Bill Haley & His Comets – Rock Around The Clock

“Rock Around the Clock” – Single by Bill Haley & His Comets from the album Rock Around the Clock. Released May 20, 1954 (original) and May 1955 (re-release). Recorded April 12, 1954, at Pythian Temple studios, 135 West 70th Street, New York City

This was written in 1953 by a Philadelphia songwriter named named Max Freedman (who was nearly 60 years old), and by James Myers, a local musician and song publisher who published it under the name “Jimmy De-Knight.” In addition to owning half the composer credit on the song, Myers had 100% of the publishing. Haley wanted to record the song, but Dave Miller, who owned his label Essex Records, refused because of a dispute over the publishing. Myers then placed the song with a veteran Country act called Sonny Dae and His Nights, and their version was released in 1953 to little acclaim. In 1954, Myers helped Haley leave Essex records and sign with Decca; as part of their agreement, one side of every single Haley recorded had to be a song from Myers’ catalog, and the first one they picked was “Rock Around The Clock,” which was originally released as the B-side of a Dickie Thompson song called “Thirteen Women,” which was about a nuclear bomb that leaves just one man and 13 women alive.

“Rock Around The Clock” first appeared on the charts on June 3, 1953, selling 75,000 copies and convincing Decca to pick up Haley’s option. Haley then recorded a successful cover of the Big Joe Turner song “Shake, Rattle And Roll,” and on March 25, 1955, “Rock Around The Clock” was featured in the movie Blackboard Jungle, which gave it a surge in popularity and prompted Decca to re-release the single. This time, the song surged to the top of the charts, entering the Top 40 on May 14, 1955 and hitting #1 on July 9, where it stayed for eight weeks.

Haley first recorded this song on April 12, 1954 at his first session for Decca Records. Haley went to New York to cut his first Decca session. Musicians were: Billy Williamson on steel guitar, Johnny Grande on piano, Joey d’Ambrosio on tenor sax, Danny Cedrone on lead guitar and Marshall Lytle on bass. A session drummer, named Billy Gussack played on this recording. Haley recorded the song a few other times, but this recording was the original single.

The recording is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world. The song is ranked No. 159 on the Rolling Stone magazine’s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Although it was first recorded by Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights on March 20, 1954, Myers claimed the song had been written specifically for Haley but, for various reasons, Haley was unable to record it himself until April 12, 1954.

The original full title of the song was “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!”. This was later shortened to “(We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock”, though this form is generally only used on releases of the 1954 Bill Haley Decca Records recording; most other recordings of this song by Haley and others (including Sonny Dae) shorten this title further to “Rock Around the Clock”.

The term “Rock ‘n’ Roll” was a relatively new way of describing music when this came out. A lot of early “Rock” was based on the blues, and was far too racy for most white listeners. Many white singers made careers out of sanitizing R&B records for pop appeal, but Haley added a country/swing element to his covers that kept a lot of the edge. When Elvis came along, he did the same thing, transforming R&B songs like “Hound Dog” without sucking the life out of them.

Many listeners had never heard of “rock and roll” when this was released, so the record company had a hard time describing the song. The label on the single called it a “Novelty Foxtrot.”

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Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around The Clock (OST, 1956)

Bill Haley His Comets - Rock Around The Clock (OST, 1956)02:06

“Rock Around The Clock”  melodie înregistrată la 12 Aprilie 1954, într-o singură sesiune, în care Bill Halley și Cometele lui au cântat-o doar de două ori. Înregistrarea a avut loc la Pythian Temple studios, 135 West 70th Street, New York City.

“Rock Around The Clock” este considerată că fiind melodia, mai mult decât oricare alta, care a propulsat rock and roll-ul în întreaga lume. Rock and roll-ul a “prins” imediat la generația tânără.

Melodia a fost compusă în 1953 de către un textier din Philadephia, Max Freedman, (care avea aproape 60 de ani) și James Myers, un muzician local.

Prima dată melodia a fost înregistrată de Sonny Dae and His Nights în 1953, fără nici un fel de succes.

Rock Around The Clock, a fost inițial fața B la piesa “Thirteen Women”. În 1955, melodia a fost parte din filmul Blackboard Jungle, ceea ce i-a adus a creștere în popularitate. Datorită acestui fapt, cei de la casa de discuri Decca Records au decis să scoată din nou piesa, ca single, de data aceasta fața fiind A.

A intrat în Top 40 la 14 Mai 1955, și a ajuns pe locul 1 la 9 Iulie, unde a rămas timp de 8 săptămâni.

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