"Real Rock Drive" was the title of an early
rock and roll song written by, and first recorded by
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...
under the name Bill Haley with Haley's Comets in 1952. The song was released as an
Essex Records 78 single.
History
The music and the lyrics were written by
Bill Haley.
The song was recorded in
Chester, Pennsylvania, and was released by Essex Records as a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
of a single in November, 1952. Personnel on the recording included Haley's core Comets members
Marshall Lytle (bass),
Billy Williamson (
steel guitar
A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...
), and
Johnny Grande (piano), plus session musicians
Danny Cedrone
Donato Joseph "Danny" Cedrone (June 20, 1920 – June 17, 1954) was an American guitarist and bandleader, best known for his work with Bill Haley & His Comets on their epochal "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954.
Career
Cedrone was born in Jamesvil ...
(lead guitar) and
Billy Gussak (drums).
The recording was released on Essex Records as Essex 310 backed with "Stop Beatin' Round the Mulberry Bush". The recording was also released on Trans-Word Records as 718 backed with "Yes, Indeed". The single did not chart.
The recording was also released on
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
as a 78 single in Germany as L20069 in 1957.
The song was based on "Tennessee Jive" by Tani Allen and His Tennessee Pals with vocals by Buck Turner, released in 1950 on Bullet Records in Nashville, Tennessee. A plagiarism suit was brought by the publisher of the song, Volunteer Music. The song was written by Buck Turner. This resulted in no songwriter or publisher being credited on the Essex record label.
Bear Family Records. Bill Haley. Accessed 11 August 2021.
Cover versions
The California-based band The Blasters have recorded the song on the 1980 '' American Music'' album. Phil Haley and his Comments, The Starliters, The Rhythm Hogs, Little Caesar, and Rusti Steel and The Star Tones have also recorded or performed the song.
Sources
* Jim Dawson, ''Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution!'' (Backbeat Books, 2005), pp. 50–55.
* John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, ''Sound and Glory'' (Dyne-American, 1990).
* John Swenson, ''Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll'' (Stein & Day, 1985).
References
{{Bill Haley & His Comets
1952 singles
Bill Haley songs
Rockabilly songs
Songs written by Bill Haley
1952 songs
Essex Records singles