Rock Around the Clock is the third album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Released by Decca Records in December 1955, it was, like the two albums that preceded it, a compilation album of previously issued singles. Eight of the album's 12 songs had been released by Decca earlier in 1955 as the album Shake, Rattle and Roll, but, unlike the previous album, which was in the 10-inch format, Rock Around the Clock was a 12-inch release, so it had space for four additional tracks from 1955. The album was the first by Haley to make the Billboard charts, and was also one of the first album releases in the rock and roll genre to do so.
Some non-American releases of the album, such as that on the Australian label Festival Records (FR12-1102), promoted the album as being the soundtrack for the 1956 film Rock Around the Clock, owing to six of its tracks being included in the film.
All of the album's tracks were recorded in the Decca Records studio located in the Pythian Temple in New York City.
Contents
Personnel
Bill Haley – rhythm guitar, vocals
Danny Cedrone – lead guitar on 1–4
Franny Beecher – lead guitar on 5–12
Billy Williamson – steel guitar
Johnny Grande – piano
Marshall Lytle – double bass on 1–10
Billy Gussak – drums on 1–8
Joey Ambrose – tenor saxophone on 1–10
Additional personnel
Al Rex – double bass on 11, 12
Cliff Leeman – drums on 9–12
Rudy Pompilli – tenor saxophone on 11, 12
Dick Richards – triangle on 3; tom toms on 9; backing vocals on 2, 5, 6
Charts
Album
Single
Re-issue
In 2009, the album was re-issued on 180 Gram vinyl, manufactured in Europe, by Doxy Music (catalogue #DOY613).