Bar Room Blues is an exclusive series of video
“Shake, Rattle and Roll” is a prototypical twelve bar blues-form rock and roll song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting name Charles E. Calhoun. It was originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, and most successfully by Bill Haley & His Comets. The song as sung by Big Joe Turner is ranked #126 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Elvis Presley recorded the song twice in a studio setting: a 1955 demo recorded during his Sun Records tenure (which was not released until the 1990s), and as a 1956 single for RCA Victor, although it was not a major hit. Both versions by Elvis used Turner’s original lyrics combined with a faster-paced version of Haley’s arrangement.
This lesson’s version of Shake Rattle and Roll adds a 2minor chord and a 1-6-2-5 turnaround to the original 1-4-5 version. I personally prefer to add these elements to enhance the swing/jump feel, it also gives a different twist to it when soloing. I use mostly ensemble chords, leaving the bass note off, this leaves the bass note for the bassist. I’m going to show you two really cool 1-6-2-5 turnarounds to add to your bag of tricks as well as some cool rhythm and lead moves!
In this lesson, I’ll show you how to play “Shake, Rattle & Roll” — yet another legendary blues song that you can learn how to play easily. Read on for the full
Guitar Lesson
Check out the tab and jam track below, and give this bar room blues song a try yourself!
Chart
Jam Track
Bar Room Blues is an exclusive series of video