Caldonia

Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five were the most successful act in rhythm and blues during the 1940s. In January 1945, they recorded "Caldonia," a track that set a blistering new standard for tempo and energy. Built on a lightning-fast, 12-bar jump blues structure, the song featured Jordan's frantic alto saxophone and his incredibly tight, swinging rhythm section. Jordan famously shrieked the iconic line, "Caldonia! Caldonia! What makes your big head so hard?" The track's explosive, joyful momentum was undeniably the immediate precursor to the rock and roll explosion that followed a decade later.