The Comets were late in getting to the session for RATC. The ferry boat to Chester, PA had gotten stuck on a sand bar. By the time they made it to NYC they only had three hours left in the session. Milt Gabler, the producer, spent 2 and a half hours on "13 Women". When they were done Milt told Bill he had 1/2 hour to come up with a B-side. Bill wanted to do RATC which he had promised to record for James Meyer who got them on Decca. Danny was an Esquire Boy, never a Comet. Bill told him to use the "Rock This Joint" solo again. Two takes and they had the record that changed history. Danny had also collected nickels from the Chester juke joints for the Mob. He was suspected of skimming some of the money for himself. So he ended up getting pushed down a flight of stairs. Bill Haley never played "13 Women" again. He resented that Milt had made him spend so much time on that one tune.
@@westcoastramble I live a couple miles from Melody Manor which was Bill's Graceland. Knew various characters in the Haley story. John Kay replaced Franny Beecher when he was only 20. My guitar teacher and friend who just passed away last year.
Agreed, ive heard great players play that solo, but none have the magic. The tone?, the slap bass in the background? The clean picking? Not sure what makes it work.
Ringo Starr said when he was a child, he was very sick and missed a lot of school. One day to help him feel better his Mom took him to the movies. It was when Blackboard Jungle opened at theaters in Liverpool. He said when Rock Around The Clock opened the movie all the kids literally tore the theater up, ripped the screen, jumped on the chairs, and went crazy. He said at that moment he knew what he wanted to do!
@@westcoastramble The Beatles always honored Rockabilly (or "Skiffle" as they called it), in their live shows. Paul McCartney played Eddie Cochran and George played "Raunchy"in their auditions for the group.
It's a shame that Ringo Star didn't learn to play a musical instrument, the kind of musical instrument that makes musical tunes, drums are not a musical instruments
I'm a former major market DJ, and I found this to be very interesting. I had always assumed that it was Bill playing those parts. Nice to see the player get his credit.
I think I read somewhere that the criteria for playing guitar for the Comets was that you'd have to play the RATC solo like Cedrone. But I saw an old film of the Comets appearing on some TV show and although Frank Beecher was good, he just didn't have the fury Cedrone had in his fingers. It's that blistering speed with control that set Cedrone apart.
I met his replacement in 2006, Franny Beecher and saw The Original Comets. Franny is one of my fave guitarist and it was great seeing him and The Comets play live. Remember in the early days of R&R the players were often times older than those in later decades that got started. Their influences were country, jazz, big band and R&B but there was mo rock when they were growing up so they created the blueprint of R&R that would influence the generations in later decades. Danny Cedrone was a jazzer as was Franny Beecher. Franny was the same age as Cedrone, actually one year younger. Franny in fact played guitar for Buddy Greco and Benny Goodman before The Comets. His big guitar hero was Charlie Christian and you hear it in the music.
I was 5 when Rock Around the Clock was released. A while later my buddies' older brother bought the 45. Then, after school when I was 6 or 7 I would go home to my buddie's pad and we would play the hell out of it! At 75 I remember it like it was yesterday. Rock on Comets!
To me that's incredible that you were there for that! May seem mundane at a glance, but I can just picture you guys in your crew cuts, cranking that record player! Golden era!
I was a rock n roll baby once rock around the clock came out. Saw bill and the comets at a rock n roll revival show, London Wembley 1973. Chuck Berry was on last. Rocked the stadium. Amazing talent.
@stoundingresults It's session work. You are paid to do a job. He got $21.00 for less than an hour's work, at a time many worked for less than a dollar an hour.
Exactly and if the record goes nowhere you still get the fee, and in this case the fee wasn't bad seeing as it was a riff he'd used on an earlier song anyway.
While on a train to do a gig it was approaching its stop, Bill Haley noticed the station was filled with people cheering. He remarked to a bandmate (or his manager) “We had to do a gig the day some famous person was making an appearance.” Then he found out the fans were waiting for him. Definitely NOT a pretentious rock star. Humility…
I recall a couple of old musicians living across the street from me who rehearsed in their 1st floor apartment. I would sit on the front steps to listen until one day they invited me in to watch as long as I kept my big mouth shut. They were about 18 years old - old folks to me. One played a guitar and the other a stand-up bass - typical hootenanny music late 1950s. I was smitten. I missed the big leagues but I became a songwriter and I’m off to my first festival in Mississippi next month to celebrate Mississippi John Hurt at the young age of 71, lol.
the guy that started guitar solos was goree clark in 1948. he was out of houston, but got drafted for korea and by the time, he got back to the usa then he was forgotten... bill haley was singer with the first number one rock and roll hit ... but the rock and roll trio (johnny burnette and his brother, dorsey along with paul burlison on guitar) made the first iconic hit with tiny bradshaw's old song of train kept a rollin ...that's song has been covered by most every band since by the yardbirds, areosmith, to motorhead...
