On This Day in 1955, Bill Haley & His Comets Changed the Music World Forever When “Rock Around the Clock” Topped the Hot 100

On this day (July 9) in 1955, “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets became the first rock and roll song to top the Billboard Hot 100. More than a huge hit for Haley, the song changed the music world forever, introducing rock and roll into mainstream popularity in the United States.

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Elvis Presley went down in history as the King of Rock and Roll and saw some chart success early in his career. However, he wouldn’t top the chart until 1956 with “Heartbreak Hotel.” It would be almost two more years before he started consistently hitting the upper region of the Hot 100. Haley and “Rock Around the Clock” opened the door for Presley and other rock and rollers to enter the mainstream.

[RELATED: The Making of a Teenage Anthem: The Story Behind “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets]

Bill Haley & His Comets had already seen some major success in the early 1950s. Their song “Crazy Man, Crazy” peaked at No. 12 on the chart in 1953. Some historians cite this as the first rock and roll record. Others say it was just the first to be released by a white artist. Then, in 1954, Haley and the band released their version of “Shake, Rattle, and Roll,” which went to No. 7.

Bill Haley & His Comets Released Their Groundbreaking Hit Twice

Bill Haley & His Comets released “Rock Around the Clock” twice. The first release came on May 20, 1954. It was the B-side to the band’s first single for Decca Records, “Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town).” The song saw some chart success, but didn’t reach the heights that it would when they released it again, a year later.

“Rock Around the Clock” appeared in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle. The song played over the opening credits and four more times throughout the movie. The film, featuring rebellious youth, was a hit. The soundtrack helped bring throngs of teenagers to screenings across the country. As a result, the film helped “Rock Around the Clock” become a massive hit. It went to the top of Billboard’s pop chart and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks.

Nearly two decades later, in 1974, the song returned to the Hot 100 at No. 39 after being used as the opening theme of Happy Days in its first season.

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