1940s
Jump Blues
Jump blues evolved out of swing in the years of World War II and its
aftermath, as a precursor to rhythm and blues and rock & roll. Played
by big bands, it nevertheless featured less improvisation and put the emphasis
on steady rhythms, blaring saxophones and celebratory themes. Several of
the Chuck Berry songs
that the Stones played were covers of this type of music.
A true-life Okie from Muskogee, McShann really
straddled the jazz and pre-R&B worlds as a pianist and orchestra director.
He started out in the 1930s and '40s, where jazz legend Charlie
Parker played some of his first recordings with McShann's Orchestra.
In the 1940s, McShann's band was one of the great Kansas City swing and
jump blues bands. The Stones were not influenced directly by McShann or
other jump blues artists, but covered his classic Confessin' the Blues
by way of Chuck Berry's
cover of the song.
Texas-born Amos Milburn was a boogie-woogie pianist who had a successful career in jump blues, piano blues and in generally pioneering R&B in the 1940s and early 1950s, despite his ill health. The Stones covered his classic 1946 hit Down the Road Apiece in 1965, based on Chuck Berry's cover of it.
His music, and this period of early R&B in
general, is greatly appreciated by Bill Wyman, who cut an album's worth
of this material, along with Charlie and other artists, for 1985's Willie
and the Poor Boys (e.g. Chicken Shack Boogie). Bill also tries
to recapture some of that boogie flavor in his recent (1998) album with
the Rhythm Kings, Struttin' Our Stuff.
Pennsylvania-born Troup was a pianist and vocalist who dabbled in many styles. The Stones were not directly influenced by him, but they covered his classic Route 66 by way of Chuck Berry's cover of the song.