Not so uncommon his method of demise. We had a family member died going to work leaving the family apartment slipping on stairs as he walked out the door. Bye mom next thing you know down the stairs he went... Instant it was.
The solo to Rock Around the Clock is one of the most underrated guitar solos of all time. Thank you for this video. It's nearly always the case that the likes of Clapton, Page etc. are always praised in the world of rock guitar when other great players, mainly pre Beatles, are overlooked. This is an injustice. Danny Cedrone was replaced by Fran Beecher.
Agree, there no such thing as the greatest guitar player ever, it's too subjective a good example is the rolling stone mag top 100 guitarists, it's pure politics.
Thank you for this well deserved tribute. Danny's daughter Janet and son in law King Arthur are well known DJs in the Doo Wop market today. I would add that Danny in his teens days was also a stringband musician in the Philadelphia annual Mummers Day Parade held every January 1st. In Philly we like to say he is the only Mummer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - so far.
This was when Rock-n-Roll was pure!!!! Back when I was 14 in 1974, I saw Rock Around The Clock on the afternoon movie and was hooked. I actually found the 45rpm record at a local department store and bought it. That was my first record I ever bought. That was a great raw sound!!!! Thank you Bill Hailey and the Comets!!!!
@jculpmm7 Pure? PURE??? So we'll just disregard its essentially being a marriage between country and blues, or rhythm & blues, along with the influences coming in to it from the fact that a lot of the session musicians were jazz guys, and for example were playing swing eighths (hint - you might want to give the beat in this tune another listen!)... But sure, ok, rock and roll was a pure form. I'm sure that you know what you mean!
@@JamesThompson-zk1ht I recall the late Steve Race being asked for his definition of that kind of rock and roll and he said it's jazz with the intelligence taken out of it. Well certainly much of it relied on the 12 bar blues sequence but oh my such impoverishment! No chord subs and very little intelligent imrov. Steve was right.
I was 9 yrs old, when I saw the Rock Around the Clock ⏰️ at my neighborhood theater. Loved the song and became a rock and roller. Glad to know about Danny Cedrone guitar riff , starting the guitar solos. Sorry to know that he did not realize what he created in the music world of rock and roll . A great historical commentary, thank you and God Speed!!! RAM
I was born in England in 1950 and must have heard that song so many times throughout my life, I know when I was becoming aware of music in my life as a kid, that was THE main record that triggered my love of Rock n Roll/Pop music, I never knew the story behind that great song, thank you for sharing.
I too am English saw Bill Haley and the comets around 1967-8 at the Marque Club. I loved that solo, but although the solo was played, now I know it was not played by the man who invented it. These days in my 80th year I listen mostly to classical music, that was my first love, but occasionally when I hear R'n'R it still gets my feet tapping. Also saw one of the other greats of that era Jerry Lee Lewis, twice in the UK. Once in a town hall, and second time at the Marque. He arrived very late, pissed to high heaven, but gave a performance out of this world. To days pop music, as Paul McCartney said "it's just noise"
@@westcoastramble I agree. But had he lived and stayed with the Comets i'm sure his unique guitar solos would have eventually been more widely recognized and appreciated throughout the world of guitar and rock and roll music lovers alike..........
That doesn't make sense as "rock and roll" was a marketing term created by music companies to segregate white bands from the black bands that created these elements of music, including guitar solos, which comes from the blues.
Rock around the clock is without doubt the greatest rock song ever, because it covered so many aspects of what was to become rock n roll . Guitar sax solo thumping bass, rhythmic drumming, and a general dance beat, that to this day, gets folks off their seats and onto the dance floor ..
I first heard this at the age of 5 in 1968 here in Wales . It absolutely blew my young mind and is still in my opinion , the greatest and most exciting guitar solo I have ever heard .
