Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation. According to biographer John Swenson, Haley later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. The spit-curl caught on as a 50's style signature, although Haley and others had worn the hairstyle much earlier.
In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a Pennsylvania-based western swing band called The Down Homers run by Kenny Roberts. It has often been reported in musical reference works that Haley's first professional recordings were made with the Down Homers on a pair of singles released in 1946 by Vogue Records. This was later debunked by Roberts and others, stating Haley had already left the group by the time the singles were made. In the early 2000s, however, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered and Haley is definitely present as he is identified by name and sings a solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel"; these recordings were commercially released for the first time in 2006.
After gaining experience with the Down Homers, Haley set out on his own, forming several groups such as the Range Drifters and the Four Aces of Western Swing. With the Four Aces, he made a number of regionally successful country music singles in the late 1940s for Cowboy Records while working as a touring musician and later a radio DJ at WPWA. (Many of Haley's early recordings from this period would not be released until after his death.) After disbanding the Four Aces and briefly trying a solo career using the names Jack Haley and Johnny Clifton (as chronicled in the biography Sound and Glory), Haley formed a new group called The Saddlemen in either 1949 or 1950 (sources vary as to the exact year); this new group recorded for several labels, including one single for Atlantic Records, Haley's first exposure to a major national record company. In 1951, Haley was signed to Dave Miller's Philadelphia-based Holiday Records and began to change musical styles, recording cover versions of "Rocket "88"" (previously recorded by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats), and in, 1952, "Rock the Joint", previously recorded by several bands including Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians. (By the time of "Rock the Joint", Haley had graduated from Holiday Records to Miller's larger Essex label.) The relative success of these recordings (both sold in the 75,000-100,000 copy range in the Pennsylvania-New England region) convinced Haley that his new and as-yet officially unnamed hybrid of country and rhythm and blues could be a commercial success.and some of his family lives in oklahoma and there is a road named after his family.
Bill Haley
Bill Haley Lyrics
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Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock
Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock rock
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
Put your glad rags on, join me, Hon
We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
Gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
When the clock strikes two, three and four
If the band slows down we'll yell for more
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We're gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
When the chimes ring five, six, and seven
We'll be right in seventh heaven
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We're gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
Oh, when it's eight, nine, ten, eleven too
I'll be going' strong and so will you
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We're gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
When the clock strikes twelve, we'll cool off then
Start a rocking' 'round the clock again
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We're gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
The lyrics to Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” are essentially a call to arms, urging listeners to join in on a night of dancing and revelry. The repeated countdown from one o’clock to twelve o’clock serves as an invitation to stay out all night and dance to the beat of rock and roll. The lyrics encourage listeners to put on their “glad rags,” or their fanciest clothing, and join the party.
The lyrics also capture the energy and excitement of the early days of rock and roll, when this new form of music was still seen as rebellious and subversive. The song suggests that rock and roll offers a kind of liberation from the routine and conformity of everyday life, inviting listeners to let loose and have fun. The repeated refrain of “we’re gonna rock around the clock tonight” reinforces this sense of excitement and possibility.
Overall, the lyrics to “Rock Around the Clock” are a celebration of rock and roll and its power to bring people together and create a sense of joy and community.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock
Let's start rocking starting from afternoon until midnight
Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock
Let's keep the energy high and keep rocking in the evening
Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock rock
Let's keep this going strong until midnight
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
Tonight is the night for us to party hard and rock all night long
Put your glad rags on, join me, Hon
Get dressed up and come party with me, Hon
We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one
We will start having a great time when the night really kicks off
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We will keep up the rocking energy until the sun comes up in the morning
Gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
We are going to rock all night without stopping
If the band slows down we'll yell for more
If the music slows down, we will demand the band play more so we can keep dancing and having fun
When the chimes ring five, six, and seven
As the morning approaches, we will still be having a great time (even when the clock strikes 5, 6, or 7)
We'll be right in seventh heaven
We will be ecstatically happy and full of joy
Oh, when it's eight, nine, ten, eleven too
Even as the early morning hours pass, we will still be partying hard
I'll be going' strong and so will you
We will still have lots of energy and enthusiasm to keep rocking and having fun
When the clock strikes twelve, we'll cool off then
Once midnight arrives, we will start winding down and taking a break
Start a rocking' 'round the clock again
Then, after we rest for a bit, we will start the party up all over again
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JIMMY DEKNIGHT, MAX FREEDMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ThaiThom
It makes me nostalgic for a time I never lived in.
@robertovaldez7925
Cristian nodal
@SoulllessStary
Feel the same way it’s pretty weird but I like it ya know
@theprofessor3684
Probably heard it in a past life
@tazionuvolari8142
It makes me nostalqic on 2010
@paolaoviedo137
/vvvghffff(ffwrc
@Windows-ie6th
Hey everyone 100 years from now we’re all dead now enjoy life while you’re young !
@stealthghostbr1801
Makes sense
@ryabryab2676
thanks for making me have an existential crisis
@fiftiesonly9579
Don’t give me warnings about death I’m only 17....