Jesse Stone: The Man from Atchison Who Helped Invent Rock & Roll

One of the architects of rock & roll was born right here in Atchison, Kansas—and most people have never heard his name.

Tonight, Nocturne Nightflight follows the remarkable journey of Jesse Stone, born in Atchison in 1901: pianist, bandleader, arranger, songwriter, producer, and one of the crucial behind-the-scenes figures in the rise of rhythm & blues and rock & roll.

We begin with Stone’s own 1927 recordings and follow him through the roaring Kansas City music scene to New York and Atlantic Records, where his songs, arrangements, and ideas about rhythm helped shape a new sound.

Along the way we’ll hear the connections to the Drifters, Ray Charles, the Clovers, Big Joe Turner, Bill Haley and others—and discover how songs including “Money Honey,” “Flip, Flop and Fly,” “Don’t Let Go,” and especially “Shake, Rattle and Roll” carry Jesse Stone’s fingerprints.

At the center is one extraordinary record: Big Joe Turner’s 1954 “Shake, Rattle and Roll.” Stone wrote it under the name Charles Calhoun, arranged it, and sat down at the piano for the original Atlantic session. Soon Bill Haley & His Comets would carry the song into the emerging world of rock & roll.

It is the story of a largely forgotten musician who helped build the bridge from jazz and blues to R&B and rock—and a story that eventually leads us right back home to Atchison.

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Turn down the lights. The Nightflight is leaving Atchison.

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