PlayTheSong
Senior Member
I'm going to tap into some of the group expertise here if I may.
A few years ago I backed an "Andrews Sisters" cover group for one event. (Sadly, the singers sucked.) Before the first rehearsal I listened to the original recording from 1941 and was intrigued by the rhythm, which is not quite straight and not quite swung. It took a few tries (practicing by myself) to stop alternating between the two and consistently ride that edge. I read somewhere that this "in between" beat was what inspired the term "rock and roll", which is a bit ironic if true, since it has come to mean heavy backbeats with no swing in most cases.
Was this beat just a temporary bridging that occurred between the swing and rock era's or are there whole musical traditions/styles that ride this edge? I certainly don't hear it often, but then I haven't seriously pursued it either.
Please educate me if you're so inclined! Maybe others will benefit also.
I should add that I do realize that Jerry Lee Lewis revolutionized things by doing a swinging walking bass line with his left hand while playing straight with his right, but I think the drumming was relatively "straight" on his tunes.
A few years ago I backed an "Andrews Sisters" cover group for one event. (Sadly, the singers sucked.) Before the first rehearsal I listened to the original recording from 1941 and was intrigued by the rhythm, which is not quite straight and not quite swung. It took a few tries (practicing by myself) to stop alternating between the two and consistently ride that edge. I read somewhere that this "in between" beat was what inspired the term "rock and roll", which is a bit ironic if true, since it has come to mean heavy backbeats with no swing in most cases.
Was this beat just a temporary bridging that occurred between the swing and rock era's or are there whole musical traditions/styles that ride this edge? I certainly don't hear it often, but then I haven't seriously pursued it either.
Please educate me if you're so inclined! Maybe others will benefit also.
I should add that I do realize that Jerry Lee Lewis revolutionized things by doing a swinging walking bass line with his left hand while playing straight with his right, but I think the drumming was relatively "straight" on his tunes.