Record #0678: Thirteen Women (and Only One Man In Town) / (We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock – BILL HALEY AND HIS COMETS

Decca 9-29124 (original, 1^st pressing) USA, 10. May 1954
Words & Music by:  Side A – Dickie Thompson; Side B – Jimmy DeKnight, Max C. Freedman
Musicians: Bill Haley (vocals and rhythm guitar), Franny Beecher (guitar), Danny Cedrone (lead guitar), Marshall Lytle (upright bass), Billy Williamson (steel guitar), Joey Ambrose (tenor sax), Johnny Grande (piano), Billy Gussak (drums)
Recording sessions: Produced by Milt Gabler at Decca Studios, Pythian Temple, New York, NY, 12. April 1954
Highest chart positions:  US #1, US R&B #3, UK #1, Australia #1, Germany #18

70 years ago today, Bill Haley and His Comets had just left Essex record label and signed for Decca, for which this was their first recording session – and what a session it was!

When released, the single wasn’t an instant hit and the sales were quite slow, too. It took more than a year until “Rock Around the Clock” (originally the B-side of the single) topped the US charts on 9. July 1955 and became the first rock’n’roll song to do so. The breakthrough for the success came when the song appeared in the movie “Blackboard Jungle”, which came out in March 1955. The high demand of the single led to its re-release in May 1955.

A popular claim is that this was the first rock’n’roll record, but this wasn’t even Haley’s first r’n’r.

My favorite part of the record is in “Thirteen Women”, when the solo starts and Lytle begins to slap his upright bass. Priceless.

List price:  Very Good+ is $35, Near Mint is $70