{{Infobox song | name = Saturday Night Fish Fry (Part 1) | cover = | alt = | border = yes | type = single | artist = [[Louis Jordan]] & His [[Tympany Five]] | B-side = "Saturday Night Fish Fry" (Concluded) | released = October 8 1949 * January 7 1950 (re-release) | recorded = August 9, 1949 | studio = | genre = [[Jump blues]]<ref name=Perone/> | length = *3:12 (Part 1) *{{Duration|2:48}} (Part 2/concluded) *{{Duration|5:21}} (full version) | label = [[Decca Records|Decca]] | writer = [[Louis Jordan]], Ellis Walsh | producer = | prev_title = [[Beans and Corn Bread]] | prev_year = 1949 | next_title = School Days | next_year = 1950 }}
"'''Saturday Night Fish Fry'''" is a [[jump blues]] song written by [[Louis Jordan]] and Ellis Lawrence Walsh,<ref>[http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyid=1291737&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID BMI entry for song], ''Repertoire.bmi.com''</ref> best known through the version recorded by [[Louis Jordan]] and His [[Tympany Five]].<ref name=pc40s23/> The recording is considered to be one of the "excellent and commercially successful" examples of the [[jump blues]] genre.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CvyFDwAAQBAJ&dq=Louis+jordan+fish+fry+R&pg=PA93|title=Listen to the Blues! Exploring a Musical Genre|first=James E.|last=Perone|date=February 15, 2019|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books}}</ref>
While the [[origins of rock and roll]] are disputed, some have also suggested that the song may be the first [[rock 'n' roll]] record.<ref name=RockHall>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/louis-jordan|title=Louis Jordan | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|website=Rockhall.com|access-date=February 22, 2021}}</ref> The song contains elements later common in rock 'n' roll such as electric guitar, a brisk tempo and "a mix of the bass," and the singer begins each chorus with the catchphrase, "It was rockin'," repeating it several times.<ref name=Perone>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CvyFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA95|title=Listen to the Blues! Exploring a Musical Genre|first=James E.|last=Perone|date=February 15, 2019|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://genius.com/Louis-jordan-saturday-night-fish-fry-lyrics |title=Saturday Night Fish Fry Lyrics |date=30 June 2010 |website=Genius.com |access-date=August 10, 2020 |quote=It was rockin', it was rockin' You never seen such scufflin'}}</ref>
==National hit== [[File:FishFryEveryFriSatUptown.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Old fish fry sign, New Orleans]] The single was a big hit,<ref name=pc40s23>{{cite web|author=Gilliland, John. |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1633226/m1/#track/2 |title=Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #23 - All Tracks UNT Digital Library |website=Digital.library.unt.edu |date=197X |accessdate=2021-03-01}}</ref> topping the [[R&B]] chart for twelve non-consecutive weeks in late 1949. It also reached number 21 on the national chart,<ref>{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=310}}</ref> a rare accomplishment for a "[[race record]]" at that time (although Jordan had already had earlier crossover hits). Jordan's [[jump blues]] combo was one of the most successful acts of its time, and its loose and streamlined style of play was highly influential.
