"Rock Around the Clock" is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and

James E. Myers James Edward Myers (October 26, 1919 – May 10, 2001) was an American songwriter, music publisher, actor, director, producer, and raconteur. Myers is best known as the credited co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock" for which he used the pseudony ...

(the latter being under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

"Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

in 1954 for American

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

. It was a number one single for two months 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 UKBill Haley had American chart success with "

Crazy Man, Crazy "Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song written by, and first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical chart ...

" in 1953, and in 1954, "

Shake, Rattle and Roll "Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as "''Charles Calhoun''", his songwriting name) and first recorded that year by Big Joe Turner, whose version ranked No. 127 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine li ...

" sung by

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' R&B chart. Haley's recording became an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth, particularly after it was included in the 1955 film ''

Blackboard Jungle ''Blackboard Jungle'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brook ...

''. It was number 1 on the pop charts for two months and went to number 3 on the R&B chart. The recording is widely considered to be the song that, more than any other, brought

into mainstream culture around the world. The song is ranked No. 159 on the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

. Although it was first recorded by Italian-American band Sonny Dae and His Knights on March 20, 1954, 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 The National Recording Registry is a list of sound recordings that "are culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant, and inform or reflect life in the United States." The registry was established by the National Recording Preservation ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

False starts

There are sources that indicate that "Rock Around the Clock" was written in 1953, but documents uncovered by historian

Jim Dawson Jim Dawson (born September 10, 1944) is an American author and self-proclaimed "fartologist", who has specialized in pop culture of early rock and roll and the history of flatulence, having written three books on the latter subject. Biography ...

indicate it was in fact written in late 1952. The original arrangement of the song bore little resemblance to the version recorded by Haley, and was in fact closer to a popular instrumental of the day called "

The Syncopated Clock "The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire. Composition Anderson wrote "The Syncopated Clock" in 1945 while serving with the U.S. Army and ass ...

" (written by

Leroy Anderson Leroy Anderson ( ; June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, Light music, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams descri ...

). The song was credited to Myers (as "Jimmy DeKnight") and Max C. Freedman when it was copyrighted on March 31, 1953. However, its exact authorship is disputed, with many speculating that Freedman wrote the song on his own. There were several earlier songs of the title "Rock Around the Clock" (by

Hal Singer Harold Joseph Singer (October 8, 1919 – August 18, 2020), also known as Hal "Cornbread" Singer, was an American R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. Early life Harold Joseph Singer was born in Greenwood, an African-American district ...

and

Wally Mercer Wally may refer to: People and fictional characters * Wally (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Wally the Green Monster, mascot of the Boston Red Sox * Water Wally, mascot of the Singapore's Public Utilities Board * Wally ( ...

), but they are unrelated to the Freedman/Myers song. In addition, it is sometimes erroneously stated that "Rock Around the Clock" is copied from a late-1940s

recording, "Around the Clock Blues". Though the titles are similar, the two songs bear little resemblance. There are many

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

songs with the theme of partying or making love "round the clock", with various actions specified at various hours. However, the verse melody of "Rock Around the Clock" does bear a very close similarity to that of

Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

' first hit, " Move It On Over", from 1947. According to the Haley biographies ''Bill Haley'' by

John Swenson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

and ''Rock Around the Clock'' by Dawson, the song was offered to Haley by Jimmy Myers in the wake of his first national success, "

" in 1953, after being copyrighted with the U.S. Library of Congress on March 31. Haley and his Comets began performing the song on stage (Comets bass player

Marshall Lytle Marshall Edward Lytle (September 1, 1933 – May 25, 2013) was an American rock and roll Double bass, bassist, best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s. He played upright slap bass on the icon ...

and drummer

Dick Richards Dick Richards (born 1936) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Known as a storyteller and an "actor’s director", Richards worked with Robert Mitchum, Gene Hackman, Martin Sheen, Blythe Danner, Catherine Deneuve, Alan Arki ...

say the first performances were in

Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia- Wilmington- Camden, PA-NJ- DE- MD combined ...

at Phil and Eddie's Surf Club), but Dave Miller, his producer, refused to allow Haley to record it for his

Essex Records Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1951 by Dave Miller (producer), David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and Gospel music, gospel. Jack Howard was the promot ...

label (Swenson suggests a feud existed between Myers and Miller). Haley himself claimed to have taken the sheet music into the recording studio at least twice, with Miller ripping up the music each time. Nonetheless, rumors of a 1953 demo recording by Haley persist to this day, although surviving members of the Comets deny this, as did Haley himself (quoted in the Swenson biography); a late-1960s bootleg single of the

