James Alfred Smith Preston (August 18, 1913 – December 17, 1984), was an American R&B bandleader, alto saxophonist,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

mer and singer who made an important contribution to early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

Career

Preston was born in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area (also known as the Delaware Valley) on the western bank of the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. ...

, and formed his own group in 1945. His first R&B top ten hit was with "Hucklebuck Daddy" in 1949, recorded for Philadelphia's Gotham Records. His main claim to fame was to record, as Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians, the original version of " Rock the Joint" for Gotham in 1949. The sax breaks on "Rock the Joint" were the work of tenor player Danny Turner (1920–1995). "Rock the Joint" was re-recorded by Jimmy Cavallo in 1951, and

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

and the Saddlemen in 1952. In 1950, tenor saxophone player

Benny Golson Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...

and pianist Billy Gaines were added to his new line-up and recorded songs like "Hay Ride" and "Early Morning Blues".J C Marion, "Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians"
. Retrieved September 29, 2016 Preston moved to Derby Records and had a final R&B hit with a cover of

Louis Prima Louis Leo Prima (; December 7, 1910 – August 24, 1978) was an American trumpeter, singer, entertainer, and bandleader. While rooted in New Orleans jazz, swing music, and jump blues, Prima touched on various genres throughout his career: he ...

’s "Oh Babe". Preston gave up playing music in 1952, but as Reverend Dr. James S. Preston, he founded the Victory Baptist Church in 1962. He died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1984, aged 71.

Discography

Jimmy Preston & His Prestonians on Gotham Records... *166 Let Me Call You Sweetheart // Messin' With Preston (11/1948) *170 Numbers Blues // Chop Suey, Louie (1/1949) *175 Hucklebuck Daddy // Sugar Baby (3/1949) *180 Hold Me, Baby // Home Cookin' (5/1949) *188 Rock The Joint // Drinking Woman (8/1949) *204 The Bells of St. Mary's // Foolish Me (11/1949) *206 Going Away // Credit Blues (12/1949) *216 They Call Me The Champ // Swingin' In The Groove (1950) *228 Hay Ride // Early Morning Blues (1950) *240 Estellina Bim Bam // Do The Bump (1950) *246 Let's Hang Out Tonight // Potato Salad (1950) Jimmy Preston With The Jimmy Preston Orchestra on Derby Records... *748 Oh Babe! // Stop That Baby (10/1950) both sides with Burnetta Evans-vocal *751 Rock With It Baby // My Baby Done Left Me (1950) *755 Roll, Roll, Roll // Front Door Blues (1951)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Preston, Jimmy American rock musicians Musicians from Philadelphia Rhythm and blues saxophonists 1913 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists Rock and roll musicians 20th-century African-American musicians