60 Years Ago Today, Bill Haley Helped Birth Rock’n’Roll

April 12, 2014 Alan Cross 0 Comments

“Rock Around the Clock” wasn’t the first rock’n’roll song–I do a 60 minute lecture on why is wasn’t (drop me a line if you want a booking)–but it was certainly very important to this nascent sound that was soon to take over the planet.

It was 60 years ago today–April 12, 1954–that Haley and his cats went into Pythian Temple Studios on West 70th Street to lay down this track. There were two takes (Haley’s voice was drowned out by the band on the first take) which were then combined into the final hit version. (Wikipedia actually has a very good entry on the song.)

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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