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Boogie Rag Roll - Thunderclap Jones

Frantic Welsh boogie-woogie maestro Thunderclap Jones pounds the piano in this fast and furious pop promo

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1963 6 mins

Overview

Fearsome Welsh boogie-woogie piano showman Thunderclap Jones gives his poor piano a good pasting - attacking the ivories from every angle - in this full-colour 1950s pop music promo short. Sweeping his long hair back and poking at the keys with his slip-on shoe, it looks like he might even have given US rock ‘n’ roll piano king Jerry Lee Lewis a run for his money.

A one-time music teacher who became a professional performer and cut some singles on the Oriole label in the 1950s, Thunderclap Jones continued to play boogie-woogie piano at live venues well into the 1980s. He was also a pop music writer - co-writing tracks for such first generation British rock ‘n’ roll acts as Terry Dene, The Shadows, and Danny Rivers.