Amos Milburn's recordings from the late 1940s and early '50s are among the first vital stirrings of rock & roll. Texas born and bred, Milburn's piano-driven mixture of R&B, blues, and boogie created musical ripples still heard decades after his passing. Unfortunately, Milburn's hard-drinking persona--exemplified in hits such as "Bad, Bad Whiskey" and "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer"--also led to his death at only 52 years of age.