# The 9 Best Rhythm and Blues Tracks of All Time Blues played by a small band with a shuffle, a honking saxophone and somewhere to be. The post-war music that turned twelve bars into a dance floor, and the common ancestor of rock and roll, soul and Jamaican ska. - **Origin:** Los Angeles and Chicago, 1945 - **Tempo:** 120–180 BPM - **Also known as:** r&b, jump blues, race records, rhythm & blues - **Tracks:** 9 - **Updated:** 2026-08-30 - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/rhythm-and-blues/ ## The list ### 1. [Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats](https://waxonia.com/artist/jackie-brenston-and-his-delta-cats/) — [Rocket 88](https://waxonia.com/track/jackie-brenston-and-his-delta-cats--rocket-88/) *1951 · Chess* Regularly called the first rock and roll record, which it is not — it is the best jump blues record, with a guitar amp that fell off a car roof and was recorded broken anyway. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jackie%20Brenston%20and%20his%20Delta%20Cats%20Rocket%2088) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbfnh1oVTk0) ### 2. [Louis Jordan](https://waxonia.com/artist/louis-jordan/) — [Choo Choo Ch'Boogie](https://waxonia.com/track/louis-jordan--choo-choo-chboogie/) *1946 · Decca* Jordan's small band outsold the big bands by being funnier, tighter and cheaper to book. The template for every self-contained rhythm section that followed. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Louis%20Jordan%20Choo%20Choo%20Ch'Boogie) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=_A2pRVyBmOY) ### 3. [Big Mama Thornton](https://waxonia.com/artist/big-mama-thornton/) — [Hound Dog](https://waxonia.com/track/big-mama-thornton--hound-dog/) *1952 · Peacock* Three years before Elvis, and considerably more menacing. Thornton is talking to a specific person and you would not want to be him. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Big%20Mama%20Thornton%20Hound%20Dog) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=oBf6oKouOGc) ### 4. [Wynonie Harris](https://waxonia.com/artist/wynonie-harris/) — [Good Rockin' Tonight](https://waxonia.com/track/wynonie-harris--good-rockin-tonight/) *1948 · King* A shouted invitation over a band that will not let up. The word rocking is doing exactly what everyone thinks it is doing, six years early. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Wynonie%20Harris%20Good%20Rockin'%20Tonight) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cgdzS4OSQ1M) ### 5. [Big Joe Turner](https://waxonia.com/artist/big-joe-turner/) — [Shake, Rattle and Roll](https://waxonia.com/track/big-joe-turner--shake-rattle-and-roll/) *1954 · Atlantic* The original, before the lyric was laundered for white radio. Turner's version swings where the cover marches, which is the difference the whole decade turned on. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Big%20Joe%20Turner%20Shake%2C%20Rattle%20and%20Roll) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rJoTiZ0tHYc) ### 6. [Fats Domino](https://waxonia.com/artist/fats-domino/) — [The Fat Man](https://waxonia.com/track/fats-domino--the-fat-man/) *1949 · Imperial* New Orleans piano, a rolling triplet figure and a million copies sold. Domino was doing this before the phrase rock and roll existed and simply never stopped. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Fats%20Domino%20The%20Fat%20Man) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=aIz1cPfTRW4) ### 7. [Lloyd Price](https://waxonia.com/artist/lloyd-price/) — [Lawdy Miss Clawdy](https://waxonia.com/track/lloyd-price--lawdy-miss-clawdy/) *1952 · Specialty* Price singing, Domino on piano, and a record that crossed to white audiences without anybody planning it. The commercial accident the next decade was built on. Also on: [Sung to Someone](https://waxonia.com/theme/sung-to-someone/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Lloyd%20Price%20Lawdy%20Miss%20Clawdy) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=nYO263wui1w) ### 8. [The Drifters](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-drifters/) — [Money Honey](https://waxonia.com/track/the-drifters--money-honey/) *1953 · Atlantic* Clyde McPhatter's gospel-trained tenor applied to a song about rent. The exact point where the quartet tradition walks out of the church and into the charts. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Drifters%20Money%20Honey) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8bdX6uD3HkA) ### 9. [The Midnighters](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-midnighters/) — [Work with Me, Annie](https://waxonia.com/track/the-midnighters--work-with-me-annie/) *1954 · Federal* Banned by broadcasters, a million-seller regardless, and answered by half a dozen other records within the year. Rhythm and blues as a running conversation nobody could police. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Midnighters%20Work%20with%20Me%2C%20Annie) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bvzSlCH9AsM) --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.