Bill Haley & His Comets

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bill Haley & His Comets came from Chester, Pennsylvania. The singer and guitarist Bill Haley started a western swing group in 1947, which later became known as Bill Haley and the Saddlemen. In 1952 it became Bill Haley & His Comets, and the music shifted towards rhythm and blues. The group is important because Rock Around the Clock was the first rock 'n' roll recording to top the American Billboard pop chart.

Music and breakthrough

Crazy Man, Crazy (1953), on the small label Essex, was their first national success. The group then moved to Decca, where Milt Gabler produced all their records. On 12 April 1954 they recorded Rock Around the Clock in New York. It is a 12-bar blues, played on double bass, steel guitar, piano and tenor saxophone, among other instruments. Danny Cedrone played the fast guitar solo. Shake, Rattle and Roll, a cover of Big Joe Turner, became Haley's first gold record later that year. Rock Around the Clock only really took off when it was heard under the opening credits of the film Blackboard Jungle in 1955. On 9 July 1955 it reached number 1, where it stayed for eight weeks.

Influence

In February 1957 the group came to England. At Waterloo station in London the musicians were overwhelmed by fans; the press spoke of the 'Second Battle of Waterloo'. The Guinness Book of Records estimated the sales of Haley's version at some 15 million copies, although that figure has never been verified. Haley died in 1981. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, the Comets in 2012.

Listening

• 
  Rock Around the Clock · Bill Haley & His Comets, 1954
  Apple Music ↗

Discography

Studio albums

• 1956Rock ’n Roll Stage Show
• 1956Rock Around the Clock
• 1957Rockin’ the “Oldies”!
• 1958Rockin’ Around the World
• 1959Bill Haley’s Chicks
• 1959Strictly Instrumental
• 1960Bill Haley and His Comets
• 1960Haley’s Juke Box
• 1963Bill Haley and His Comets
• 1966Whisky A Go Go
• 1973Just Rock & Roll Music
• ?Presenting Bill Haley & His Comets

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 1: The Origins of Pop Music^NL Reader
• Mixtape 2: Youth Cultures 1950-1980^NL Reader
• The Dream Factory: Film Reel 4^NL Reader
• Magazine: De jukebox gaat de film in^NL Magazine

See also

• Rock ’n Roll Stage Show
• Strictly Instrumental

Sources

1. Wikipedia (en): Bill Haley
2. Wikipedia (en): Bill Haley & His Comets
3. Wikipedia (en): Rock Around the Clock