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

version of "Rock Around the Clock", with "Crazy Man, Crazy" on the B-side and carrying the

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

label, occasionally turns up for sale with the claim that it is the demo version. Myers next offered the song to Sonny Dae & His Knights, a novelty all-white musical group led by Italian-American Paschal Vennitti, and organized the recording on March 20, 1954. The group's subsequent recording, on the

Arcade Records Arcade Records was a British record company specialised in multi-artist compilation albums (often in the mid-price or budget price ranges), founded in 1972. In the 1970s, it found itself in direct competition with K-tel and other compilation la ...

label (owned by Haley's manager, Jack Howard), was a regional success, although it sounded very different from what Haley would later record.

Decca recording session

After leaving Essex Records in the spring of 1954, Bill Haley signed with

, and the band's first recording session was set for April 12, 1954, at Decca's studios in the Pythian Temple in New York City. The recording session almost failed to take place because the band was traveling on a ferry that got stuck on a

sandbar In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body of water close to the surface or ...

en route to New York from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Once at the studio, producer

Milt Gabler Milton Gabler (May 20, 1911 – July 20, 2001) was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century. These included being the first person to deal in record reissues, the first to sel ...

(Gabler was the uncle of actor

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...

and had produced

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

as well as

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

), insisted the band work on a song entitled "Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)" (written and previously recorded by

Dickie Thompson James Edward "Dickie" Thompson (December 13, 1917 – February 22, 2007) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter. Biography Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, he took up the guitar in his teens, playing it left-handed a ...

), which Gabler wanted to promote as the

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

of the group's first single for Decca. Near the end of the session, the band finally recorded a take of "Rock Around the Clock", but Haley's vocals were drowned out by the band. A second take was quickly made with minimal accompaniment while

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

waited outside the studio for his turn behind the

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic (), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publi ...

. Decca engineers later combined the two versions into one version. (Comets piano player

Johnny Grande John Andrew Grande (January 14, 1930 – June 3, 2006) was a member of Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets. Life and career Born in South Philadelphia, Grande played piano and accordion with Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, later known as Bill H ...

tells a slightly different version, claiming that the only reason a second take was recorded was that the drummer made an error.) Many musicians have claimed that they performed on the recording session for "Rock Around the Clock". Song co-writer Myers once claimed he had played drums on the piece, although he also claimed to have been advising the sound mixer in the recording booth. According to the official record sheet from the session, however, the musicians on the famous recording are: *

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

– vocals, rhythm guitar *

–

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

Franny Beecher Francis Eugene Beecher (September 29, 1921 – February 24, 2014) was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos that incorporated elements of jazz. He composed the ...

– guitar * Billy Williamson –

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

– piano *

Billy Gussak William Gussak (1920–1994) was an American jazz and recording session drummer, best known for being the drummer on the classic 12 April 1954 recording of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Some sources incorrectly spell h ...

– drums (session musician) *

Danny Cedrone Donato Joseph "Danny" Cedrone (June 20, 1920 – June 17, 1954) was an American guitarist and bandleader, best known for his work with Bill Haley & His Comets on their epochal "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954. Career Cedrone was born in Jamesv ...

– electric guitar * Joey Ambrose (aka Joey D'Ambrosio) – tenor saxophone Dick Richards, Haley's drummer at the time, confirmed in a 2016 interview with Dutch journalist Gerbren Deves, that it was not him, but Gussak playing drums on the recording. Despite not being members of Bill Haley and His Comets, Gussak and Cedrone were trusted session players that Haley had used before. Cedrone's guitar solo was one that he used before on Bill Haley And The Saddlemen's version of "

Rock the Joint "Rock the Joint", also known as "We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight", is a 1949 boogie song recorded by various proto-rock and roll singers, notably Jimmy Preston and early rock and roll singers, most notably Bill Haley in 1952. Preston's versio ...

