Haley was beginning to combine his honkytonk sounds with rhythm and blues in 1951 he recorded a version of Ike Turner’s “Rocket 88,” which some consider to be the first rock-and-roll record. A Michigan native, Bill Haley had enjoyed some success as a performing artist, especially around Philadelphia, and he was also a musical director at a radio station outside Philly. That seems unlikely, given that Freedman was already a well-established Tin Pan Alley songwriter, known especially for writing country-flavored tunes for the likes of Gene Autry, Bing Crosby, Bob Wills and Willie Nelson.įreedman wrote “Rock Around the Clock” with a regional country and Western bandleader in mind. Like other music publishers at the time, Myers may have demanded a co-writing credit from Freedman in exchange for publishing and copyrighting the tune, although in later years, Myers claimed the bulk of the creative credit for himself, assigning to Freedman a few mere finishing touches on the tune. Freedman, with some input by a music publisher named James Myers who went by “Jimmy DeKnight” for songwriting purposes. The song was probably written in 1952 by Max C. And every step of the way, from the song’s creation to its recording to its dissemination and popularization, Jews contributed to the making of this signature song of the rock-and-roll revolution.Īlthough its exact origins are clouded, and to this day the subject of dispute, “Rock Around the Clock” was credited to two Philadelphia-born Jewish songwriters, each the son of immigrants. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 on its way to becoming the first global rock hit, and the single biggest selling rock-and-roll record of all time. But 66 years ago today, Bill Haley and His Comets’ version of “Rock Around the Clock” was released, beginning its long, strange journey to the top of the pop charts, where it became the first rock-and-roll tune to hit the No. It wasn’t even the first rock-and-roll hit.
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