably with his band, the Tympany Five, at Decca. The rock begins with Jordan.

Many of Louis Jordan's songs were performed as short films — hell, the guy even prefigured MTV with these pioneering "videos" — and he was known for his novelty touches, like the manic chicken impersonation on "Barnyard Boogie." He continues his poultry analogy with "That Chick's Too Young to Fry."

Louis Jordan was ultimately eclipsed by the very style of music — rock 'n' roll, no less — he helped bring into the world, so we urge you to revel in the days when he was king, even if you never got tickets for the '90s Broadway tribute Five Guys Named Moe. Jordan's so-called "jump style" of R&B is totally addictive.

Louis Jordan adds a calypso flavor to his sterling body of work on both the hit "Run Joe" and the track "Stone Cold Dead in the Market," a duet with Ella Fitzgerald. A favored collaborator, Fitzgerald also highlights Jordan's mastery of jazzy R&B on "Petootie Pie" and "Baby It's Cold Outside." All told, his work is shot through with humor and driven by the irresistible foot-tapping tempo that would jump-start the work of Chuck Berry and Bill Haley. Monumental.