Rock Around the Clock

"Rock Around the Clock," originally titled "We're Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight!" is a 12-bar-blues-based song, from 1952 according to documents uncovered by historian Jim Dawson, written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight"). The song is ranked #158 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

A familiar tune to anyone who remembers "Happy Days," the verse melody of "Rock Around The Clock" does bear a very close similarity to that of Hank Williams' first hit, "Move It On Over", from 1947. Williams' song was very similar to Charley Patton's "Going To Move To Alabama", recorded in 1930 - which itself was at least partly derived from Jim Jackson's "Kansas City Blues" from 1927.

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" (written by Leroy Anderson).

Although it was probably not the first rock and roll record, nor was it the first successful record of the genre (Haley had American chart success with "Crazy Man, Crazy" in 1953, and in 1954 "Shake, Rattle and Roll" reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart), it is considered by many to be the song that put rock and roll on the map in America and around the world. With lyrics such as

"Put your glad rags on, join me, Hon
We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one"

and

"When the clock strikes two, three and four
If the band slows down we'll yell for more"

Although first recorded by Sonny Dae and His Knights, the more famous version by Bill Haley & His Comets is not, strictly speaking, a cover version. Myers claimed the song had been written specifically for Haley but, for various reasons, Haley was unable to record it himself until April 1954.