1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILL HALEY! Arguably the first to play what would be thought of as “rock ‘n’ roll”, Bill Haley hit the charts with his jivin’ jumper “Rock Around the Clock” (originally a b-side) in 1954. The song not only put Bill Haley and his group, the Comets (formerly the Saddlemen), on the map but also exposed the world to a taste of the wild wind to come. This took rock ‘n’ roll out of the realm of jazz and rhythm and blues and made it something individual. This song would also be the first rock ‘n’ roll song to ever be featured in the movin’ pictures area in the film adaption of Evan Hunter’s juvenile delinquent paperback classic Blackboard Jungle. After America seemed to ignore rock ‘n’ roll in exchange for whatever the Beatles were doing that week, Haley and Co. picked up stakes and decided to mosey to the UK where they were appreciated in full. Haley would continue to enjoy his success across the pond til he died of a brain tumor in 1980.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILL HALEY!

    Arguably the first to play what would be thought of as “rock ‘n’ roll”, Bill Haley hit the charts with his jivin’ jumper “Rock Around the Clock” (originally a b-side) in 1954. The song not only put Bill Haley and his group, the Comets (formerly the Saddlemen), on the map but also exposed the world to a taste of the wild wind to come. This took rock ‘n’ roll out of the realm of jazz and rhythm and blues and made it something individual. This song would also be the first rock ‘n’ roll song to ever be featured in the movin’ pictures area in the film adaption of Evan Hunter’s juvenile delinquent paperback classic Blackboard Jungle.

    After America seemed to ignore rock ‘n’ roll in exchange for whatever the Beatles were doing that week, Haley and Co. picked up stakes and decided to mosey to the UK where they were appreciated in full. Haley would continue to enjoy his success across the pond til he died of a brain tumor in 1980.
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