When "Rock & Roll"came to Australia in 1956,-with Bill Haley-it was a Sensation !!--it was never off the Radio,--we never heard of any other Artists-Black or white,--it turned into an ''Avalanche"of music-was "Covered"by local groups-who did great out of this !!--I had a friend in the navy,-who brought back a pile of records from the U.S-among them "Chess"records "Chuck-berry"-johnny-b-goode"-it blew me away-!!-eventually the "Record companies"could not get away with it anymore,-and U.S.artists reigned-Supreme !!--"Rock around the clock"-never gets old !!
As a 3 year old in London kid in 1952, that original guitar solo, heard on the BBC radio was what set of me on a life of loving “electric music’, sneered at by my parents’ generation. Two years later, I was smitten though Bill Haley always seems older than all the adults I knew, though to be fair, to a 5 year old kid, anybody over 12 seemed impossibly adult.
Outstanding coverage. Some years ago the Canadian Broadcasting Corp did a radio interview with Randy Bachman. In it he said that no matter how times he tried to replicate the solo, he could not do it.
@@chris4321das If you believe in Christ, you'll surely have eternal life, and life in abundance. Who are the people who have life in abundance? Something i came to understanding clearly in 1993.
This song was very popular on pop radio when I was still a toddler in the late 50s. I remember listening to this stuff all the time as we always had a radio or TV playing.
I ❤that a fellow Italian 🇮🇹American 🇺🇸was the originator of rock and roll guitar for the world! Brava Danny Cedrone! You ROCKED our world! For REAL! Mary Zavarella Walker 🙋🏻♀️🇮🇹🇺🇸
Sorry, but he was not the originator of rock and roll guitar. That honor goes to the Godmother of Rock and Roll,, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was a gospel singer, but she was playing Rock and Roll.
Growing up, I had always assumed all the great stories of our music would be lost in time. But thankfully, I lived long enough to see the internet, and it has brought me so much, even things I never knew I was missing. And at least some of it has been true. 🙂 Great video. Thanks!
Dayum Happy Days was where I first heard it, and I listened to that solo every time the show started. Amazing. Has that almost careening out of control feel of a fast car on slick streets, but so perfect..
@@Rock_Snob -- Nope...Rocket 88 is a Bluesy, R & B type of song, not Rock n Roll. With your aptly chosen moniker, Rock_Snob, I suspect you are wrong a lot. But I'll give you this, you are highly influenced by your fellow Liberals. Unfortunately, that's one of the reasons you're always wrong. Grab your hanky, wipe your nose and dry your eyes.
The 50's, 60's & 70's were the decades of Rock 'n Roll baby! (I'd say 80's, but it merged into Heavy Metal). My era was the 70's. Thank you for this awesome story! It really brings the roots of solo'ing down to it's foundation's. Me, I look up to these guy's. I'm just a Bass player. I have a great time tying the Drums with the Rhythms.
What a tragic story. Danny obviously had so much to offer the world of music that we'll never know. But at least he is now recognized for this memorable piece.
I was only 4 years old when Rock Around the Clock was released. My parents were more from the WWII swing/Sinatra generation, so I never heard anything about it at that time, and we didn't even have a television yet. I bought the single in '67 as a groovy curiosity after seeing Blackboard Jungle, and still have it.
Excellent presentation! RATC is a perfect record. It still kicks butt today. In addition to the lead guitar and slap bass, I always enjoyed the drums on RATC. They really kick the song along.
I was about 13 when I bought my first record. It was 'Rock-a-beatin-boogie' by Bill Haley and his Comets. A bunch of us bunked off school that day and went to a friend's house, who had a radiogram player. It was a 78 rpm disc which we played over and over all day and literally wore it out!
I use Danny's solo as an example of someone who could play the intro to KC and the Sunshine band's 'Get down tonight'. Supposedly said to be impossible to play. But after they hear his solo in Rock around the Clock, they become believers. 70 years ago, the magic of Danny.
I have always thought that the solo at the beginning of Get Down Tonight was recorded at 7 1/2 ips, and then patched in at 15 ips. -played at half speed and down an octave. (This is how the electric piano/quasi-harpsicord solo was done on the Beatles' In My Life.
It still amazes me how dynamic that solo is. I mean that is pre-Dick Dale SHREDDING. Most of the other cats, talented though they were, they were using blues-based licks that the Brits would cop a few years later. Even today it’s still one of the best solos ever, not just due to technique but in the way it serves the song. Back then you didn’t have drawn-out jams; most songs were between 2 and 3 minutes, with verses and choruses taking up most of it. You had a very small window to make a memorable guitar solo and most players would be happy just playing the vocal melody. Cedrone took it by the throat and absolutely killed it. Tremendous work.
