Bill Haley And His Comets – Rock Around The Clock

Bill Haley And His Comets – Rock Around The Clock

“Bill Haley And His Comets” – Rock Around The Clock is a landmark release in the history of rock ’n’ roll, featuring the explosive title track that helped introduce the new sound to a mass audience in the mid-1950s. Originally released in 1955, the album captures Bill Haley and his Comets at the height of their breakthrough period, combining country, western swing, rhythm & blues and the emerging rock ’n’ roll sound.

The recordings span the early-to-mid 1950s, with much of the material dating from 1954–1955. “Rock Around The Clock” was recorded in April 1954 and initially released as a single that year, before gaining enormous popularity after its use in the 1955 film The Blackboard Jungle. The song subsequently became one of the defining recordings of the first rock ’n’ roll era.

The album also features several other essential Haley recordings. “Shake, Rattle And Roll”, originally recorded in 1954, became a major early rock ’n’ roll hit, while “A.B.C. Boogie”, “Thirteen Women”, “Birth Of The Boogie”, “Mambo Rock” and “Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie” demonstrate the band's distinctive blend of swinging rhythms, infectious guitar riffs and driving saxophone. “Dim, Dim The Lights” and “Burn That Candle” further showcase the accessible, dancefloor-friendly style that made the Comets so popular.

For collectors and fans of 1950s rock ’n’ roll, rockabilly, rhythm & blues and early rock music, Rock Around The Clock is an essential piece of musical history. Bill Haley And His Comets helped bridge the gap between earlier American country and R&B traditions and the rock ’n’ roll explosion that followed, with this collection capturing that pivotal moment in popular music.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Rock Around The Clock
2. Shake, Rattle And Roll
3. A.B.C. Boogie
4. Thirteen Women (And Only One Man In Town)
5. Razzle-Dazzle
6. Two Hound Dogs

Side B

1. Dim, Dim The Lights
2. Happy Baby
3. Birth Of The Boogie
4. Mambo Rock
5. Burn That Candle
6. Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie