Unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll: the birth of rock in the wild years before Elvis

The myth has it that rock 'n' roll was born the day young Elvis Presley entered Sam Phillip's recording studio in 1954, but the truth is different according to this book. This book offers portraits of 25 performers - from the early Nat King Cole to Bill Haley - who preceded Elvis. "Long before Elvis Presley entered Sam Phillips's Sun Records studio in 1954, rock 'n' roll was being performed and recorded by the likes of Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Wynonie Harris, The Clovers. The Dominoes, The Midnighters, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Wanda Jackson, and Johnny Ace. More than just a series of shrewd and evocative portraits of these and sixteen other performers, this book is also a paean to a forsaken time of relentless excess, sudden ruin, and fierce music. For this edition, the author has contributed a new listing of recent CD reissues. From 1945 to 1955, from Chinese hillbillies to Elvis's long-lost twin brother, here are the Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll."--BOOK JACKET. A book about the earliest days of rock'n'roll, originally published in 1984. Secker & Warburg first print edition is from June 10, 1991.