That was very interesting to me. For years, I have asked people where and when Rock and Roll got started. No one ever had any satisfactory answers. Now I know.
Rock and Roll actually started before Rock around the clock, but I contend that the guitar solo helped make guitar the instrument of choice for RnR. Bill hayley had steel guitar and sax. After Buddy Holly, most rock bands were guitar bass and drums. Lots of guitar solos since then. Dannys solo was one of the first great popular Rock and Roll solos.
I was definitely influenced to play guitar by this and many other great recordings. I played this at many a gig but never knew who I got it from. Good stuff.
I had never heard of Danny Cedrone before listening to you highlighting his accomplishments. Thank you for bringing Danny's part to early Rock & Roll to all if us. Manny great comments as well. Could you do a similar spot about Roy Clark (yes the "Hey Haw" host) as I saw an listened to his solo just resently that he preformed in a segment that aired on T.V. on the Odd Couple show in the day. For which I was astounded and impressed with the depth an breath of his acoustic guitar abilities. Please back check Roy Clark, as I would like to see an hear if he did any other similarly spectacular preformances showing off his ample talent an adepthness!
The strings they had to use back then - whew - his solo was much too difficult for most to play. Very talented Happily surprised to learn about him after all this time.
Right enough - Important ingredients! Without the guitar and sax solos "Rock Around the Clock" could be just a hoe-down song. I saw Bill and the Comets on a mid-1970s UK tour - oh boy, poor Bill looked tired and worn out but I have no idea if "The Comets" were the original people. They cantered through a medley of the hits ending with this one and the left the stage and didn't come back - played less than half an hour. Such a shame. The memory of that gig always reminds me of a quote I read from Del Shannon. In a - rather bitter - interview he gave in the 1980s he said "You try playing 'Runaway' every night of your life for the next 25 years and tell me how it feels". Yeah, I got it.
Thank you for sharing this. I also thought it was Bill who 'guitared' that part. Unfortunate he passed into the other realm but hay, he's still playing the guuitar rockin' every one!
Four daughters and a wife named Milly…that a lot of Millys in one house! Seriously though, thanks for telling the story of this great guitarist. His swing chops made for superb rock ‘n’ roll. That whole band was cool as anything. Maybe a little more roll in today’s rock would spice things up a bit. I had to to learn that solo for a fifties show band years ago. Just about killed me! Lol.
Ahh you got me on that one. It does sound like 5 gals named Milly ( as opposed to 5 guys named Mo) Yes it’s a hard solo to play….right. I’m still working on it. Thx for watching
Wow, thanks for the incredible info! Had zero idea. Including the exact copy from “rock the joint”, or that Bill Haley was involved in “country” directly. So much great info.
“Rock around the clock” is one of my favorites. But I would say that Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode is the template for Rock n’ Roll with it’s guitar riffs and solos and it’s message about a young man that learns to play a guitar and becomes famous.
I don't see that riff influencing Chuck Berry, He was already a blues guitarist. The popularity of the song, amongst white teenagers, is something that he probably noticed, and may have influenced him to aim for that audience, with his own music.
@@garymorris1856I heartily agree. I also have " up in the morning and off to school......" going through my head and I haven't seen a classroom in 63 years.
It’s a fabulous story. It’s amazing how events happen. This guitar solo sets a standard for early rock using rockabilly guitar which blends again into early rock.
The memories I remember the most of Rock...clock is that my aunt was playing it so much in '55. I was 9 and she was16 when I accidentally sat on the record and broke it.😢
That's why you never hear that incredible solo on any tv footage of Bill Haley and the Comets performing Rock Around the Clock, because Danny Cedrone died 10 days after recording that blistering solo, and if he had lived to see the success of the song on Blackboard Jungle, Bill Haley may have hired him as a permanent member of the Comets, and we could've seen Rock Around the Clock performed the way it was actually recorded on those old TV shows.....
That's cool. I just performed this song at a city fair in Huntington Beach California a few months ago. Been playing it for decades one of my favorites.
One of the greatest guitar solos ever, yet this solo, and Danny Cedrone, are hardly ever mentioned when it comes to the great guitarists. A real shame. The story is that a heart attack caused the fall which killed Danny.
It’s kind of like what happened to Buddy Holly, who was a rock and roll musician who wrote his own songs he performed and was 20 years ahead of his time. One has to wonder what even more powerful influence on music he might have had if he hadn’t been killed in a plane crash in 1959.
