Big Joe Turner – "Shake, Rattle and Roll" (1953)

Get in that kitchen

Make some noise with the pots and pans!

I recently served as an election judge for the 2024 Maryland primary election.

I was assigned to work at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville – which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from 2 Or 3 Lines World Headquarters.

Richard Montgomery – or “RM,” as it is often referred to – was named for Revolutionary War hero Richard Montgomery, who died on New Year’s Eve, 1775, while leading an attack on Quebec City.  (A few weeks earlier, Montgomery’s forces had captured Montreal, but Quebec City proved to be a tougher nut to crack.)

The county that RM is located in is also named for Montgomery – as are counties in 14 other states and Alabama’s capital and third-largest city.

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Richard Montgomery High School is consistently rated as one of the top public high schools in the country – in large part because it is the home of the county’s first International Baccalaureate (“IB”) diploma program.  Click here to learn more about the very rigorous IB program.

There’s a bulletin board outside the school’s cafeteria where a wide variety of RM student organizations have posted announcements.

Not surprisingly, RM is home to a Computer Science Honor Society – here’s a somewhat outdated flyer about that organization that was on the bulletin board:

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The school also has a Banned Book Club:

But if those books were truly banned, would RM students be allowed to hold public meetings to discuss them?

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I’m a little surprised the school allows a Mycology Club:

Do we really want high-school students – no matter how bright they are – to be playing around with mushrooms?

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The most curious student organization at RM is probably the Conspiracy Club:

Do you find the general appearance of that poster to be a little disturbing?  I do.

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“Shake, Rattle and Roll” was originally recorded by Kansas City native Big Joe Turner in 1954.  Within a year, both Bill Haley and the Comets and Elvis Presley had released covers of the song.  But I think Turner’s rendition is the best.

“Shake, Rattle and Roll” has nothing to do with the subject of today’s post, but when I heard it on the Sirius/XM “Underground Garage” show today, I couldn’t resist featuring it.

Click here to view the lyrics of the song in their entirety.  (Big Joe Turner’s pimp hand was strong!)

Click here to listen to “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”

Click here to buy Big Joe Turner’s recording from Amazon.