On this date in 1955, Rock Around The Clock hit number one on the charts, having been introduced to the world in the movie, "Blackboard Jungle" in March. Sidney Pointier and Vic Morrow as the hoodlums and Glenn Ford as the teacher who begins a teaching career in the tough inner city school. Ford's name is Dadier (Daddyeh) and the kids call him Daddyo..... I watched it from the balcony of the 20th Century theater. It became the Rock and Roll anthem, and is the epitome of rock and roll for me. "Crazy Man Crazy", and Haley's cover of Big Joe Turner's "Shake Rattle And Roll" had already made Haley a star. Rock Around The Clock made him a legend. Rock Around The Clock Max C. Freedman & Jimmy de Knight - 1953 Myers Music USA One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock, rock, Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock, rock, Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, rock, We're gonna rock around the clock tonight. Put your glad rags on and join me, hon, We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one, We're gonna rock around the clock tonight, We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight. We're gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight. When the clock strikes two, three and four, If the band slows down we'll yell for more, We're gonna rock around the clock tonight, We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight. We're gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight. When the chimes ring five, six and seven, We'll be right in seventh heaven. We're gonna rock around the clock tonight, We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight. We're gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight. When it's eight, nine, ten, eleven too, I'll be goin' strong and so will you. We're gonna rock around the clock tonight, We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight. We're gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight. When the clock strikes twelve, we'll cool off then, Start a rockin' round the clock again. We're gonna rock around the clock tonight, We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight. We're gonna rock, gonna rock, around the clock tonight. Mutt
And so it began that the world started pronouncing my family name wrong and the comet too! Thankfully when the comet returned in the 80s, everyone learned again how to pronounce Halley
The flip side was actually the A side - "Thirteen Women". Rock Around the clock was the B side filler. Mutt
Mutt you are good...more interesting facts "The Dickie Thompson composition is a strange yet compelling rhythm and blues piece about a nuclear war that leaves one guy left alive to take care of 13 women. Of course, it is all a dream. Interestingly, Thompson's original version makes no reference to The Bomb at all. A feminine variation of the song, "Thirteen Men," was later recorded by the likes of Ann-Margret." I had a few dreams like that
prefer joe turners 'dirty version 'of shake rattle n roll...............how come most people missed how dirty joe turners songs were. Haley also stole influence from Louis Jordan too,i much prefer dirty blues from artists like wynonie harris (keep on churnin) till the butter comes lmao,Roy Brown (pete the butcher) but best of all Bull moose jackson I wanna bow legged woman and big 10 inch.............record.Haley however is a hero and i'm glad i saw him here in the uk before he died,he made Rock n roll popular but the first ever rock n roll record has been credited to Jackie Brenston with Rocket 88 backed by none other than Ike turners kings of rhythm.Long may rock n roll live and by the popularity it has over here in the uk i don't think it will ever die ..............long live Bill Haley for making my life as sweet as it is today and as crazy man crazy............................Marq
Bitchin' song, cool movie. Did anyone else notice that the nerdy guy who pins Vic Morrow with the flagpole at the end of the movie was a very young Jamie Farr (Max Klinger)? Q: How did they know that Vic Morrow had dandruff? A: They found his head and shoulders in the bushes.
Take Bill Haley, give him a 3 day growth of beard, a cowboy hat and a horse. Then roll him around in the dust a bit.... Instant Ben Johnson People today laugh about all the parents complaining about Rock & Roll being evil black music. They forget that R&R came from R&B and a lot of that was never meant for mass recordings and the airwaves. A lot of R&B was meant for the bawdy, drinking, nightclub and bar adult audience on the wrong side of town. Remember also in the 50's a lot of this country was segregated. When radio started playing cleaned up versions of that "black music" and the kids started dancing to it, parents thought the world was ending.
Ain't that the truth. Pat Boone ruined more songs than anyone else with his covers of R&B songs. It was like nails on a chalkboard to listen to. Mutt
PAT BOONE The King of Rock'n'Roll (Damn, I love that poster, Mutt. Where do you find all that stuff ? )
Ok, my memory is a little sketchy but, I remember reading in Guitar Player magazine several years ago that the lead guitarist for Rock Around The Clock was not their regular guitar player. He was one of a duo that played on a local radio station. They were jass guitarists. I don't recall the reason they used this guy but he was asked to play on this recording. He had to come up with a solo, but the solo (which is trademark) was actually a solo that he used on another song. He needed something quick so that's what he played. Just prior to the song becoming a hit, the guitarist, one very early morning, took a fatal fall down the stairway to his apartment.
It's twue, it's twue.... Danny Cedrone's guitar solo on 'Rock Around the Clock' is considered an absolute classic. Sadly, he never lived to see its success. Cedrone wasn't a regular player with the band and didn't know "Rock Around the Clock," so Marshall Lytle (some sources say it was Ambrose) suggested the guitarist replicate his trademark guitar solo that he'd used to great effect a third of the way through Haley's Essex recording of "Rock the Joint" in 1952. Johnny Grande noted in 1998 that "The Cedrone Solo," as it is known by some, was not unique to "Rock the Joint" nor "Rock Around the Clock," and that Cedrone had performed it on a number of other recordings: "It was his gimmick," Grande said. According to Cedrone's relatives in a 1998 news report, the guitarist received all of $21 for performing one of the most famous solos in music history. A complicated modified boogie-woogie that leads into a lightning-fast, remarkably clean run down the scale, this solo has become one against which many other rock and roll solos are judged. http://www.rockabillyhall.com/RockClockTribute.html Mutt
Blackboard Jungle is quite possibly one of the best movies I have ever seen. Quite powerful for a film made in that era. Or any other era for that matter. I was just thinking about Blackboard Jungle the other day...strange.
I remember segregated America. I have some "momentos" around here. I love the slutty lush "lady" teacher who sets her aim on Glenn Ford. Jeez. Vic Morrow was such a good hoodlum. And nobody should die or be hurt in the production of something as useless as a Movie ferchrissake!
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