Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KPLU All Blues host John Kessler has expanded "The Blues Time Machine," which has been a popular segment on his weekend blues shows. The weekly series tracks one great blues song through history - from its earliest recording to its latest and sometimes, with some surprising interpretations. "The Blues Time Machine" airs on KPLU on Fridays at 12:10 p.m. during the "Blue Plate Special," and on All Blues Saturdays and Sundays at 8 and 11 p.m.

'Early in the Morning' - samba, rumba and history

Louis Jordan's music was a bridge between jazz and rock.
Louis Jordan's music was a bridge between jazz and rock.

Louis Jordan is one of the pioneers of American music, and an important force in the transition from the Jazz Era to Rock and Roll. He was one of the first to down-size the big band format to a combo of five or six players, pounding out high energy jump, swing and rhythm and blues for dance audiences.

One of the early bands to use electric guitar, he established a musical style that rock originators like Bill Haley followed closely. Louis Jordan’s 1947 recording of “Early in the Morning” is an example of the influence of Afro Cuban rhythms on American music.

It has been variously described as a samba, rumba and Caribbean-flavored. Louis Jordan appeared in many films and musicals. In this clip,he performs the song from the unbelievably campy 1949 film Look Out Sister:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5fIMDaSP9U

Harry Nilsson recorded “Early in the Morning” with only organ accompaniment on his 1971 Grammy-nominated album Nilsson Schmilsson. It’s doubtful that many listeners realized the song was a rhythm and blues hit from 20 years earlier.

Buddy Guy gave the song an unconventional twist by combining a 6/8 time signature with a driving swing blues bass line. It’s on his 1991 cd Damn Right I’ve Got The Blues.

Slo Leak takes a modern, studio-savvy approach to blues, often using rhythm loops and samples to weave murky and rhythmic textures. Some of their recordings, including their 2008 version of “Early in the Morning” verge on being “trance blues”.

Here are the complete versions of “Early in the Morning”:

Louis Jordan “Early in the Morning” 1947

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1002563.mp3

Harry Nilsson “Early in the Morning” 1971

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1002562.mp3

Buddy Guy “Early in the Morning” 1991

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1002558.mp3

Slo Leak “Early in the Morning” 2008

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kplu/local-kplu-1002561.mp3

John has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.