Louis Jordan was the father of rhythm and blues and the grandfather of rock and roll. A saxophonist and bandleader from Arkansas whose Tympany Five made records that were too swinging to be jazz, too funny to be blues, and too relentlessly grooving to be anything but the future. Caledonia. Choo Choo Ch'Boogie. Saturday Night Fish Fry -- widely considered one of the first rock and roll records.

He sold millions of records for Decca in the 1940s -- more than anyone except Bing Crosby. He made 'soundies' -- short musical films -- decades before MTV. His stage show was a comedy routine set to music, and his influence runs through Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown, and every artist who understood that entertainment wasn't a dirty word. The showmanship was never an affectation.

The jump blues he pioneered was the bridge between the big band era and the rock and roll revolution. He made joy sound disciplined. He made the saxophone talk. He was the most popular Black entertainer of the 1940s, and he set the template that every r&b bandleader followed.

Louis Jordan -- the father of r&b. Saturday Night Fish Fry. Caledonia. Sold more records than anyone except Bing Crosby. Chuck Berry and James Brown were listening.