THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

257-Big Joe Turner-Flip, Flop and Fly.

1955-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 2.08. The lyrics tell us that the best was to beat the blues is to look forward to meeting up with your ‘main squeeze,’ but at the same time not to forget you are also very attractive, so it’s only fair to share yourself around.

Big Joe Turner (see also best songs 855) was born Joseph Vernon Turner Jr. on May 18th, 1911, in Kansas City, ,Missouri, United States, he died of heart failure, having suffered the effects of arthritis, a stroke and diabetes, on November 24th, 1985, at the age of 74. Turner is recognised as one of the main protagonists in the development of ‘Rock N’ Roll,’ transitioning from Big Bands, to ‘Jump Blues,’ to ‘Rhythm and Blues,’ and finally ‘Rock N’ Roll.’ Turner was known as a ‘Blues Shouter,’ which is a ‘Blues’ singer, often male, capable of singing unamplified with a band. On announcing his death in 1985, the British music magazine the ‘New Musical Express’ described him as the ‘Grandfather of Rock and Roll.’ He was posthumously inducted into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ in 1987, with the Hall lauding him as ‘The brawny voiced ‘Boss of the Blues.” The American online music magazine ‘AllMusic’ called him ‘The premier Blues Shouter of the postwar era.’ A Blues Shouter is a Blues singer, capable of singing unamplified with a band, other notable ‘Blues Shouters’ include Big Maybelle, (1924-1972) Big Mama Thornton, (1926-1984) (see also best songs 86) and Howlin’ Wolf (1910-1976.) When speaking about Big Joe Turner, the American songwriter and Blues singer Doc Pomus (1925-1991) said, ‘Rock and Roll would have never happened without him.’

The discography of Big Joe Turner includes 52 Albums, including compilation Albums, and live Albums, released between 1951-2005, and 61 singles released between 1941-1973. He never had a charting single on the Billboard Hot 100, or on the UK top 40 singles chart, although 20 of his singles have made the Billboard ‘Hot R&B’ chart, with two of those tracks, ‘Honey Hush,’ (1953) and ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ (1954) both reaching Number 1.

‘Flip, Flop and Fly’ was co-written by Big Joe Turner, and Charles E. Calhoun, who also played the piano on the song. The two had previously teamed up in 1954 to write ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll,’ which is considered by many to be the very first ever ‘Rock N’ Roll’ hit when recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets (see also best songs 855.) ‘Flip, Flop and Fly’ has a similar arrangement to ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll,’ and it is rumoured that some of the left over lyrics from that song were recycled for this. ‘Flip, Flop and Fly’ has been covered by many of the Rock N’ Roll greats including Elvis Presley (1935-1977) (see also best songs 954-664-442 and 194) and Jerry Lee Lewis, (1935-2022) (see also best songs 678-362 and 99) but the only charting version I could find was by the Canadian Blues band ‘Downchild Blues Band,’ who took their version to Number 35 on the Canadian ‘RPM 100 singles chart’ in 1973.

Charles E, Calhoun was born Jesse Albert Stone on November 16th, 1901, in Atchison, Kansas, United States, he died after a long illness on April 1st, 1999 at the age of 97. Stone first recorded music in 1927 as a member of the ‘Blue Serenaders,’ releasing the Blues song ‘Starvation Blues’ on ‘Okeh Records.’ He then went on to work as a pianist, before forming his own orchestra, and working as a bandleader. In 1947 he joined the staff at ‘Atlantic Records’ to work as a producer, songwriter and arranger, he was the only black person employed by Atlantic Records at that time. Other notable songs written by Jesse Stone include ‘Losing Hand’ for Ray Charles in 1953, and ‘Money Honey’ which became the first hit for The Drifters also in 1953. Stone also notably arranged the song ‘Sh-Boom’ for The Chords, which reached Number 9 on Billboard in 1954, which is widely considered to be the first ‘Doo-Wop’/ ‘Rock N’ Roll’ song to reach the ‘Pop’ top 10.

While employed by Atlantic Records, Jesse Stone went on a fact finding mission with Ahmet Ertegun, (1923-2006) and Herb Abramson, (1916-1999) the co-founders of Atlantic Records. It was during a trip to the American South in 1949 with them that Stone discovered that Atlantic Records were not selling enough records in the southern states because they lacked a certain ‘danceable’ quality. Stone later said, ‘I listened to the stuff that was being done by those thrown together bands in the joints down there, and I concluded that the only thing that was missing from the stuff we were recording was the rhythm. All we needed was a bass line. So I designed a bass pattern, and it sort of became identified with Rock N’ Roll – doo, da-DOO, DUM; doo, da-DOO, DUM – that thing. I’m the guilty person that started that. ‘It was on Ahmet Ertegun’s advice that Stone began using the pseudonym of ‘Charles F. Calhoun,’ for his songwriting, a name appropriated from an unknowing local builder. The name was used on his ‘BMI’ recordings to avoid conflict with his membership in the other music licensing society, ‘ASCAP. ‘ Jesse Stone was honoured by the ‘Rhythm and Blues Foundation’ in 1992 with a ‘Pioneer Award,’ and he was inducted into the ‘Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame’ in 1992, and then inducted posthumously into the ‘Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ in 2010.

‘Here comes my baby flashin’ her new gold tooth, well she’s so small she can Mambo in a pay phone booth. I’m like a Mississippi Bullfrog sittin’ on a hollow stump, I got so many women I don’t know which way to jump.’