"Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" is a 1952 song composed by

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 ...

and first recorded by the Esquire Boys in 1952. Bill Haley and the Comets recorded the song in 1955 for Decca. The song was featured in the 1956 movie ''

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the Twelve-bar blues, 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 ren ...

''.

Background

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 ...

recorded the first version of the song with his group the Esquire Boys and "nitery singer" Kay Karol. It was released as a 78 single on Rainbow 200, backed with "If It's Love You Want To Borrow" in December, 1952. A second recording of "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", released on Guyden 705-A, was recorded without piano accompaniment or Kay Karol. It reached no. 42 on the '' Cash Box'' pop singles chart on October 30, 1954. "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" was also recorded by Bill Haley and the Comets on September 22, 1955 and was released in October 1955 as a single in the U.S. on Decca, 29713, backed with "Burn That Candle", as Brunswick 5509 in the UK, as Festival SP45-807 in Australia, and as Decca 333510A in Argentina as "Boogie En Rock". "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" reached #23 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', #24 on Cash Box, and #4 on the RU charts in January, 1956. The song was featured on the 1970 live album ''Bill Haley's Scrapbook: Live at the Bitter End'' on Kama Sutra Records as KSBS 2014 which was recorded on December 16, 1969. The single appeared on the 1955 Decca album, ''

''. The recording was featured on the 1989 song medley "

Swing the Mood "Swing the Mood" is a song by British novelty pop music act Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers, released as the first single from their debut album, '' Jive Bunny: The Album'' (1989). Produced by the father and son DJ team of Andy and John Pickle ...

" by

Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers were a British novelty pop music act from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The face of the group was Jive Bunny, a cartoon rabbit who appeared in the videos, and also (as a human being in a costume) did pro ...

, which was no. 1 for five weeks on the UK charts, becoming the second best-selling single of 1989 in the UK, and also went no. 1 in these countries in 1989: Norway, Ireland, Germany, France, Austria, Australia, and Holland. The single reached no. 11 in the US on the ''

'' Hot 100 chart and no. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance chart.

Other recordings

The song was also recorded by

the Treniers The Treniers (pronounced /trəˈniərz/) were an American R&B and jump blues musical group led by identical twins Cliff and Claude Trenier. They were originally billed as the Trenier Twins, who performed alongside the Gene Gilbeaux Quartet ...

in March, 1954, and released as a single as Okeh 7023, Buddy Morrow on Mercury, Johnny Curtis with the Toppers on Tops, Gabe Drake and his Rockets with the Orchestra under Maury Laws on Prom 1135, Willie Restum and His Music on Capitol, Georges Richard on the French 1957 LP Paris Microsill Gem 81, Teddy Raye on a 1961 EP, Fontana 460 788, the

Deep River Boys The Deep River Boys were an American gospel music group active from the mid-1930s and into the 1980s. The group performed spirituals, gospel, and R&B. Members The original group consisted of Harry Douglass ( baritone), Vernon Gardner (first ...

on HMV in 1956, Charlie Gracie on the ''Just Hangin' Around'' album, the Ivor and Basil Kirchin Band in the UK (Parlophone R 4140), Artie Malvin and the Rhythm Rockets on Waldorf Music Hall Records MH 33 149 in 1955 on the ''Rock and Roll'' album, Artie Malvin with the Deerhill Dudes on the Waldorf 33 BU 2 ''Rock 'N Roll Jamboree'' album in 1958, the Cuban group Los Llopis, Truck Stop in 1973, Bogusław Wyrobek, Orchester Klaus Kovarik as an Austrian 45 Donauland single as part of a medley "Rock 'n' Roll-Party", Omar Lamparter, the Dutch band The Tykes, Boris & The Telstars, The Alleycats, the Japanese band Levi Dexter and Magic on 1993 Meldac album, The Original Band, Bill Haley's Original Comets, in 1994, original Comet bassist Marshall Lytle live in concert, Phil Haley and His Comments, Jean Rich, Mary Dunne, and Sharron Skelton on the UK TV show ''Oh Boy'' in 1980, The Danish Sharks, the German band Hugo Strasser Und Sein Tanzorchester on the 1979 LP ''Die Tanzplatte Des Jahres '80'', Major Schiffer & Majories, Czech band Olympic on their 1982 Supraphon album ''Rock and Roll'', Rock-Rolf & Hans Satelliter in Sweden, Australian band Trevor Gleeson & Chiodo on an EP, The Jodimars in 1955 for Capitol which was unissued, Boston Rockabilly on the 2005 album ''It's About Time'' on REG, J. Lawrence Cook on player piano originally issued as QRS 9224 and reissued as part of a three-song medley entitled "Bill Haley Hits No. 1" on QRS XP-440, and Showaddywaddy in 1991. The

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

Orchestra recorded the song in 2000 as a bonus track on the album '' Vavoom!'' released in Japan. Freddie Bell and the Bellboys performed the song on the September 18, 1955 episode of the

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in pop culture, Lewis was nickn ...

Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' show on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

. Mr. Roll and His Rocks recorded the song in 1957 which was released in Brazil. Johnny Kay's Rockets released a recording of the song on the 2009 CD ''Johnny Kay: Tale of a Comet'' on Hydra. Bill Haley and the Comets performed the song in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of t ...

, Peru, in 1961 with Al Dean on saxophone, in a radio broadcast version.

References

Sources

*Dawson, Jim. ''Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution''. Backbeat Books, 2005. *Haley, John W., and John von Hoelle. ''Sound and Glory''. Dyne-American, 1990. *Swenson, John. ''Bill Haley''. Star Books, 1982. {{Authority control 1952 songs Bill Haley songs Songs written by Bill Haley