ROCK ANTHEM FOR 1950s YOUTH

Remembering Bill Haley, the guy who shook up 1950s conservative white America with Rock Around the Clock, died on February 9, 1981, at the age of 55.

The song was considered by parents to be a bad influence on their kids, as exemplified when it was used as the title track of the juvenile delinquent movie The Blackboard Jungle.

Originally recorded by Sunny Dae in 1952, Bill Haley’s version had modest sales until the movie turned it into a megahit, topping the Billboard charts in the U.S. and the U.K.

Bill Haley and His Comets “combined black rhythm and blues, country western and western swing and came up with what they called cowboy jive” — now known as Rock ‘n Roll.

Crowds swarm theater to see the movie ‘Rock Around the Clock’ in Amsterdam.

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