1001 Song You Must Hear Before You Die - 1950-1954

Went for "How High The Moon" myself. Largely because of fantastic production that was at least ten years ahead of its time. Les Paul may be most famous for how he pioneered the electric guitar, but his multi track recording and development of the modern producer and recording studio was just as important IMO.

was torn between how high the moon and elmore james but then i saw chet baker my funny valentine and poll got much easier

this pre-rock period is covered terribly

most of the songs here deserve votes. In the end I was torn between Cry, Dust My Broom, Crying In The Chapel, The Wind, and Shake, Rattle & Roll.

things like Please Send Me Someone to Love and It's Too Soon To Know (in the previous poll) are insane omissions.

voted Elmore

Went with "Rocket 88," but I actually listen to Elmore way more, so now I wish I'd voted for him. Fuck.

voted "my funny valentine" with sarah vaughan and les paul close runners up

How High the Moon, amazing guitar and harmonies.

went with dust my broom also. i considered chet baker, but it was a pretty quick thought.

Dust My Broom, narrowly over Rocket 88. Ideally, they'll tie for first.

Tough choices there, but I vote Big Joe for getting an A+ metaphor like "I'm like a one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store" into jukeboxes, home phonographs and teenage brains.

being sort of rock(et)ist, I voted Ike.

I mean Jackie Brenston

I don't even know what is the best part of Shake, Rattle and Roll. that "one-eyed cat" thing is followed by "Well I can look at you till you ain't no child no more".

and it starts like this:

"Get outta that bed, wash your face and hands
Get outta that bed, wash your face and hands
Well, you get in that kitchen, make some noise with the pots 'n pans"

and then:

"Way you wear those dresses, the sun comes shinin' through
Way you wear those dresses, the sun comes shinin' through
I can't believe my eyes, all that mess belongs to you"

"Riot" just barely over "The Wind"; "Just Walkin' in the Rain"'s really nice too.

I went to listen to some of these - the Robins song is not on YouTube which i strange. But listening to a snippet of it at Amazon, it wouldn't gmv anyway.

When I do these, I try and pick the one that is the most "metal" (I am sooo much a metallist) and that is quite difficult with pre-metal stuff (let alone pre-rock!) however using this criteria, I thought I was gonna vote "Rock Around The Clock" since it was the only real rock song on the list but Elmore James shits all over it. The choice was clear.

Here's a Grooveshark link for the whole song. But if the snippet didn't grab you, no reason this will:

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Riot+In+Cell+Block+number+9/2uowRA?src=5

Almost went with "Riot," and then I saw "Rocket 88," which made voting easier.

Voted Louis Jordan for the '40s, fwiw.

For my money "Mambo No. 5" is the most metal thing here. Loud, shrill, sweaty, in-your-face. And it gets my vote.

Rocket 88

Sometimes I take a great notion to jump into the river and drown when I see all these "series" polls.

Voted Jo Stafford "Autumn Leaves" because it was stuck in my head for like 6 mo when I went through my Jo Stafford phase

I love the "since you went away" part

I thought I was gonna vote "Rock Around The Clock" since it was the only real rock song on the list but Elmore James shits all over it.

Pretty sure "Shake, Rattle and Roll" does too. From a heavy rock perspective, I mean.

I saw Joe Turner at NYU around 1983; he walked with a cane and wasn't long for this world, but still amazing.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

I love how this is the second out of three polls where I can vote for Mambo V

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

How High the Moon is so awesome. It really feels like the beginning of art pop or something