Rating:
Genre: Rock
Release Date: 09/16/2008

Although remembered for his 1955 single "Rock Around the Clock," which fired rock & roll's first clear shot across the bow of pop music, Bill Haley's initial recordings actually appeared a decade earlier on the Cowboy Records label. Specializing in a sort of polka-country-swing -- a style that combined accordions with pedal steel -- Cowboy released Haley's first single, "Candy Kisses," in 1948. Nearly 50 such early Haley tracks appear here, and while these cuts display some verve and energy, and even some yodeling, don't expect anything much like proto-rock & roll, even though it's tempting to look for it (and therefore see it, since no one wants to feel like it isn't hiding there somewhere). Oh, Bill Haley & the Four Aces of Western Swing (or Bill Haley & His Saddlemen, or any of Haley's other band incarnations) do tend to edge up the beat a little, and there's a predilection for boogie-woogie styling, but it isn't exactly rock & roll. Or is it? Tracks like "Rocket 88" really do stand directly at a crossroads. This generous two-disc, 53-track box presents Haley's early work (along with four tracks by fellow Cowboy recording artist Ray Whitley, who, interestingly enough, played James Dean's character's manager in Dean's last film, Giant), spanning 1947 to 1954 and brings everything right up to the doorstep of rock & roll. Haley knew what audiences wanted (and they wanted him to push the beat) and he always had his ear to the ground. What he heard in the collision of Western swing and boogie-woogie was "Rock Around the Clock." The rest, as they say, is history.

~Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

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Bill Haley - Guitar (Rhythm)
Bill Haley - Vocals
Cliff Leeman - Drums
Al Rex - Bass
Art Ryerson - Guitar
Ray Whitley - Guitar
Ray Whitley - Vocals
Rusty Keefer - Guitar
Rusty Keefer - Violin
Danny Cedrone - Guitar
Joey d'Ambrosio - Sax (Tenor)
Johnny Grande - Piano
Johnny Grande - Accordion
Johnny Grande - Duet
Billy Gussack - Drums
Marshall Lytle - Bass
Billy Williamson - Guitar (Steel)
Ray Charles Singers - Choir, Chorus
Al Thompson - Bass
Lou Graham - Vocals
Pat Harrison - Liner Notes
Bob Scaltrito - Guitar
Loretta Glendenning - Vocals
Bill Borelli - Piano
Bill Borelli - Duet
Alice Constantine - Accordion
Tony Lance - Sax (Baritone)
Merle Fritz - Guitar (Steel)
Joseph Piccirilli - Bass

Shame on You: The Western Swing Dance Gang
    Spade Cooley / CD / 1999
20 Great Tracks
    Chuck Berry / CD / 2004
Guitar Spectacular
    Speedy West / CD / 1962
The Real Birth of Rock N Roll Arrives: 1946-1954
    Bill Haley / CD / 2006
King of Western Swing [JSP]
    Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys / CD / 2007

Release Date: 09/16/2008
Genre: rock