theDIHERAL Playlist

Each month, I’m creating a new climbing playlist for each decade going all the way back to the 1920’s.  A hundred years of music!  Not necessarily the best songs from each decade, but songs that I can envision on road trips, at the crag, at the gym, on training days, and on the send train. 

January saw some smashes from the 1920’s, February moved us into the 1930’s, and here we are in March getting educated about the origins of rock and roll coming out of the 1940’s.  Some major influences from my grandparents remain.  I remember hanging out with them one evening, and they were watching reruns of Lawrence Welk, when he brought out Keely Smith and Louis Prima.  They blew my mind.  I was so impressed with their personas and the chemistry they shared while on stage.  I’ve been a fan ever since.  My grandparents were big band junkies, so artists like Kay Keyser, Glenn Miller, and Les Brown bring some familiarity to the list, but when I listened to Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker, and Lionel Hampton, I had to pick my jaw up from the floor.  Their mastery of the guitar, the power in their voices and lyrics put me on some righteous path toward hipsterism.  I was ready to go out and buy a record player just to experience what those lucky bastards in the 1940’s were able to hear the first time they put the needle to wax.

I wanted to pick 50 songs just from the Rhythm and Blues catalogue of the 1940’s for a crag list, but…

I’m only picking ten songs from each decade.  So, if anyone has an extra song or two that belongs on the playlist, let me know and I’ll add it!!!

The 1940’s (In no particular order.)

1. Old Black Magic – Louis Prima and Keely Smith
2. Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop – Lionel Hampton
3. Saturday Night Fish Fry – Louis Jordan
4. Boogie Chillen’ – John Lee Hooker
5. Jingle, Jangle, Jingle – Kay Kyser / Gene Autry
6. I Can’t Be Satisfied – Muddy Waters
7. Shout, Sister, Shout – Lucky Millinder (Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
8. Pennsylvania 6-5000 – Glenn Miller
9. Sweet Georiga Brown – Brother Bones
10. Irene – Leadbelly

If the only thing that came out of this project was my exposure to Sister Rosetta Tharpe shredding on the guitar, that would be enough.  She is the epitome cool!!!  I’m telling you, if I was still in college, my dorm walls would be filled with posters of Sister Rosetta Tharpe!

As noted, and as will continue to be noted, this project is impossible!  Music from the 1940’s is revolutionary and doesn’t seem to get the credit it deserves!  If you need or want a refresher about what the 40’s have to offer, then this playlist is for you!  Major apologies to the songs that didn’t make the list. Special shoutout to (I’ve Got A Gal In) Kalamazoo – Glenn Miller (Marion Hutton & the Modernaires), Guitar Boogie – Arthur Smith, Count Basie’s – It’s Sand, Man!, Get Your Kicks On Route 66 – King Cole Trio, Sentimental Journey – Les Brown (Doris Day), Chattanooga Choo Choo – Glenn Miller (Tex Beneke & the Modernaires) and especially Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy – Andrews Sisters, I wish I could make the list longer, but rules are rules!

You can find the playlist HERE!