Danny left his wife Marie and 4 daughters. Must've been tough on m. At least, his family finally got some recognition when Danny was inducted in the RnR Hall of Fame in 2012
The Comets were late in getting to the session for RATC. The ferry boat to Chester, PA had gotten stuck on a sand bar. By the time they made it to NYC they only had three hours left in the session. Milt Gabler, the producer, spent 2 and a half hours on "13 Women". When they were done Milt told Bill he had 1/2 hour to come up with a B-side. Bill wanted to do RATC which he had promised to record for James Meyer who got them on Decca. Danny was an Esquire Boy, never a Comet. Bill told him to use the "Rock This Joint" solo again. Two takes and they had the record that changed history. Danny had also collected nickels from the Chester juke joints for the Mob. He was suspected of skimming some of the money for himself. So he ended up getting pushed down a flight of stairs. Bill Haley never played "13 Women" again. He resented that Milt had made him spend so much time on that one tune.
Great info. Thx. Never heard the Mob connection.
@@westcoastramble I live a couple miles from Melody Manor which was Bill's Graceland. Knew various characters in the Haley story. John Kay replaced Franny Beecher when he was only 20. My guitar teacher and friend who just passed away last year.
@@harvey1954 you need to document those stories!
@@westcoastramble That's why I put them up on line here. I met most of the players except for Bill, ironically.
@@harvey1954 thank you
Nobody has ever come close to playing it better.... probably one of the greatest Guitar solos of all time
Agreed, ive heard great players play that solo, but none have the magic. The tone?, the slap bass in the background? The clean picking? Not sure what makes it work.
@@westcoastramble i guess somethings just can't be replicated to sound any better... one of life's mysteries lol
Jeff Beck played it perfectly.
Feel free to take "probably" out of that sentence. 😉
@@patrickcasey357ah, close, but not quite... ua-cam.com/video/VTJ7eU1_i9Q/v-deo.htmlsi=nJzvKEmUmgJkepU9
Ringo Starr said when he was a child, he was very sick and missed a lot of school. One day to help him feel better his Mom took him to the movies. It was when Blackboard Jungle opened at theaters in Liverpool. He said when Rock Around The Clock opened the movie all the kids literally tore the theater up, ripped the screen, jumped on the chairs, and went crazy.
He said at that moment he knew what he wanted to do!
Yea! The Beatles are one of my favorite Rockabilly groups ( at least that’s how they started)
@@westcoastramble
The Beatles always honored Rockabilly (or "Skiffle" as they called it), in their live shows.
Paul McCartney played Eddie Cochran and George played "Raunchy"in their auditions for the group.
The kids went crazy .😊😊😊
It's a shame that Ringo Star didn't learn to play a musical instrument, the kind of musical instrument that makes musical tunes, drums are not a musical instruments
@@stuartconway6946 funny how they're sold in musical instrument stores.
I like that this video gets to the point, rather than taking 21 minutes.
Thank you.
I'm a former major market DJ, and I found this to be very interesting. I had always assumed that it was Bill playing those parts. Nice to see the player get his credit.
I also mistakenly thought Haley played this, I am glad to learn about this man, his influence, his talent and his tragic end.
My Mom's Brother
Wow
I think I read somewhere that the criteria for playing guitar for the Comets was that you'd have to play the RATC solo like Cedrone. But I saw an old film of the Comets appearing on some TV show and although Frank Beecher was good, he just didn't have the fury Cedrone had in his fingers. It's that blistering speed with control that set Cedrone apart.
I met his replacement in 2006, Franny Beecher and saw The Original Comets. Franny is one of my fave guitarist and it was great seeing him and The Comets play live.
Remember in the early days of R&R the players were often times older than those in later decades that got started. Their influences were country, jazz, big band and R&B but there was mo rock when they were growing up so they created the blueprint of R&R that would influence the generations in later decades.
Danny Cedrone was a jazzer as was Franny Beecher. Franny was the same age as Cedrone, actually one year younger. Franny in fact played guitar for Buddy Greco and Benny Goodman before The Comets. His big guitar hero was Charlie Christian and you hear it in the music.
Charlie Christian, for sure, Yea your right. His guitar tone and phrasing is very similar.
I understand Franny played all of the other solos on that first album?
