"Flip, Flop and Fly" is a song recorded by

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

in 1955. Called a "prototypical rocker", it was recorded by several early

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or 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 Africa ...

performers. In 1973, a version by the

Downchild Blues Band The Downchild Blues Band is a Canadian blues band, described by one reviewer as "the premier blues band in Canada". The band is still commonly known as the Downchild Blues Band, though the actual band name was shortened to "Downchild" in the ea ...

reached the record singles chart in Canada.

Original song

"Flip, Flop and Fly" has an arrangement similar to Big Joe Turner's 1954 number 1 R&B chart hit "

Shake, Rattle and Roll "Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as Charles Calhoun, his songwriting name). The original recording by Big Joe Turner is ranked number 127 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of The 500 Gr ...

". Music critic

Cub Koda Michael "Cub" Koda (born October 1, 1948 – July 1, 2000) was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine considered him best known for writing the song " S ...

suggests that "leftover verses rom the 'Shake, Rattle and Roll' recording sessionwere then recycled into Turner's follow-up hit, 'Flip, Flop and Fly. Both are up-tempo twelve-bar blues with a strong

backbeat In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a pi ...

. "Flip, Flop and Fly" reached number 2 on ''Billboard'' magazine's

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1955, less than one year after "Shake, Rattle and Roll". Accompanying Turner on vocals are the song's writer

Jesse Stone Jesse Albert Stone (November 16, 1901 – April 1, 1999) was an American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres. He also used the pseudonyms Charles Calhoun and Chuck Calhoun. His best-know ...

on piano,

Al Sears Albert Omega Sears (February 21, 1910 – March 23, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and bandleader, sometimes credited as Big Al Sears. Sears was born in Macomb, Illinois, United States. His first major gig came in 1928 when he rep ...

on tenor sax,

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

on drums, and unidentified trumpet, alto sax, baritone sax, guitar, and bass players. Turner subsequently recorded several live versions of the song.

Other charting versions

In 1973, a rendition by the Canadian

reached number 35 on the ''RPM'' 100 singles chart. It was their only hit and is included on their second album ''Straight Up'' (1974).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flip, Flop And Fly 1955 singles Big Joe Turner songs Atlantic Records singles Blues songs Songs written by Jesse Stone The Blues Brothers songs