''Rock 'n Roll Stage Show'' is the first studio album and fourth overall album by

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

band

Bill Haley and His Comets Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. Released by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in August 1956, it was the group's first album to include new, as opposed to previously released material. Although the album spawned several singles, it also featured several album-only tracks. Of the released singles, "Rudy's Rock" reached No. 34 on ''Billboard'' and No. 38 on ''Cashbox'', "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" reached No. 36 on ''Cashbox'', and "Rockin Thru the Rye" reached No. 39 on ''Cashbox'' The album was number one for one week in the UK on Brusnwick Records on the official Record Retailers (RR) chart in 1956.

Content

''Rock 'n Roll Stage Show'' moved away from focusing solely on

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

as the main singer, and included several instrumental recordings, including "Rudy's Rock" featuring

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

player

Rudy Pompilli Rudolph Clement Pompilii (April 16, 1924 – February 5, 1976) was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets. He was usually credited under the alternate spelling Rudy Pompilli and occasionally as ...

, which was featured (in a different performance) in the motion picture ''

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was record ...

'' earlier in the year. Also given the spotlight is guitarist

Franny Beecher Francis Eugene Beecher (September 29, 1921 – February 24, 2014) was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos combining elements of country music and jazz. He co ...

on "Goofin' Around" and "Blue Comet Blues", accordion player

Johnny Grande John Andrew Grande (January 14, 1930 – June 3, 2006) was a member of Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets. Life and career Born in South Philadelphia, Grande played piano and accordion with Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, later known as Bill H ...

on "A Rockin' Little Tune", and

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 ...

player Billy Williamson sings a solo vocal on a version of

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American singer from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." His greatest fame was due to ...

's "Hide and Seek". In addition, two songs - "Tonight's the Night" and "Hey Then, There Now" were trio vocals featuring Williamson, Beecher and bass player

Al Rex Albert Floyd Piccirilli (July 13, 1928 – May 24, 2020), also known by his stage name Al Rex, was an American bass player for Bill Haley & His Comets and its predecessor Bill Haley and the Saddlemen. Background He started playing for them in 19 ...

. Haley himself is heard on only four tracks: "Rockin' Thru the Rye" (a rock and roll version of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

' poem, "Comin' Thro' the Rye"), "Hook, Line and Sinker", "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy", and "

Choo Choo Ch'Boogie "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" is a popular song written by Vaughn Horton, Denver Darling, and Milt Gabler. The song was recorded in January 1946 by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five and released by Decca Records. It topped the R&B charts for 18 weeks fro ...

", a song co-written by the album's producer,

Milt Gabler Milton Gabler (May 20, 1911 – July 20, 2001) was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century. These included being the first person to deal in record reissues, the first to sel ...

, who had success with it when he produced

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as " the King of the Jukebox", he earned his high ...

a decade earlier. Several songs from this album were performed or heard in the band's film, ''

Don't Knock the Rock ''Don't Knock the Rock'' is a 1956 American musical film starring Alan Dale and Alan Freed. Directed by Fred F. Sears, the film also features performances by Bill Haley & His Comets, Little Richard, The Treniers, and Dave Appell and the App ...

'': "Calling All Comets", "Hook, Line and Sinker", "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy", and an

alternate take A take is a single continuous recorded performance. The term is used in film and music to denote and track the stages of production. Film In cinematography, a take refers to each filmed "version" of a particular shot or "setup". Takes of each s ...

of "Goofin' Around." The album was reissued in the 1980s by

Charly Records Charly Records is a British record label that specialises in reissued material. Among the labels whose original releases are reissued by Charly are Vee-Jay, Sun, Immediate, BYG, Tomato, and Fania. History Charly Records was founded in Franc ...

, but due to a mastering error, "Hook, Line and Sinker" contains noticeable sound distortion in that version. This album should not be confused with ''Rock 'n' Roll Show'', a live recording of Bill Haley & His Comets from April 1955 that was released in 1997 by

Hydra Records Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

Track listing

# "Calling All Comets" (Bill Haley, Milt Gabler, Rudy Pompilli) # "Rockin' Thru the Rye" (Bill Haley, Milt Gabler, Rusty Keefer, Catherine Cafra) # "A Rockin' Little Tune" (Johnny Grande, Billy Williamson) # "Hide and Seek" (Paul Winley, Ethel Byrd) # "Hey Then, There Now" (Rudy Pompilli, Ralph Jones) # "Goofin' Around" (Franny Beecher, Johnny Grande) # "Hook, Line and Sinker" (Bill Haley, Edward A. Khoury, Ronnie Bonner) # "

Rudy's Rock "Rudy's Rock" is a 1956 instrumental composed by Bill Haley and Rudy Pompilli and released as a Decca single. The song appeared in the 1956 Columbia Pictures movie '' Rock Around the Clock''. Background The saxophone solo was by Rudy Pompilli, w ...

" (Bill Haley, Rudy Pompilli) # "

" (Milt Gabler, Denver Darling, Vaughn Horton) # "Blue Comet Blues" (Franny Beecher, Al Rex) # "

Hot Dog Buddy Buddy "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" is a 1956 rock and roll song composed by Bill Haley (musician), Bill Haley and released as a Decca single and also on Brunswick. The song appeared in the 1956 Columbia Pictures movie ''Don't Knock the Rock''. Background "H ...

" (Bill Haley) # "Tonight's the Night" (Bill Haley, Catherine Cafra)

Personnel

– rhythm

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

on 2 7 9 11 *

– lead guitar, vocal on 5 12 * Billy Williamson –

, vocal on 4 5 12 *

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

on 3 *

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

, vocal on 5 12 *

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American high school and college American football, football and college basketball, basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the Na ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

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Chart positions

References

External links

Bill Haley discography
{{Authority control 1956 debut albums Bill Haley & His Comets albums Albums produced by Milt Gabler Decca Records albums