Jimmy Preston was an R&B bandleader, alto saxophonist and singer who made an important contribution to early rock and roll

Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...

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His first R&B hit was with "Hucklebuck Daddy", but his main claim to fame was to record, as Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians, the original version of "Rock the Joint

Rock the Joint

"Rock the Joint", also known as "We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight", is a boogie song recorded by various proto-rock and roll singers, notably Jimmy Preston and early rock and roll singers, most notably Bill Haley...

" for Gotham Records in Philadelphia 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 Bill Haley

Bill Haley

Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...

 and the Saddlemen in 1952.

In 1950 tenor saxophone player Benny Golson and pianist Billy Gaines were added to new line-up and recorded songs like "Early Morning Blues" and "Hayride". http://home.earthlink.net/~v1tiger/rockthejoint.html Preston moved to Derby Records and had a final R&B hit with a cover of Louis Prima

Louis Prima

Louis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...

’s “Oh Babe”. He gave up playing music in 1952 without realizing that he would later be identified as one of the founders of rock and roll.