Rock Around the Clock

This article is about the song recorded by Bill Haley. For the film, see Rock Around the Clock (film). For the album by Haley, see Rock Around the Clock (album).

"Rock Around the Clock"
"Rock Around the Clock" 45" single
Single by Bill Haley & His Comets
from the album Rock Around the Clock (original version)
A-side"Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)"[1]
ReleasedMay 20, 1954 (1954-05-20) (original)[2]
May 1955 (re-release)
RecordedApril 12, 1954 (1954-04-12)
StudioPythian Temple, New York City[3][4]
Genre
Length2:08 (see length variations)
LabelDecca
Songwriter(s)Max C. Freedman
James E. Myers (as Jimmy DeKnight)
Producer(s)Milt Gabler[5]
Bill Haley & His Comets singles chronology
"Chattanooga Choo Choo" / "Straight Jacket"
(1954) 		"Rock Around the Clock"
(1954) 		"Shake, Rattle and Roll"
(1954)
Audio sample
"Rock Around the Clock"

"Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 for American Decca. It was a number one single for two months[6] and did well on the United Kingdom charts; the recording also reentered the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s and 1970s.

It was the first rock and roll record to top the pop charts in both the US and UK[7]—Bill Haley had American chart success with "Crazy Man, Crazy" in 1953, and in 1954, "Shake, Rattle and Roll" sung by Big Joe Turner reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. Haley's recording became an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth,[8] particularly after it was included in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle. It was number 1 on the pop charts for two months and went to number 3 on the R&B chart.[9]

The recording is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought rock and roll into mainstream culture around the world. The song is ranked No. 159 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Although it was first recorded by Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights on March 20, 1954,[10] Myers claimed the song had been written specifically for Haley but, for legal reasons, Haley was unable to record it himself until April 12, 1954.

The original full title of the song was "We're Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!". This was later shortened to "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock", though this form is generally only used on releases of the 1954 Bill Haley Decca Records recording; most other recordings of this song by Haley and others (including Sonny Dae) shorten this title further to its present form.

In 2018, it was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[11]

  1. ^ Gordon, Terry E., "Photos of Rock Around the Clock record single"[permanent dead link‍], Rockin' Country Style: A Discography of Country Rock & Roll and Related Records, 1951–1964
  2. ^ "How 'Rock Around the Clock' Ended Up Being Released as a B-Side". Ultimateclassicrock.com. May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Simons, David (2004). Studio Stories – How the Great New York Records Were Made. Lanham, Maryland: Backbeat Books. pp. 168–169. ISBN 9781617745164.
  4. ^ Gray, Christopher (June 18, 2009). "An Improbable Cradle of Rock Music". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  5. ^ Hoffmann, Frank (2005). Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound (Second ed.). Abingdon, England: Routledge. pp. 421–422. ISBN 0-415-93835-X.
  6. ^ "Timeline of Musical Styles & Guitar History". Acousticmusic.org. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  7. ^ "ROCK MUSIC TIMELINE". rockmusictimeline.com. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  8. ^ "Bill Haley". Rockhall.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  9. ^ Weinstein, Deena (2015). Rock'n America: A Social and Cultural History. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1442600157.
  10. ^ "MP£ file". Rcs-discography.com. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  11. ^ "National Recording Registry Reaches 500". Library of Congress. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.