By: Billy Gee
Howdy do! Welcome back to Rock ‘N’ Roll 101. When last we met, we were exploring the origins of Bill Haley, who first took the world by storm with his “rockabilly” sound when Elvis was but a fifteen-year-old boy. Continuing where we left off… a twist in the Bill Haley story developed following an observation by the group’s manager Jim Ferguson, who noticed that teenagers seemed almost hypnotized by this new sound – this strange hybrid of R&B and Country & Western. While performing for teen audiences in Pennsylvania, Haley and his band, The Saddlemen, would incorporate teen slang phrases and Louis Jordan-like acrobatics into the act, always noting their youthful listeners’ responses. This experimentation resulted in a Haley original entitled, “Crazy Man, Crazy,” a tune which earned Haley a spot on the Top 20 Pop Chart in 1953 – a first for a white band doing R&B-style material. Around the same time, Ferguson had the band hang up their cowboy hats and, exploiting the stellar phenomenon Halley’s Comet, adopt a new moniker: Bill Haley & His Comets. Later that year songwriter Max Freedman (“Sioux City Sue” – 1946) crafted “Rock Around the Clock” expressly for Haley and his band. At that time, the band was recording on David Miller’s Holiday Records. Miller didn’t like the song, and he refused to allow the group to record it. As a result, the tune was first released by Sonny Dae & The Knights (cute, huh?). It wasn’t until Haley parted ways with Miller’s label and teamed up with Decca Records producer Milt Gabler in April, 1954 that the now-famous “Rock Around the Clock” recording session occurred. Released that May, the tune charted at #23 for one week and sold 75,000 copies. All this before Elvis had charted a nationwide hit; before Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly had even auditioned for their first recording contracts! This relatively moderate success, having convinced Gabler that he was really on to something, resulted in the band’s June, 1954 recording of “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” (penned by Charles Calhoun, and featuring new lyrics by Haley to the earlier hit by blues belter, Big Joe Turner). “Shake” was soon followed by the original piece “Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere),” which reached #11 on the national charts and even secured a spot on the R&B charts!!! “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” put Haley in the national spotlight, placing #7 on the charts in late 1954. In early ‘55, James Myers arranged to have “Rock Around the Clock” featured in the juvenile delinquency drama “Blackboard Jungle,” resulting in a re-release of the song, this time garnering Haley the #1 position on the charts for eight weeks! Haley died in 1981, but his legacy lives on. Aptly dubbed by many “The Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” Haley laid claim to a number of industry firsts. He was the first Rock ‘n’ Roll star to sell a million records (both in the US and in Europe), and the first to tour the world. He was the first Rock icon to star in a full-length film, appear on a network television show, and own his own record label and music publishing companies. He was the first Rock star to write his own music and reach the national charts with music he both wrote and recorded. He was also the first white Rocker to tour with all-black supporting artists. Bill Haley and his Comets truly blazed the trail for all who followed. Well, I see some of you glancing at your Mickey Mouses, so it must be that time again… See you all next month. Class dismissed!
“We steer completely clear of anything suggestive. We take a lot of care with lyrics because we don’t want to offend anybody. The music is the main thing and it’s just as easy to write acceptable words.” – Bill Haley, 1954
Learn a little about Tale of the Comet: Bill Haley (Part One)