Guitar Boogie (song)
Encyclopedia
"Guitar Boogie" is a guitar instrumental recorded by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith. In 1948, the song became a hit, eventually selling nearly three million copies. Since then, "Guitar Boogie" has been interpreted and recorded by a variety of musical performers and has been among the songs "often cited as the first rock & roll song".
-style instrumental that features Arthur Smith on guitar backed by a small combo. The song is patterned after older boogie-woogie
piano pieces and, throughout the song, Smith alternates between boogie rhythmic patterns and soloing. He first recorded "Guitar Boogie" in 1945 with the Tennessee Ramblers and it was released in 1946 as "The Rambler Trio featuring Arthur Smith" (Super Disc 1004A). In 1948, he re-recorded the song for MGM Records as "Arthur (Guitar Boogie) Smith and His Cracker-Jacks".
In 1949, "Guitar Boogie" reached #8 during a stay of seven weeks in the Country
chart and #25 in the Pop
chart. "It became the first guitar instrumental to climb the Country charts [then] crossover, and climb the Pop Charts", linking 1940s Western swing
and 1950s rockabilly
.
, recorded a rock and roll version of "Guitar Boogie", naming it "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" (Hunt 324). Their version, "with new accents and a beat that took it out of country boogie and Western swing", "became one of the most popular and influential instrumentals of its era". In 1959, "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" reached #5 in the Billboard Hot 100
pop chart and #27 in the Billboard R&B chart. In the UK Bert Weedon
's version of "Guitar Boogie Shuffle", backed with "Bert's Boogie", was released on Top Rank JAR 117 the same year.
(1946 Capitol 318 & 1948 Capitol 15223). In 1958, a different "Guitar Boogie", with more chording, was included on Chuck Berry
's second album One Dozen Berrys
. Jeff Beck
later based his "Jeff's Boogie" from The Yardbirds
' 1966 album Yardbirds/Over Under Sideways Down aka Roger the Engineer
on Berry's version. Freddie King
's 1960 blues guitar instrumental "Hide Away
" incorporates elements from various songs, including sections similar to those in "Guitar Boogie". Later renditions of "Guitar Boogie" include live versions by Tommy Emmanuel
and Tom Petty
.
Original song
"Guitar Boogie" is an uptempo twelve-bar boogieBoogie
Boogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm, "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
-style instrumental that features Arthur Smith on guitar backed by a small combo. The song is patterned after older boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie
Boogie-woogie has the following meanings:*Boogie-woogie, a piano-based music style*Boogie-woogie , a swing dance or a dance that imitates the rock-n-roll dance of the 1950s*"Boogie Woogie" , a song by EuroGroove and Dannii Minogue...
piano pieces and, throughout the song, Smith alternates between boogie rhythmic patterns and soloing. He first recorded "Guitar Boogie" in 1945 with the Tennessee Ramblers and it was released in 1946 as "The Rambler Trio featuring Arthur Smith" (Super Disc 1004A). In 1948, he re-recorded the song for MGM Records as "Arthur (Guitar Boogie) Smith and His Cracker-Jacks".
In 1949, "Guitar Boogie" reached #8 during a stay of seven weeks in the Country
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart and #25 in the Pop
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. "It became the first guitar instrumental to climb the Country charts [then] crossover, and climb the Pop Charts", linking 1940s Western swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
and 1950s rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
.
Guitar Boogie Shuffle
In 1958, a Philadelphia band, Frank Virtue and The VirtuesThe Virtues
The Virtues were an early American rock & roll band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The group formed around leader Frank Virtue , who played the violin as a child and took up the guitar and the double bass as a teenager. He continued with the latter as a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra and...
, recorded a rock and roll version of "Guitar Boogie", naming it "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" (Hunt 324). Their version, "with new accents and a beat that took it out of country boogie and Western swing", "became one of the most popular and influential instrumentals of its era". In 1959, "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" reached #5 in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
pop chart and #27 in the Billboard R&B chart. In the UK Bert Weedon
Bert Weedon
Herbert Maurice William 'Bert' Weedon OBE is an English guitarist and composer whose style of guitar playing was popular and influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in Burges Road, East Ham, Essex, now Greater London....
's version of "Guitar Boogie Shuffle", backed with "Bert's Boogie", was released on Top Rank JAR 117 the same year.
Other versions
Numerous performers have interpreted and recorded "Guitar Boogie". Early versions of the song include those by the Les Paul Trio (1947 Decca 29013) and Alvino ReyAlvino Rey
Alvin McBurney , known by his stage name Alvino Rey, was an American swing era musician and pioneer, often credited as the father of the pedal steel guitar...
(1946 Capitol 318 & 1948 Capitol 15223). In 1958, a different "Guitar Boogie", with more chording, was included on Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
's second album One Dozen Berrys
One Dozen Berrys
One Dozen Berrys is Chuck Berry's second album. It was released in 1958 under Chess Records.This album published in both UK and US only as LP record in 1958.-Track listing:All songs written by Chuck Berry.Side one#"Sweet Little Sixteen" – 3:03...
. Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
later based his "Jeff's Boogie" from The Yardbirds
The Yardbirds
- Current :* Chris Dreja - rhythm guitar, backing vocals * Jim McCarty - drums, backing vocals * Ben King - lead guitar * David Smale - bass, backing vocals...
' 1966 album Yardbirds/Over Under Sideways Down aka Roger the Engineer
Roger the Engineer
Roger the Engineer is an album by the English blues rock band The Yardbirds, released in 1966. It was produced by bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and Simon Napier-Bell. It was the only Yardbirds album with all original material...
on Berry's version. Freddie King
Freddie King
Freddie King , thought to have been born as Frederick Christian, originally recording as Freddy King, and nicknamed "the Texas Cannonball", was an influential African-American blues guitarist and singer. He is often mentioned as one of "the Three Kings" of electric blues guitar, along with Albert...
's 1960 blues guitar instrumental "Hide Away
Hide Away
"Hide Away" or "Hideaway" is a blues guitar instrumental that has become "a standard for countless blues and rock musicians performing today". First recorded in 1960 by Freddie King, the song became an R&B and pop chart hit...
" incorporates elements from various songs, including sections similar to those in "Guitar Boogie". Later renditions of "Guitar Boogie" include live versions by Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
and Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
.