I was 5 when Rock Around the Clock was released. A while later my buddies' older brother bought the 45. Then, after school when I was 6 or 7 I would go home to my buddie's pad and we would play the hell out of it! At 75 I remember it like it was yesterday. Rock on Comets!
Yea, my mom had the 45 and I listened to it and shake rattle and roll, 13 women when I was 5 ( around 1972)
To me that's incredible that you were there for that! May seem mundane at a glance, but I can just picture you guys in your crew cuts, cranking that record player! Golden era!
l was 7 at the time loved rock music from that point on
I was a rock n roll baby once rock around the clock came out.
Saw bill and the comets at a rock n roll revival show, London Wembley 1973.
Chuck Berry was on last.
Rocked the stadium.
Amazing talent.
Well at five you wouldn't have any clue about music. Many still don't even if they're 75.
That $21.00 that Danny Cedrone was paid in 1954 for his 16-second solo is equivalent in purchasing power to about $245.75 today,
Artists got scammed selling their record rights and residuals. The bass player that recorded the James bond 007 theme also got peanuts
@stoundingresults It's session work. You are paid to do a job. He got $21.00 for less than an hour's work, at a time many worked for less than a dollar an hour.
@@garyjackson3531this doesn't make justice to him, sadly till nowadays artists are treated like trash
@@TOMTOM-zj5xj,artists in 2024? Right.
Exactly and if the record goes nowhere you still get the fee, and in this case the fee wasn't bad seeing as it was a riff he'd used on an earlier song anyway.
The original shredder. I still think of that guitar solo as the fountainhead of all that followed. RIP Danny Cedrone.
While on a train to do a gig it was approaching its stop, Bill Haley noticed the station was filled with people cheering. He remarked to a bandmate (or his manager) “We had to do a gig the day some famous person was making an appearance.” Then he found out the fans were waiting for him. Definitely NOT a pretentious rock star. Humility…
Did not hear that story before, that's great!
I recall a couple of old musicians living across the street from me who rehearsed in their 1st floor apartment. I would sit on the front steps to listen until one day they invited me in to watch as long as I kept my big mouth shut. They were about 18 years old - old folks to me. One played a guitar and the other a stand-up bass - typical hootenanny music late 1950s. I was smitten. I missed the big leagues but I became a songwriter and I’m off to my first festival in Mississippi next month to celebrate Mississippi John Hurt at the young age of 71, lol.
Punchline to naughty joke, old Italian man, "Lady, calma downa, i'ma justa tellin' mya friend how to spella Mississippi !"
Never too late brother
@@nozzledrich gracias fratello
you just cannot overstate how important that guitar solo was! I didn’t know about his tragic ending, so sad.
but what a legacy he left .
the guy that started guitar solos was goree clark in 1948. he was out of houston, but got drafted for korea and by the time, he got back to the usa then he was forgotten... bill haley was singer with the first number one rock and roll hit ... but the rock and roll trio (johnny burnette and his brother, dorsey along with paul burlison on guitar) made the first iconic hit with tiny bradshaw's old song of train kept a rollin ...that's song has been covered by most every band since by the yardbirds, areosmith, to motorhead...
Such a tremendous influence, and sadly, he is largely forgotten.
Not so uncommon his method of demise. We had a family member died going to work leaving the family apartment slipping on stairs as he walked out the door. Bye mom next thing you know down the stairs he went... Instant it was.
That guitar solo was pure jazz improvisation - swing, rock 'n' roll, call it what you want! It was great, wasn't it!!
From Aus . I am a 78yold picker and still play the solo in rock around clock very simple for an old picker ,best music ever
The greatest rock guitarist you never heard of.
Yes, and the strings they had back then - too difficult for most to play.
Happily surprised to learn about him after all this time.
@@fredvanderbeek5881Really? Heavy gauge, not much give?
Yeah he and Danny Gatton who also did a great version of " 13 Women "
@ Yeah, but ppl have heard of Danny Gatton.
Oh come off it!
The solo to Rock Around the Clock is one of the most underrated guitar solos of all time. Thank you for this video. It's nearly always the case that the likes of Clapton, Page etc. are always praised in the world of rock guitar when other great players, mainly pre Beatles, are overlooked. This is an injustice.
Danny Cedrone was replaced by Fran Beecher.
Agree, there no such thing as the greatest guitar player ever, it's too subjective a good example is the rolling stone mag top 100 guitarists, it's pure politics.
Jimmy Page said that he was inspired by Link Wray.
