Recorded over the span of more than 18 months, ''Strictly Instrumental'' was the ninth

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 ...

album 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 ...

, and their final album of new material for

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 ...

(although Decca would release previously unissued recordings during the 1960s). Produced by

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 ...

(the last full album he would produce for Haley), the album collects instrumental recordings made by Haley and the Comets between June 1958 and their final Decca recording sessions in September 1959. (The band subsequently began recording for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

in January 1960.) As the title of the album suggests, all of the songs on this album were instrumentals, with the exception of some ensemble singing on the track "Chiquita Linda".

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 ...

's involvement in the recordings was a matter of conjecture until research for the

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...

box set ''The Decca Years and More'' in the early 1990s confirmed his presence. Recording session information compiled by music historian Chris Gardner reveals that three different

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

players are heard on the varying tracks:

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 ...

, Al Pompilli and Al Rappa. The album contains the Franny Beecher and Billy Williamson composition "The Catwalk", "Shaky", also composed by Franny Beecher and Billy Williamson, and "Two Shadows", composed by pianist Johnny Grande and Billy Williamson. The album contained two chart hits: " Joey's Song", which made the charts in 1959, reaching no.35 on Cashbox, no.46 on Billboard, no.26 on the Canadian charts, and which was no.1 for 8 weeks on the Australian charts (December 12, 1959 – January 30, 1960) based on the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

, and "

Skokiaan "Skokiaan" is a popular music, popular Melody, tune originally written by Zimbabwean musician August Msarurgwa, August Musarurwa (d. 1968, usually identified as August Msarurgwa on record labels) in the Tsaba-tsaba big band-style that succeeded M ...

", which became one of the band's last new Decca North American charting recordings when it was released as a single in 1960. The Warner Brothers release "Tamiami" would reach no. 79 on Cashbox on March 12, 1960. "Joey's Song" was no.2 on the year-end Top 25 Singles of 1959 list in Australia based on the Kent Music Report. "Shaky", written by Franny Beecher and Billy Williamson, was also released as a single from the album by Decca in 1959. This album also featured Haley's last recordings to be produced by Milt Gabler, with the exception of a single (" The Green Door"/" Yeah, She's Evil!") recorded for Decca in 1964.

Track listing

# " Joey's Song" (Joe Reisman) # "

Music! Music! Music! "Music! Music! Music! (Put Another Nickel In)" is a popular song written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum and published in 1950. Background The first recording of the song was by Etienne Paree with Eddie "Piano" Miller, released by Rainbow Rec ...

" (Bernie Baum, Stephen Weiss) # "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" (german: "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", italic=no, link=no) is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (german: Die Dreig ...

" (Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, Marc Blitzstein) # "

In a Little Spanish Town "In a Little Spanish Town ('Twas on a Night Like This)" is a popular song published in 1926. The music was written by Mabel Wayne, and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young. With Jack Fulton's vocals, the song was a 1927 hit for Paul Whiteman & ...

" (Mabel Wayne, Sam M. Lewis, Joe Young) # "Two Shadows" (Johnny Grande, Billy Williamson) # "Shaky" (Franny Beecher, Billy Williamson) # "Strictly Instrumental" (Bennie Benjamin, Edgar Battle, Sol Marcus, Eddie Seiler) # "

" (Tom Glazer, August Msarurgwa) # "Puerto Rican Peddler" (Johnny Brandon) # "Drowsy Waters" (Jack Ailau) # "Chiquita Linda" (Un Poquito de tu Amor) (Julio Gutierrez) # "The Catwalk" (Franny Beecher, Billy Williamson)

Personnel

–

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

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 ...

– lead guitar * 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 ...

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 ...

–

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

–

on 1 11 * Al Pompilli - bass guitar on 6 12 * Al Rappa - bass guitar on all othersBill Haley Recordings

Singles

1959 *Shaky/Caldonia (Decca 30926) *Joey's Song/Ooh! Look-a-There, Ain't She Pretty? (Decca 30956) 1960 *Skokiaan (South African Song) /Puerto Rican Peddler (Decca 31030) *Music! Music! Music!/Strictly Instrumental (Decca 31080)

References

External links

{{Authority control 1959 albums Bill Haley & His Comets albums Albums produced by Milt Gabler Instrumental albums Decca Records albums