The Best Of Bill Haley 1951-1954

This Varèse-Sarabande 18-track offering has excellent sound reproduction and comprehensive liner notes and contents discography from Bill Dahl who, in the opening paragraph of his 5 pages of notes, quotes from the book "Bill Haley" by John Swenson - "For many music historians rock and roll was officially born on April 12, 1954, when Bill Haley & His Comets cut their immortal "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" for Decca Records. But Bill and his boys were rocking three years prior to that historic anthem, blending country with rhythm and blues to create a ground-breaking hybrid that changed the face of pop music forever." I can attest to that as I recall listening to stations picked up from the U.S. from 1950 to 1953 using an aerial to hear, not only Bill Haley, but Fats Domino, Little Richard and, in 1954, Elvis Presley, long before they became household names.Dahl's notes then traces their origin from Bill's early days as The Rambling Yodeler to the first group, known as The Four Aces Of Western Swing, who cut their first record for the Cowboy label in 1948. Since there already was a well-known group called The Four Aces, they were forced to change their name, choosing The Saddlemen prior to cutting discs for Keystone and Atlantic, and then later Holiday and Essex, before deciding upon Bill Haley With Haley's Comets (later shortened to Bill Haley & His Comets). There is a photo included of the original members along with one of Bill in one of his patented plaid jackets.As for the music, it's as infectious now as it was back then. Three of his Essex cuts charted before he moved on to Decca, and those were Crazy Man, Crazy - # 12 in May-July 1953 b/w What'cha Gonna Do (Essex 321). In August he was back on the charts with the # 24 Fractured b/w Pat-A-Cake (Essex 327), followed in October by Live It Up - # 25 b/w Farewell, So Long, Goodbye (Essex 332) - all billed Bill Haley With Haley's Comets. All included here.Many of the others were just as good, but in that era whites in their mid-teens were still hung up on the likes of Eddie Fisher, Patti Page, Kay Starr, Frankie Laine, et al, and so something this radical was going to take some getting used to. Not even (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock could generate much interest in that market upon its initial release in 1954 (a modest # 23 in June b/w Thirteen Women).Black teens, on the other hand, had already been digging Fats Domino, Clyde McPhatter & The Drifters, Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, and The "5" Royales for several years, and slowly but surely this new sound would filter through to the white market, beginning with Haley's version (albeit watered down lyrically-speaking) of Turner's seminal Shake, Rattle & Roll in the late summer of 1954, which went all the way to # 7. That was followed that December by Dim, Dim The Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere). Written for Haley by Beverly Ross, she would later go on to brief recording fame as one half of Ronald & Ruby on another of her compositions, Lollipop, before audiences realized she was white and Ronald (Coombs) was black (she would also write Judy's Turn to Cry for Lesley Gore and Candy Man for Roy Orbison).In the meantime, when Rock Around The Clock was used over the opening credits of the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, it received new life in a spectacular way, signalling the arrival of a new musical era. The one that did not "fade away" as so many among the establishment had hoped.An historically important compilation which should not be missed.

This album gives you the roots of the comets' sound. What it became in pop music goes back to the days of "Bill Haley and the Saddle men" cowboy band. To become "The Comets" only required changing their costume from cowboy get up to zoot suits and rearranging their riffs. The same personnel and instruments including steel guitar and accordion. If you "dig" Bill the most, this is a must have!

This is a must have for your collection, why didn't i bought it before than i did, but better late than never

A great product, works well and quality is excellent.