Rocket 88. First best rock and roll song’
I just taught that solo to a 12 year old guitar student. Danny is still making new fans.
That 12 year old kid must be good if he can pull off that solo. I hope he digs deep into early jazz/rock
@@westcoastramble well, it’ll be some time before he can pull it off but he’s working on it!
@@KevyNova I would suggest playing some George Benson and Pat Metheny for him.
Thank you for this well deserved tribute. Danny's daughter Janet and son in law King Arthur are well known DJs in the Doo Wop market today. I would add that Danny in his teens days was also a stringband musician in the Philadelphia annual Mummers Day Parade held every January 1st. In Philly we like to say he is the only Mummer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - so far.
Cool info, thx!
This was when Rock-n-Roll was pure!!!! Back when I was 14 in 1974, I saw Rock Around The Clock on the afternoon movie and was hooked. I actually found the 45rpm record at a local department store and bought it. That was my first record I ever bought. That was a great raw sound!!!! Thank you Bill Hailey and the Comets!!!!
From Australia I still have my 45 r o c my grandmother brought me it started my love for R n R!!!
@jculpmm7 Pure? PURE??? So we'll just disregard its essentially being a marriage between country and blues, or rhythm & blues, along with the influences coming in to it from the fact that a lot of the session musicians were jazz guys, and for example were playing swing eighths (hint - you might want to give the beat in this tune another listen!)... But sure, ok, rock and roll was a pure form. I'm sure that you know what you mean!
@@JamesThompson-zk1ht I recall the late Steve Race being asked for his definition of that kind of rock and roll and he said it's jazz with the intelligence taken out of it. Well certainly much of it relied on the 12 bar blues sequence but oh my such impoverishment! No chord subs and very little intelligent imrov. Steve was right.
WOW...
THANK YOU FOR THAT WONDERFUL PIECE OF MUSIC HISTORY...
THANK YOU DANNY....
I was 9 yrs old, when I saw the Rock Around the Clock ⏰️ at my neighborhood theater. Loved the song and became a rock and roller. Glad to know about Danny Cedrone guitar riff , starting the guitar solos. Sorry to know that he did not realize what he created in the music world of rock and roll . A great historical commentary, thank you and God Speed!!! RAM
I was born in England in 1950 and must have heard that song so many times throughout my life, I know when I was becoming aware of music in my life as a kid, that was THE main record that triggered my love of Rock n Roll/Pop music, I never knew the story behind that great song, thank you for sharing.
Greetings from across the pond. I was also born in 1950 and have been rockin' round the clock ever since!
I too am English saw Bill Haley and the comets around 1967-8 at the Marque Club. I loved that solo, but although the solo was played, now I know it was not played by the man who invented it. These days in my 80th year I listen mostly to classical music, that was my first love, but occasionally when I hear R'n'R it still gets my feet tapping. Also saw one of the other greats of that era Jerry Lee Lewis, twice in the UK. Once in a town hall, and second time at the Marque. He arrived very late, pissed to high heaven, but gave a performance out of this world. To days pop music, as Paul McCartney said "it's just noise"
I thought, walkin'👟 down an England ⚽street, 'you're trippin' over Rock🎸 Stars' !
Danny was probably one of the greatest guitars player in the history of Rock and Roll.
I agree, im not sure if he realized he was playing "rock and roll" at the time, or if he thought about where rock and roll would evolve to.
@@westcoastramble I agree. But had he lived and stayed with the Comets i'm sure his unique guitar solos would have eventually been more widely recognized and appreciated throughout the world of guitar and rock and roll music lovers alike..........
The good ones always die young; Danny Cedrone, Jimi Hendrix, Terry Kath etc. Rip.
That doesn't make sense as "rock and roll" was a marketing term created by music companies to segregate white bands from the black bands that created these elements of music, including guitar solos, which comes from the blues.
Yeah, no.
Rock around the clock is without doubt the greatest rock song ever, because it covered so many aspects of what was to become rock n roll . Guitar sax solo thumping bass, rhythmic drumming, and a general dance beat, that to this day, gets folks off their seats and onto the dance floor ..
Danny should be in Rock n Roll Heaven!
I first heard this at the age of 5 in 1968 here in Wales . It absolutely blew my young mind and is still in my opinion , the greatest and most exciting guitar solo I have ever heard .
The original shred guitar solo!
