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Another of the jump blues specialists whose romping output can be pinpointed as a direct precursor of rock & roll, guitarist Jimmy Liggins was a far more aggressive bandleader than his older brother <a href="spotify:artist:5csKyypxXUXTNBUGuCrsoV">Joe</a>, right down to the names of their respective combos (<a href="spotify:artist:5csKyypxXUXTNBUGuCrsoV">Joe</a> led the polished <a href="spotify:artist:48a17wukUChf44S5NQg7aH">Honeydrippers</a>; Jimmy proudly fronted <a href="spotify:artist:4xQBPJJJ7cnIch3BhKTm6S">the Drops of Joy</a>). Inspired by the success of his brother (Jimmy toiled as <a href="spotify:artist:5csKyypxXUXTNBUGuCrsoV">Joe</a>'s chauffeur for a year), the ex-pugilist jumped into the recording field in 1947 on Art Rupe's <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Specialty%22">Specialty</a> logo. His "Tear Drop Blues" pierced the R&B Top Ten the next year, while "Careful Love" and "Don't Put Me Down" hit for him in 1949. But it's Liggins' rough-and-ready rockers -- "Cadillac Boogie," "Saturday Night Boogie Woogie Man," and the loopy one-chord workout "Drunk" (his last smash in 1953) -- that mark Liggins as one of rock's forefathers. His roaring sax section at <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Specialty%22">Specialty</a> was populated by first-rate reedmen such as <a href="spotify:artist:1jcPgyzUoFrMSI5jloL3LD">Harold Land</a>, Charlie "Little Jazz" Ferguson, and the omnipresent Maxwell Davis. Liggins left <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Specialty%22">Specialty</a> in 1954, stopping off at <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Aladdin%22">Aladdin</a> long enough to wax the classic-to-be "I Ain't Drunk" (much later covered by <a href="spotify:artist:1uFixbBAduJkFAeRKznkvW">Albert Collins</a>) before fading from the scene. ~ Bill Dahl, Rovi
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