Danny Cedrone

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

Donato Joseph Danny Cedrone was born in 1920 in Jamesville, New York State, and died in 1954. He was an American guitarist and bandleader, best known for his work with Bill Haley & His Comets on Rock Around the Clock. His career began in the 1940s, but he only really came into his own in the early 1950s, as a session guitarist for the country group Bill Haley and His Saddlemen from Chester, Pennsylvania. In 1951 he played lead guitar on their recording of Rocket 88, one of the first recognized rock and roll recordings.

Music and breakthrough

Cedrone also formed his own group, the Esquire Boys. That is probably one of the reasons he never became a permanent member of Haley's group. In 1952 he played lead guitar on Rock the Joint. His fast solo, with a jazzy first half and a lightning-fast descending run, was a highlight of that recording. The Esquire Boys also recorded Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie, years before Haley did it himself.

Influence

In 1954 he played the famous solo on Rock Around the Clock. He was paid 21 dollars for it. On 17 June of that year he died after a fall down the stairs, ten days after his last session with Haley. Eight months later the song was used in the film Blackboard Jungle and became the first rock and roll recording to top the American chart. Guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend cited his solo as an influence. In 2012 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally inducted him, as a member of the Comets.

Listening

In School of Rock

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