246 - Lloyd Price - New Autobiography

Who did the first rock n’ roll song? It’s a discussion that music fans have had for over a half century. Well, it wasn’t Elvis or Bill Haley. A strong case can be made for Lloyd Price who wrote and recorded “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” way back in 1952. That song sent shockwaves through black, and white audiences alike, and started Price down some uncharted territory. A successful black entertainer was hard to find in the early Fifties, and he met up against deplorable discrimination, time and time again, even while he was having hit after hit, with songs like “Personality,” “I’m Gonna Get Married,” and the #1 smash, “Stagger Lee.”Price chronicles these stories in a very frank autobiography called, “Sumdumhonky” from Cool Titles, He tells some great stories about the origins of both “Stagger Lee,” and “Personality,” and reveals how he helped Little Richard get his start.