" in 1952, and is considered one of the classic rock and roll guitar solos of all time. (Cedrone died in a fall down a stairway on June 17, 1954, and never lived to see his contribution become famous and legendary.) The second instrumental break recreates a popular

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

"out chorus" with tenor sax and guitar emulating the rhythm section. The version of "Rock Around the Clock" that was used in the movie ''

'' differs from the hit single version. The difference is in the two solo breaks. The record has the guitar solo taking the first break and the sax solo taking the second break. The movie version is just the opposite with the sax solo coming first. In a 2005 retrospective on his uncle Milt Gabler's work (''The Milt Gabler Story''),

identifies Haley's 1954 recording of "Rock Around the Clock" as the single most important song Gabler ever produced. Gabler had previously been responsible for the highly successful string of R&B and

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

recordings by Louis Jordan in the late 1940s, which were characterised by their strong beat, clearly enunciated lyrics and high production values, all features which Gabler sought to repeat in Haley's recordings. Also significantly, "Rock Around the Clock" was recorded in the very same month that

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

issued

's "

". In relation to "Rock Around the Clock", Gabler said: "I was aware that rock was starting. I knew what was happening in the Philadelphia area, and "Crazy Man, Crazy" had been a hit about a year before that. It already was starting and I wanted to take it from there." Although the record is sometimes claimed to be the first in the rock and roll genre, Alexis Petridis of

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

wrote that "Rock Around the Clock" and "

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup, and recorded in 1946. It was rereleased in early March 1949 by RCA Victor under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as R ...

" were generally not considered the first rock and roll records but rather "the first white artists' interpretations of a sound already well-established by black musicians almost a decade before. It was a raucous, driving, unnamed variant of rhythm and blues that came complete with lyrics that talked about 'rocking'." Later in the same article, Petridis relates that Tony Cajiao, then the editor of Now Dig This!, offered the conclusion "... you have to say that Rock Around the Clock was the first record that really brought everything together, that made tremors around the world."

Slow road to classic hit status

As Gabler intended, "Rock Around the Clock" was first issued in May 1954 as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to "Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)". While the song did make the American '' Cashbox'' music charts (contrary to popular opinion that it was a flop), it was considered a commercial disappointment. It was not until 1955, when "Rock Around the Clock" was used under the opening credits and four additional times in the film ''

'', that the song truly took off. Many versions of the story behind how "Rock Around the Clock" was chosen for ''Blackboard Jungle'' circulated over the years. Recent research, however, reveals that the song was chosen from the collection of young Peter Ford, the son of ''Blackboard Jungle'' star

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...

and dancer

Eleanor Powell Eleanor Torrey Powell (November 21, 1912 – February 11, 1982) was an American dancer and actress. Best remembered for her tap dance numbers in musical films in the 1930s and 1940s, she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's top dancing stars durin ...

. The producers were looking for a song to represent the type of music the youth of 1955 were listening to. The elder Ford borrowed several records from his son, one of which was Haley's "Rock Around the Clock". In 2004, the song finished at #50 in AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. On July 9, 1955 "Rock Around the Clock" became the first rock and roll recording to hit the top of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s Pop charts, a feat it repeated on charts around the world. The song stayed at this place for eight weeks. The record was also no.1 for seven weeks on the '' Cashbox'' pop singles chart in 1955. The Bill Haley version also hit number three on the R&B charts. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1955, behind Perez Prado's "

Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White) "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" or "Cerezo Rosa" or "Ciliegi Rosa" or "Gummy Mambo", is the English version of "Cerisiers Roses et Pommiers Blancs", a popular song with music by Louiguy written in 1950. French lyrics by Jacques Larue and E ...

". In the UK, Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" was released on Brunswick Records (and Germany as well), reaching number 17 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1955, four months before it first entered the US pop charts. The song re-entered the UK chart to reach number one in November 1955 for three weeks, and after a three-week break returned there for a further two weeks in January 1956. It re-entered the charts again in September 1956, reaching number 5. The song was re-issued in 1968, when it made number 20, and again in 1974, when it reached number 12. The song's original release saw it become the UK's first million selling single and it went on to sell over 1.4 million copies in total. The band performed the song on the May 31, 1955 episode of Texaco Star Theater hosted by Milton Berle in an a cappella and lip-synched versions. On August 7, 1955, the band performed the song on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', hosted by

Ed Sullivan Edward Vincent Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television host, impresario, sports and entertainment reporter, and syndicated columnist for the ''New York Daily News'' and the Chicago Tribune New York News ...

. On the heels of the song breaking into the Top 20 in the UK in 1968, Decca began plugging the single in the US, where it briefly re-entered the ''

'' charts in June 1968, peaking at #118. "Rock Around the Clock" became wildly popular with teenagers around the world. The single, released by independent label

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

in Australia, was the biggest-selling recording in the country at the time.

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

cashed in on the new craze by hiring Haley and his band to star in two movies, ''

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 reco ...