==First recordings== "Saturday Night Fish Fry" was first recorded by Eddie Williams and his Brown Buddies, with spoken vocals by the song's composer, Ellis Walsh. Williams had a number two R&B hit with the song "Broken Hearted".{{cn|date=December 2025}} "Saturday Night Fish Fry" was intended to be the band's next single, but the acetate found its way to Louis Jordan's agent instead. As Williams recalled, "They got theirs out there first."<ref name="songswithearlierhistories1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.songswithearlierhistories.com/saturday-night-fish-fry/|title=Saturday Night Fish Fry |website=Songswithearlierhistories.com|date=December 17, 2014}}</ref>
Jordan changed the song. One source provides this summary: he took "the song’s ‘hook’ and [sang] it twice after every other verse. The arrangement was also more propulsive, too; Williams’ shuffle was replaced by a raucous, rowdy jump Boogie-woogie".<ref name="songswithearlierhistories1"/> The expression "it was rockin'" appears four times in the chorus, which is sung seven times.<ref name="auto"/> His version was produced by [[Milt Gabler]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxYiAwAAQBAJ&dq=Saturday+Night+fish+fry+Louis+Jordan&pg=PA311|title=Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs for the Rock and Roll Era|first=Bruce|last=Pollock|date=March 18, 2014|publisher=Routledge|via=Google Books}}</ref>
At 5:21, the recording ran longer than a standard side of a 78 record, so it was broken into two halves, one on each side of the disc. The song's lyrics are in the first person and describe two itinerant musicians going to a [[Fish_fry#Southeastern_United_States|fish fry]] on [[Rampart Street]] in New Orleans, Louisiana. The party turns wild and is raided by the police; the narrator subsequently spends the night in jail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qiy4DwAAQBAJ&dq=Saturday+Night+fish+fry+Louis+Jordan&pg=PA139|title=Top Popular Music of the Early 20th Century: 1900 - 1949 -- Rankings, Artists & Links|page=139|first=Wayne|last=Cottrell|date=April 13, 2019|via=Google Books}}</ref>
== Composition == Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry" has been called an example of [[jump blues]]<ref name=Perone/> because "it literally made its listeners jump to its pulsing beat", according to [[NPR]], which points out the use of the word "rockin'" in the chorus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2008/03/04/87905064/louis-jordan-jukebox-king|title=Louis Jordan: 'Jukebox King'|website=Npr.org|access-date=May 2, 2024}}</ref> The Acoustic Music organization states that the recording marked "the end of the jump blues dominance of the '40s".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://acousticmusic.org/research/history/timeline-of-musical-styles-guitar-history/|title=Timeline of Musical Styles & Guitar History | Acoustic Music|website=Acousticmusic.org}}</ref>
One reviewer offered this comment in 2016 on the Jordan version: "Jordan’s pithy, witty vocal style, bumping jump-blues rhythms, and taste for lyrics that both wag their tongue and bite are as plainly irresistible as pop music gets".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seattleweekly.com/film/louis-jordan-and-his-tympany-band-films-and-soundies/|title=Louis Jordan and his Tympany Band: Films and Soundies|date=October 9, 2006|website=Seattle Weekly}}</ref>
Some sources also consider it as a precursor to rock and roll, or perhaps, one of the [[first rock and roll record]]s. The [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] stated that the recording was "an early example of rap and possibly the first rock and roll recording".<ref name=RockHall/> Another source went a step further in 2013 with this comment: "Jordan’s rapid-fire, talky delivery presaged another musical style that in 1950 was barely on the horizon—rap".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/news/culture-and-history/king-of-the-jukebox-louis-jordan/ |title=King of the Jukebox: Louis Jordan |website=Legacy.com |date=2013-07-08 |accessdate=2021-03-01}}</ref>
The song had a "lively jump rhythm, call-and response chorus and double-string electric guitar riffs that Chuck Berry would later admit to copying", according to one source.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30288/5-candidates-first-rock-n-roll-song |title=5 Candidates for the First Rock 'n' Roll Song |date=March 23, 2012 |website=Mentalfloss.com |access-date=August 2, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> In fact, [[Chuck Berry]] was quoted as saying, "To my recollection, Louis Jordan was the first [person] that I heard play rock and roll."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1L_VCwAAQBAJ&dq=To+my+recollection,+Louis+Jordan+was+the+first+one+that+I+hear+play+rock+and+roll&pg=PA109|title=Love for Sale: Pop Music in America|first=David|last=Hajdu|date=October 18, 2016|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|via=Google Books}}</ref>
The guitar work, brisk tempo, "and emphasis in the recording mix of punctuating each beat" certainly influenced later artists and the recording's style went on to "characterize 1950s rock and roll".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CvyFDwAAQBAJ&q=saturday+night+fish+fry+louis+jordan%7CListen&pg=PA95|title=Listen to the Blues! Exploring a Musical Genre|first=James E.|last=Perone|date=February 15, 2019|publisher=ABC-CLIO|via=Google Books}}</ref> [[Louis Jordan|Jordan]] re-recorded the song in 1973 for an album titled ''I Believe in Music''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-believe-in-music-mw0000202377|title=I Believe in Music - Louis Jordan | Album|website=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Louis Jordan}} {{The Coasters}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Night Fish Fry}} [[Category:1949 singles]] [[Category:1950 singles]] [[Category:Louis Jordan songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Louis Jordan]] [[Category:1949 songs]] [[Category:Decca Records singles]] [[Category:Blues songs]]