The Prisonaires were a five-piece vocal group formed inside Tennessee State Penitentiary in the early 1950s, whose recording of "Just Walkin' in the Rain" helped shape the sound that would become rock 'n' roll. The story matters because it shows an unlikely origin point for the genre: convicted prisoners, several serving long sentences for serious crimes, whose music was championed by prison authorities as evidence of rehabilitation, and which reportedly reached and influenced a young Elvis Presley.

The group was assembled by Johnny Bragg, joined by Ed Thurman, John Drue, William Stewart and Marcel Sanders, several of whom were serving lengthy sentences for offences including murder and manslaughter. Allowed to perform at civic functions under armed guard, they came to the attention of Sun Records via prison warden James E Edwards, leading to the recording of "Just Walkin' in the Rain", a song Bragg said he improvised after a casual remark in the prison yard. While claims that Elvis was present at the original recording session are disputed, he is known to have watched them record at Sun Studios and later visited Bragg in prison.