REFRESHER COURSE

A couple of nights ago, I had the good fortune to catch the movie The Girl Can't Help It on TV, and it started all sorts of thoughts, none of them regarding the films star, Jayne Mansfield (well, maybe fleeting). If you know the movie, you know why. Amongst many R&B and rock 'n' roll acts appearing are Little Richard, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps. It's great footage, and is it damn good to see in higher resolutions. For some reason, it was made better by the fact that it was a chance viewing, and that I didn't own the DVD.

Little Richard - Reddy Teddy, from The Girl Can't Help It

One of the big things that struck me is that the performances in the film preceded the Sex Pistols and the Ramones by only about twenty years, preceded the Stooges by about twelve, and the Velvet Underground by roughly ten years. That's just crazy. Lest we need reminding, here's some early rock 'n' roll.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps - Cat Man mp3 at LYWL
Chuck Berry - It's My Own Business mp3 at the Rising Storm
The Rockin' R's - Crazy Baby mp3 at Beware of the Blog

Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock n' Roll mp3 at Boogie Woogie Flu
Hank Mizell - Jungle Rock mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Johnny Carroll - Crazy, Crazy Lovin' mp3 at Rocky-52.net
Warren Smith - Ubangi Stomp mp3 at DavidFulmer.com
Bo Diddley - Mona mp3 at Mark Allen Interested Person
Eddie Cochran - Nervous Breakdown mp3 at Uusikaupunki.fi
Roy Orbison - Go! Go! Go! mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Little Richard - Keep A Knockin' mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls of Fire mp3 at Bousculade
Don & Dewey - Justine mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Johnny Burnette & the Rock n' Roll Trio - Honey Hush mp3 at RocknDog.com
Video:
Eddie Cochran - Twenty Flight Rock, from The Girl Can't Help It at YouTube
Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps - Be Bob A Lula, from The Girl Can't Help it at YouTube