'' (1956) and ''

Don't Knock the Rock ''Don't Knock the Rock'' is a 1956 American musical film starring Alan Dale and Alan Freed. Directed by Fred F. Sears, the film also features performances by Bill Haley & His Comets (who were top-billed), Little Richard, The Treniers, and Da ...

'' (1957). In 1957, Haley toured Europe, bringing rock 'n' roll to that continent for the first time. In 1964, Bill Haley and His Comets recorded a sequel song entitled "Dance Around the Clock". Haley actually recorded this song on five occasions (a

Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

version for Orfeón of

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and an English version for the US label

Newtown Records Newtown may refer to: Places Australia *Newtown, New South Wales * Newtown, Queensland (Ipswich) *Newtown, Queensland (Toowoomba) *Newtown, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong *Newtown, Victoria (Golden Plains Shire), a locality near Ballarat Canada ...

(both in 1964), two live versions for

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

recorded in New York in 1969 (neither of which were released for 25 years), and once more in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

for the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

Sonet Records Sonet Records was a jazz, pop and rock record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956. Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980 ...

label in 1970). Despite these efforts, the song was not a commercial success. Haley would re-record "Rock Around the Clock" many times over the years (even scoring a substantial hit with a version recorded for

in 1968), but never recaptured the magic. In 1974, the original version of the song returned to the American charts when it was used as the theme for the movie ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat ...

'' and a re-recorded version by Haley was used as the opening theme for the TV series ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' during its first two seasons. In the UK, the song again reached the top 20 and as of 2013 remains the only non-Christmas single to have done so on five separate occasions. The original version was also featured in the 1978 film ''

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

'', heard playing on a car radio just prior to

's final scene in the film; Ford, as noted earlier, had starred in ''Blackboard Jungle''. In 1981, about a year before Haley's death, a portion of the 1954 recording was featured in the opening credits of Season 6 of ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

''. During the 1970s, Haley shortened his performances of "Rock Around the Clock", dropping one verse and the second instrumental break from most performances. However, his last known recorded performance of the song, at a November 1979 command performance for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, was a complete version. Following Haley's death in February 1981, a number of major tributes involving "Rock Around the Clock" occurred. That fall, a TV special marking the 30th anniversary of ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' saw an all-star "supergroup" perform the song (accompanied by 1950s-era footage of Haley and the Comets). In 1982, Haley's original recording was given the

Grammy Hall of Fame Award The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. An excerpt from the recording was included in "Haley's Golden Medley", a hastily compiled single in the "

Stars on 45 Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was successful in Europe, the United States and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland, it was always known as Starsou ...

" mold which made the UK record charts in 1982, reaching number 50. In 1989, Haley's original Decca recording was incorporated into the "dance mix" single " Swing The Mood", credited to

Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers are a British novelty pop music act from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The face of the group was Jive Bunny, a cartoon rabbit who appeared in their music videos. Costumed actors also made promotional app ...

, but legal considerations forced the album version to substitute a patchwork of re-recordings from the 1950s and 1960s (in Haley's case, a 1968 version of "Rock Around the Clock" recorded for Sonet Records). Since "Swing the Mood" was still on the sales charts going into 1990, it meant that Haley's "Rock Around the Clock", in one way or another, appeared on UK or US sales charts in five consecutive decades. "Rock Around the Clock" is often cited as the biggest-selling vinyl rock and roll single of all time. The exact number of copies sold has never been audited; however, a figure of at least 25 million was cited by the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' in its category "Phonograph records: Biggest Sellers" from the early 1970s until the 1990s, when the advent of compact discs led to Guinness discontinuing the category. Guinness consistently listed "Rock Around the Clock" as having the highest claim of any pop music recording, coming second in sales only to

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

's 1942 recording of " White Christmas", which was also listed as having sold 25 million copies. Haley's version alone is estimated to have sold 15 million copies, with a total of 30 million copies counting all versions. A frequently used piece of promotion regarding the song is that it is said to be playing somewhere in the world every minute of the day.

Length variation

Although originally released on vinyl 45 and shellac 78 at a running time of 2 minutes and 8 seconds, most digital/CD releases of the original 1954 recording, starting with the "From The Original Master Tapes" compilation of Haley's work with Decca Records, mastered by Steve Hoffman and released in 1985, clock in at 2:10. This is due to the inclusion of a "count-in" by one of the Comets (saying, "One ... two") at the very start of the song. This was never included in the original single or album releases of the song. (All of Haley's subsequent studio rerecordings of the song run longer than 2:10 with the exception of the abbreviated version recorded for ''

''.) There are no other studio-recorded versions after the 1950s and ''Happy Days'' versions.

