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.
Don
Bill Haley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Don't knock the rock)
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
You can knock bebop and you can knock swing
But
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
Now when my baby's dancing she's as tall as a clown
If she ever fell she'd have to fall out of town
Dances in the kitchen with her feet in the hall
Roll and a rock she's a-having a ball
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
You can knock mambo or dozey do
Say what you want about any of those
But
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
Now you can knock on the jive and the boogie beat
?????? those With both o' your feet
But
Don't knock the rock
Don't knock the rock
Don't knock the rock
Don't knock the rock
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
When my baby's dancing she is really alive
Grabs herself a partner. . .Mr five by five
Swings her from a tree like a happy baboon
Two steps back throws him over the moon
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
The song "Don't Knock the Rock" by Bill Haley is all about defending the rock and roll genre. Haley’s lyrics speak about how his baby only rocks and rolls, and friends and partners may talk about hip swing jazz music or other tunes, but the underlying appreciation in this song is to all for rock and roll music. Bill Haley explains that when his baby dances, she becomes as tall as a clown, and her moves take place in the kitchen with her feet in the hall, and she loves to rock and to roll. Haley defends the rock and roll style in this song, insisting that music lovers should not knock rock and roll, as it is a fun and exciting genre.
Throughout the song, it is clear Haley is trying to explain his fondness for this musical genre. He furthers his point by discussing how his baby dances to rock and roll and loves to move with the beat, making it obvious that she won’t be moving to any other genre. Haley urges listeners not to knock the rock as it is part of who they are, and it is an enjoyable and unique musical genre. The song features upbeat music that perfectly aligns with the message of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't knock the rock
Don't criticize rock and roll music
Don't knock the rock
Don't underestimate the power of rock and roll music
Well, my baby don't do nothing but rock and roll, that's all
My girlfriend only dances to rock and roll, it's her favorite type of music
You can knock bebop and you can knock swing
Say what you want about any old thing
But
You can criticize other music styles but
You can knock mambo or dozey do
Say what you want about any of those
But
You can criticize other dance styles but
Now you can knock on the jive and the boogie beat
?????? those With both o' your feet
But
You can criticize other musical rhythms but
When my baby's dancing she's as tall as a clown
If she ever fell she'd have to fall out of town
Dances in the kitchen with her feet in the hall
Roll and a rock she's a-having a ball
When my girlfriend dances, she's so lively and carefree that she seems like a clown standing tall. She's such a happy dancer that if she fell, she'd probably end up outside the town. She likes to dance everywhere, including the kitchen and the hallway. She has so much fun dancing to rock and roll music
Now you can knock on the jive and the boogie beat
?????? those With both o' your feet
But
You can criticize other musical rhythms but
When my baby's dancing she is really alive
Grabs herself a partner. . .Mr five by five
Swings her from a tree like a happy baboon
Two steps back throws him over the moon
When my girlfriend dances, she gets so into it that she becomes truly alive. She doesn't need anyone to dance with but she still grabs a partner, anyone around her will do. She's so happy while dancing that she swings like a monkey from a tree. And she's such a good dancer that she can even throw her partner far away while two stepping
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
Don't knock the rock
(Don't knock the rock)
It's an important refrain that means that rock music is great and should be appreciated
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@diankreczmer6595
I am 85 and this is what I call dancing
@robfromvan
Wait till you see breakdancing!!! 😮😳
@pompeyofuentes
and you are damn right. hello from chile, I am 38, this is music. period
@ZnenTitan
When you find out your grand parents were cooler than you will ever be.
@curvy71
I wish people would get together like this again.
@leelarson107
'Cool' means Not-So-Hot.
@ABSDEFRD
awesome comment and so true
@slyctonbits
@@curvy71 They get together like this, these dances are called "Lindy Hop" and "Boogie Woogie" and soooo many people around the world still dance this.
@slyctonbits
@Rockin Robin What do you mean by segregate? who? :O
@bilbobagginssword3926
One reason why our grandparents stayed together forever. Cool video