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.
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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 & His Comets' song "We're Gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight" are pretty straightforward and paint a clear picture of what the band and their listeners plan to do - rock out all night long. The lyrics are essentially a list of times throughout the night (one through twelve o'clock) and what they plan to do during each hour. The singer invites their partner to put on their "glad rags" (dress up) and join them for a night of fun and dancing.
As the night progresses, the singer and their partner plan to continue rocking until morning. The lyrics suggest that if the band slows down, they will yell for more, indicating their desire to keep the party going. The final verse suggests that even after a night full of dancing, they plan to keep going strong and start all over again.
Overall, the lyrics are fun and lively, capturing the spirit of rock and roll and the excitement of a night out with friends. The themes of youth, rebellion, and liberation that are often associated with rock and roll are all present in this classic song.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three o'clock, four o'clock rock
We will begin rocking and dancing from one o'clock and continue until four o'clock.
Five, six, seven o'clock, eight o'clock rock
We will continue to rock and dance from five o'clock till eight o'clock.
Nine, ten, eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock rock
We will rock and dance from nine o'clock until twelve o'clock.
We're gonna rock around the clock tonight
We will keep rocking and dancing for the whole night.
Put your glad rags on, join me, Hon
Dress up in your best clothes and join me for the rocking night.
We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one
We will enjoy our time when the clock strikes one.
We're gonna rock, rock, rock, 'til broad daylight
We won't stop rocking until daylight.
Gonna rock, gonna rock around the clock tonight
We will dance and rock all night long.
When the clock strikes two, three and four
We will keep on dancing and rocking even when the clock strikes two, three, and four.
If the band slows down we'll yell for more
If the band takes a break, we won't let them rest and will ask for more music.
When the chimes ring five, six, and seven
We will celebrate and dance when the clock chimes five, six, and seven.
We'll be right in seventh heaven
We'll be in a state of bliss and ecstasy while dancing with joy.
Oh, when it's eight, nine, ten, eleven too
Even when the clock strikes eight, nine, ten, and eleven, we will still be rocking and dancing.
I'll be going' strong and so will you
We will keep going strong and continue to rock and dance together.
When the clock strikes twelve, we'll cool off then
Once it's midnight, we'll take a break and calm down.
Start a rocking' 'round the clock again
After our break, we'll start rocking and dancing again as the clock resets.
Lyrics © BROADWAY MUSIC CORPORATION, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Max Freedman, James Myers
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....