Before "Rock around the Clock". You can hear the transition.

ok

Before Bill Haley began rocking around the clock tonight, he released singles with his group the Saddlemen. So what to call this new brand of music? Western swing mixed with polka? A fusion of country-western and 40's R&B set to a steady beat? Country boogie? Call it what you will, but this collection consists of A and B-sides of his singles on Holiday and later Essex Records, which veers closely to his later chart-toppers.Clearly, Haley saw this R&B style music as his fugure, given by his own cover of Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88", which is considered by some to be the first R&R song and not "Rock Around the Clock," and Jimmy Preston's #6 R&B hit, "Rock This Joint," both included here. The latter definitely predicts his later style, with some piercing steel guitar reflecting the country roots, but it was also the song Alan Freed played over and over and yelling "rock and roll, everybody!" on the King of the Moondogs show.Songs like "Green Tree Boogie" would have rhythms repeated in their later material as well as stuff done by Little Richard but more raucously. The steel guitar and loudly pronounced bass enhances the beat. The brisk "Dance With A Dolly" sounds like early Louis Jordan material, especially with the piano boogie solo in the middle, with a kind of nursery rhyme-like beat.One day, Bill Haley asked some kids how they liked his music. One responded, "crazy man, crazy," which Haley wrote down on a napkin. This standout song which reached #12 on the charts in 1953, was the first blip he made before he exploded with "Rock Around The Clock." With its "go go go everybody" shouts in the middle, accompanied by the Comets' trademark country guitar, how could this miss? I heard this song via a compilation LP my father bought back in the 50's. Another song that was on that compilation was "Farewell, So Long, Goodbye," with its rude-noise bari-sax note after each time the chorus was sung. Or did the Comets have some really strong chili before the recording session?Chanting harmony choruses were prevalent in a cover of Faye Adams' R&B hit "I'll Be True" and "Live It Up" with its opening tribal drums and frat choruses.Another observation is how nursery rhymes were recycled with early rock and roll arrangements and additional lyrics. Again, this seems to echo what Louis Jordan's nursery rhyme medley, "School Days (When We Were Kids)" earlier. Here, Haley gives the R&R treatment to "Pat-A-Cake" as in Pat a cake, pat a cake, baker's man, and "Ten Little Indians," which despite its as stance at being condescending to Native Americans today, does put on a thrilling beat. "Stop Beatin' Round The Mulberry Bush" also borrows from a nursery rhyme, and it was just before this song came out that Haley and company ditched the cowboy outfits, donned the suits and ties, and became the Comets in 1952."Fractured" was based on slang kids were using then, as in "this music fractures me," showing the Haley was attentive of the times and his audience, the pop market with its white teenagers. And his R&R cover of the 40's standard "Chattanooga Choo Choo" shows him reaching back to the big band days, with the female backing chorus reminding the era of the original.There's no denying Haley brought out a new brand of music to white audiences, and helped changed the face of popular music,--and I really dig this stuff-- but what must be understood is that his fame came at the expense of many black artists unable to reach white audiences due to the recording industry.

Reasonable, but something went wrong with "Real Rock Drive" as the opening two drum beats were chopped off!!

本CDの音源は、DECCAでの「ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK」や、「SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL」のヒット以前に、1951〜1953年頃にESSEXレーベルに残された録音です。聴き所はいろいろありますが、特にあげたいのは「ROCKET 88」と「ROCK THE JOINT」、そして「CRAZY MAN CRAZY」などの曲。「ROCKET 88」は、1951年にJACKIE BRENSTONがSUNレーベルに吹き込んだ最も初期のR&B/R&Rとして有名な曲ですが（発売はCHESSレーベル。ギターはあのIKE TURNERが弾いています！これも必聴！）、これを翌年の52年にすでに（オリジナル・ヴァージョンに遅れること僅か半年です）BILL HALEY STYLEでカバーしていることにはただ驚くはかりです。「ROCK THE JOINT」はDECCAでも再録音されていますが、ここに収録されているESSEX録音のギター・ソロではすでに「ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK」のギター・ソロの原型を聴くことができます。「CRAZY MAN CRAZY」はBILLにとって初のヒット曲。ほかの収録曲も、DECCA時代のようにSAXが入っておらず、まだWESTERN SWING STYLEで演奏されていますが、ROCK 'N' ROLL誕生前夜を垣間見たような気持ちにさせられる貴重な録音だと思います。このCDを聴くと、やはりRCK 'N ROLLは一朝一夕に誕生したものではないということがよくわかります。