was best known for being one of the progenitors of a slightly shambolic, loping style of piano shuffle called "Rosco's Rhythm." The basic elements of this sound were further developed after Jamaican musicians got a hold of 45s
recorded in the early '50s -- which were not available to Jamaicans until 1959 -- and created ska, which took its name for the sound of this particular shuffle as it sounded being played on an electric guitar (ska-ska-ska).
No less an authority than
Chris Blackwell -- he was the founder/president of Island Records who produced
Bob Marley,
the Wailers, and
Peter Tosh, to name a few -- has cited
Gordon's importance to reggae and ska music and championed the sound he helped create.
Gordon had originally been a member of the famed
Beale Streeters, a Memphis, TN-based group that also featured the considerable talents of
Johnny Ace,
B.B. King, and
Bobby "Blue" Bland, in the late '40s. They were scouted by none other than
Ike Turner for Modern Records, who recorded
the Beale Streeters' first single in 1951.
Gordon was soon recording sides for
Sam Phillips and his Sun Records label.
Phillips later sold the master of
Gordon's own "Bootin'" to two competing labels, Chess and RPM, both of whom released it as a single. This "mix-up" did not, however, prevent the song from hitting number one on the R&B chart in 1952.
The follow-up to "Bootin'," called "No More Doggin'," was the first song to feature the now-familiar shuffle rhythm of
Gordon's design, with a strong accent on the off-beat that repeated the oft-monotonous guitar phrasing. Though
Gordon had recorded the song in the living room of a friend's home, in fact, the sound was fully developed and unique for its time. On July 11, 2002,
Gordon died of a heart attack at his home in Queens, New York. He was 74.
–
Bryan Thomas, Rovi