![]() Haley’s style was much in the same vein as Jordan’s “jump blues,” so Gabler signed him as a replacement. Decca had just lost one of its star performers, Louis Jordan. When Myers played some of Haley’s early recordings for Milt Gabler, who worked at Decca Records in New York City, the timing was perfect. Myers then sought to get Haley signed to a different record label, one that would record him doing the song. In the meantime, the tune was first recorded by a novelty outfit called Sonny Dae and His Knights in late 1953 and released in March 1954. For some reason, Miller didn’t want Haley to record “Rock Around the Clock.” Some say it was because there was bad blood between Myers and Miller. “Rock Around the Clock” was written to order by Freedman in the same manner for Haley, who began performing the song live in 1953.Īt the time, Haley recorded for the Philadelphia label Essex Records, owned by Dave Miller, son of Jewish immigrants Albert and Olive Miller. Haley was beginning to combine his honkytonk sounds with rhythm and blues in 1951 he recorded a version of Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88,” which some consider to be the first rock-and-roll record. A Michigan native, Bill Haley had enjoyed some success as a performing artist, especially around Philadelphia, and he was also a musical director at a radio station outside Philly. That seems unlikely, given that Freedman was already a well-established Tin Pan Alley songwriter, known especially for writing country-flavored tunes for the likes of Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, Bob Wills and Willie Nelson.įreedman wrote “Rock Around the Clock” with a regional country and Western bandleader in mind. Like other music publishers at the time, Myers may have demanded a co-writing credit from Freedman in exchange for publishing and copyrighting the tune, although in later years, Myers claimed the bulk of the creative credit for himself, assigning to Freedman a few mere finishing touches on the tune. Freedman, with some input by a music publisher named James Myers who went by “Jimmy DeKnight” for songwriting purposes. The song was probably written in 1952 by Max C. And every step of the way, from the song’s creation to its recording to its dissemination and popularization, Jews contributed to the making of this signature song of the rock-and-roll revolution.Īlthough its exact origins are clouded, and to this day the subject of dispute, “Rock Around the Clock” was credited to two Philadelphia-born Jewish songwriters, each the son of immigrants. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 on its way to becoming the first global rock hit, and the single biggest selling rock-and-roll record of all time. But 66 years ago today, Bill Haley and His Comets’ version of “Rock Around the Clock” was released, beginning its long, strange journey to the top of the pop charts, where it became the first rock-and-roll tune to hit the No. ![]() It wasn’t even the first rock-and-roll hit. Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.It wasn’t the first rock-and-roll song.100 Women Britannica celebrates the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, highlighting suffragists and history-making politicians.COVID-19 Portal While this global health crisis continues to evolve, it can be useful to look to past pandemics to better understand how to respond today.Student Portal Britannica is the ultimate student resource for key school subjects like history, government, literature, and more.This Time in History In these videos, find out what happened this month (or any month!) in history.#WTFact Videos In #WTFact Britannica shares some of the most bizarre facts we can find.Demystified Videos In Demystified, Britannica has all the answers to your burning questions.Britannica Classics Check out these retro videos from Encyclopedia Britannica’s archives.Britannica Explains In these videos, Britannica explains a variety of topics and answers frequently asked questions.
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