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Rock Around the Clock

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!* This article is about the song. For the movie based upon the song, see Rock Around the Clock (movie).

The biggest-selling "fox trot" of all time.

"Rock Around the Clock" is a pop song from 1953. Although first recorded by Sonny Dae & the Knights, the more famous version by Bill Haley and his Comets is not strictly speaking a cover version, as the song had been written specifically for Haley, but for various reasons he was unable to record it himself until 1954. Although not the first rock and roll record (according to many musical historians, that honor belongs to Haley's cover version of the 1951 rhythm and blues hit, "Rocket 88"), it is considered by many to be the song that put rock and roll on the map in America and around the world. The lyrics were based on numerous blues tunes boasting of 24-hour-long romantic prowess (the term rock initially having had a sexual meaning), but in Haley's hands they took on a more innocent teenage atmosphere of dancing all night long.

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," although other than the 1954 recording by Haley, most releases shorten this title further to "Rock Around the Clock."

Legendary Recording Session

Haley's version was recorded on 12 April 1954 at the Pythian Temple studios in New York City for Decca Records. The recording session almost didn't happen because the band was delayed when a ferry they were travelling on en route to New York from Philadelphia got stuck on a sandbar. Once at the studio, producer Milt Gabler insisted the band work on a new song (for them) entitled "Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)," which Gabler wanted to promote as the A-side of the group's first single for Decca.

With only minutes left in the recording session, the band recorded a take of "Rock Around the Clock," however Haley's vocals were drowned out by the band. A second take was quickly made with minimal accompaniment and, with Sammy Davis Jr. waiting outside the studio for his turn behind the microphone, the session ended. Decca engineers later combined the two versions together into one version. (Comets piano player Johnny Grande tells a slightly different version, claiming that the only reason a second take was recorded was because the drummer made an error.)

Over the years, many musicians have made the claim that they performed on the recording session for "Rock Around the Clock." This includes the song's co-writer, James E. Myers, who said he had played drums on the piece. According to the official record sheet from the session, the musicians on the famous recording are:

Gussak and Cedrone were not members of the Comets, but were session musicians Haley often used on his recording sessions. Cedrone's guitar solo, an adaptation of a "gimmick" solo he used on a number of previous recordings, including the Bill Haley version of "Rock the Joint" in 1952, is considered one of the classic rock and roll guitar solos of all time.

The song was credited to Myers (as "Jimmy DeKnight") and Max C. Freedman although its exact authorship is disputed, with many feeling that Freedman wrote the song on his own.

Slow road to classic hit status

As Gabler intended, "Rock Around the Clock" was first issued in the spring of 1954 as a B-side to "Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)." While the song did make the American Billboard music charts (contrary to popular opinion that it was a flop), it was considered a commercial disappointment. It was not until 1955, when "Rock Around the Clock" was used under the opening credits of the film Blackboard Jungle, that the song truly took off. It was strong, simple, and loud, and you could dance to it.

Many versions of the story behind how "Rock Around the Clock" was chosen for Blackboard Jungle circulated over the years. Recent research, however, reveals that the song was chosen from the collection of young Peter Ford, the son of Blackboard Jungle star Glenn Ford and dancer Eleanor Powell. The producers were looking for a song to represent the type of music the youth of 1955 was listening to, and the elder Ford borrowed several records from his son's collection, one of which was Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" and this was the song chosen.

"Rock Around the Clock" became the first rock and roll recording to hit the top of the American record charts, a feat it repeated on charts around the world. The song stayed at the top of the American charts for eight weeks. Haley would re-record the song many times over the years, even scoring a substantial hit with a version recorded for Sonet Records in 1968), but never recaptured the magic. In 1974, the original version of the song returned to the American charts when it was used as the theme for the movie American Graffiti and the TV series Happy Days. Haley's version is believed to have sold more than 25 million copies over the last 50 years (some estimates run as high as 35 million), and is said to be playing somewhere in the world every minute of the day. In tribute to the influence of the song and the movie that launched its popularity, the March 29, 2005 50th anniversary of the opening of Blackboard Jungle was celebrated by several large celebrations in the United States under the blanket title "Rock Is Fifty".information Administrator note Rock Is Fifty also hosted additional celebrations in Los Angeles in July, 2005 as part of a "Rock Around the Clock-a-Thon" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the song reaching the No. 1 spot on the American charts, as well as to observe what would have been Haley's 80 birthday. These events included numerous appearances and performances by surviving members of the original Comets, including the band's induction into the Rock Walk hall of fame, a performance at the Viper Room club on the Sunset Strip, and a special performance for employees of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena to celebrate the success of the Deep Impact space probe; a special video of "Rock Around the Clock" was created to mark the occasion [1].

A book on the history of the song, Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution by Jim Dawson was also officially released in July 2005 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the song reaching the No. 1 spot on the American charts. [2]

Quotation

  • "No matter how bad a show might be going some night, I know that song will pull us through. It's my little piece of gold." -- Bill Haley

References

  1. Template:Anb Gundersen, Edna (March 18, 2005). "Rock 'Clock' strikes 50". USA Today, p. E1.
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