Tributes

In tribute to the influence of the song and the movie that launched its popularity, the March 29, 2005 50th anniversary of the opening of ''Blackboard Jungle'' was marked by several large celebrations in the United States organized by promoter Martin Lewis under the blanket title "Rock Is Fifty". Rock Is Fifty also hosted additional celebrations in Los Angeles in July, 2005, as part of a "Rock Around the Clock-a-Thon" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the date the song reached the No. 1 spot on the American charts, as well as to observe what would have been Haley's 80th birthday. These events included numerous appearances and performances by surviving members of the original Comets, including the band's induction into the Rock Walk hall of fame, a performance at the

Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established under that name on August 14, 1993, co-owned by actors and ''21 Jump Street'' co-stars Johnny Depp a ...

club on the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...

, and a special performance for employees of

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

to celebrate the success of the Deep Impact space probe. A special video of "Rock Around the Clock" was created to mark the occasion and was featured on NASA's website during July and August 2005. The anniversary was also marked by the publication of a book entirely devoted to the history of the song, ''Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution'', by

. The

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

also recognized the 40th anniversary of the composing of "Rock Around the Clock" with a special statement by Rep. Robert A. Borski of Pennsylvania, which was read into the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...

on March 31, 1993. The Belgian band

Telex Telex is a telecommunication Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communica ...

covered the song in 1978. They performed the song on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''. Their version peaked at number 34 in the UK and number 51 in Australia in 1979.

The Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

covered it for their soundtrack ''

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle ''The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle'', also known as ''The Great Rock and Roll Swindle'', is a 1980 British mockumentary film directed by Julien Temple and produced by Don Boyd and Jeremy Thomas. It centres on the British punk rock band Sex P ...

'' in 1979. The song was featured in Season 7 of the series ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' in 2008 in a jive dance sequence. Haley's version appears in a 2017 commercial for Subway's

Reuben sandwich The Reuben sandwich is a North American grilled sandwich comprising corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing or Thousand Island dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It is associated with kosher-style delica ...

promotion.
/ref> The 1954

studio recording was featured on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC TV show '' Dancing with the Stars: Juniors'' in the 2018 season during a dance sequence.

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

performed the song on the season finale of '' The Voice'' on ''

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

'' on May 21, 2019, as "Block Around the Clock".

Albums

As Bill Haley's best-known recording, there have been dozens of compilation album releases over the years entitled ''Rock Around the Clock''. The most notable of these compilations was the 1955 Decca Records album ''

'' (Decca DL 8225) which contained most of the tracks Haley recorded as singles for the label in 1954 and 1955. Another notable album release entitled ''Rock Around the Clock'' was the 1970

Hallmark Records Hallmark Records is a British record label. History Hallmark Records was founded in the 1960s and was the first budget label in the United Kingdom. The revived company has since become a major publisher of budget CDs in the UK, issuing both pub ...

UK release ''Rock Around the Clock'' (SHM 668) which was the first British release of a 1968 album entitled ''Bill Haley's Biggest Hits'' which had been released in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The album consisted of newly recorded renderings of Haley classics from the 1950s, along with some previously unrecorded songs.

Charts and certifications

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Notes

References

* * Ford, Peter. "Rock Around the Clock and Me" (''

Goldmine Goldmine may refer to: * A location where gold mining takes place * ''Goldmine'' (magazine), a music collectibles magazine * ''Goldmine'' (album), by Gabby Barrett, 2020 * "Goldmine" (George Fox song), 1989 * "Goldmine" (Kimbra song), 2015 * ...

'' and ''Now Dig This'' magazines, 2004
online version
* Frazer-Harrison, Alex. "Rock Around the Clock: A Tribute" (Rockabilly Hall of Fam

, 1999–2004). * Haley, John W. and John von Hoelle. ''Sound and Glory'' (Dyne-American, 1990).

External links

, with background information and list of

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s
Peter Ford tells how "Rock Around the Clock" came to be chosen for ''Blackboard Jungle''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rock Around The Clock Songs about rock music Rockabilly songs Rock-and-roll songs 1952 songs 1954 singles 1955 singles 1974 singles 1979 singles Bill Haley songs Decca Records singles Festival Records singles Brunswick Records singles Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Happy Days Harry Nilsson songs Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in the United States Sex Pistols songs Telex (band) songs Comedy television theme songs UK singles chart number-one singles United States National Recording Registry recordings