Song:(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock
Album:From The Original Master Tapes
Because Rock Around The Clock was the first Rock 'n' Roll song to top the charts, Bill Haley has been unfairly named as the man who invented Rock 'n' Roll...when he obviously didn't. But the song did popularize Rock 'n' Roll and paved the way for others so he was important. He was born July 6, 1925 in Highland Park, MI and grew up in Boothwyn, PA. Haley was a big country music fan and learned to play guitar as a child. His big break in music came when he joined The Downhomers in 1944. He left in 1946 and started a band called The Four Aces Of Western Swing and then The Saddlemen. They recorded for James Myers' Cowboy Records. He would become a key figure later. The Saddlemen bounced around various labels until they recorded a version of Rocket 88 for David Miller's Holiday Records in 1951. It didn't go anywhere at the time but Miller thought they were on to something. They recorded a song called Rock The Joint that got the attention of DJ Alan Freed and he supposedly coined the term Rock 'n' Roll on his show. Haley's business manager Jim Ferguson convinced the group to ditch the cowboy hats and change their name to Bill Haley & His Comets after Halley's Comet. Crazy Man Crazy was a top 20 hit in 1953. James Myers offered them Rock Around The Clock. The song was written by Tin Pan Alley songwriter Max Freedman who wrote Sioux City Sue. But Miller wouldn't let them record the song so producer Milt Gabler signed them to Decca Records. Rock Around The Clock was released in Apr. 1954 and reached #23 on the pop charts. Shake, Rattle and Roll also did well. But Myers was able to place Rock Around The Clock in the juvenile delinquency film The Blackboard Jungle. That did it. The song was #1 for eight weeks. And the rest is history. The bottom line is that Bill Haley made this music acceptable and he deserves credit for that. He had several more hits which you can get on this comp. But by the 60s, his popularity had waned in the US but he still toured the world. Bill Haley started to have health problems in the 70s and died on Feb. 9, 1981 at age 55. Here's Bill Haley & His Comets performing Rock Around The Clock on The Ed Sullivan Show 1955.
No comments:
Post a Comment