When "Rock & Roll"came to Australia in 1956,-with Bill Haley-it was a Sensation !!--it was never off the Radio,--we never heard of any other Artists-Black or white,--it turned into an ''Avalanche"of music-was "Covered"by local groups-who did great out of this !!--I had a friend in the navy,-who brought back a pile of records from the U.S-among them "Chess"records "Chuck-berry"-johnny-b-goode"-it blew me away-!!-eventually the "Record companies"could not get away with it anymore,-and U.S.artists reigned-Supreme !!--"Rock around the clock"-never gets old !!
That was fantastic and superb! Fascinating!!!
That $21 in 1953 is $250 in 2024.
And the rest is history.
Yes, but the power of the dollar was about 5 times what it is now 🥴.
Thanks, " TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS" 😖
@@johnnyp8979 It's more like 10 times. Trickle down economic works, has always worked, and will always work.
@@markgraham2312
Oops, I officially checked my calculations and you are closer to inflation figures than I .
So "trickle down" works, HMMM ?
@@johnnyp8979 Yes, trickle down economics does work. It has always worked and will always work.
@@johnnyp8979 Your comment has nothing to do with my original post.
Just lookin' for a fight?
One of the all time great rock guitar solos.
As a 3 year old in London kid in 1952, that original guitar solo, heard on the BBC radio was what set of me on a life of loving “electric music’, sneered at by my parents’ generation. Two years later, I was smitten though Bill Haley always seems older than all the adults I knew, though to be fair, to a 5 year old kid, anybody over 12 seemed impossibly adult.
Danny's lead has always been one of my favorites! It was one of the first outrageous leads I ever heard, and will always stand out amongst the rest!
Outstanding coverage. Some years ago the Canadian Broadcasting Corp did a radio interview with Randy Bachman. In it he said that no matter how times he tried to replicate the solo, he could not do it.
Yes but equally Danny couldn't play the riff from American Woman so Randy shouldn't feel too bad.
"10 days later, Danny died." Music really is how you live forever.
In this world only blessings for Danny
No, Jesus Christ is how you live forever - in Heaven, or in Hell.
And with abundance.
@@chris4321das
If you believe in Christ, you'll surely have eternal life, and life in abundance.
Who are the people who have life in abundance?
Something i came to understanding clearly in 1993.
I bet he was pushed......
This song was very popular on pop radio when I was still a toddler in the late 50s. I remember listening to this stuff all the time as we always had a radio or TV playing.
I'm so glad that I stumbled across this video. I have always loved that guitar solo. Its a masterpiece. Thanks for highlighting Dannys work.
I always thought Bill Halley played that Solo.
I ❤that a fellow Italian 🇮🇹American 🇺🇸was the originator of rock and roll guitar for the world! Brava Danny Cedrone! You ROCKED our world! For REAL! Mary Zavarella Walker 🙋🏻♀️🇮🇹🇺🇸
Sorry, but he was not the originator of rock and roll guitar. That honor goes to the Godmother of Rock and Roll,, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. She was a gospel singer, but she was playing Rock and Roll.
ratc has so many different elements combined in one song. boogie woogie, riythm and blues, country swing, and jazz.
Thanks for the history lesson and getting Danny his props. Very sad what happened to him, but he made more history then most with his guitar.
Probably did more than anything to define my life,I’m 84 and still play his “Rock The Joint” era stuff regularly ❤️
Growing up, I had always assumed all the great stories of our music would be lost in time. But thankfully, I lived long enough to see the internet, and it has brought me so much, even things I never knew I was missing. And at least some of it has been true. 🙂 Great video. Thanks!
Dayum Happy Days was where I first heard it, and I listened to that solo every time the show started. Amazing. Has that almost careening out of control feel of a fast car on slick streets, but so perfect..
Thanks for posting this. It was still the first real Rock and Roll recording. That is some kind of guitar solo.
Nope… Rocket 88 came out 3 years before this. The first rock n roll song.
Look it up.
@@Rock_Snob -- Nope...Rocket 88 is a Bluesy, R & B type of song, not Rock n Roll. With your aptly chosen moniker, Rock_Snob, I suspect you are wrong a lot. But I'll give you this, you are highly influenced by your fellow Liberals. Unfortunately, that's one of the reasons you're always wrong. Grab your hanky, wipe your nose and dry your eyes.
@@Rock_Snoband Fats Domino’s song “The Fat Man” came out in 1949…
I suggest Lets Rock Awhile by Goree Carter ( 1948/9) is surely a contender for first Rock & Roll recording? ua-cam.com/video/xZlESMXHFfY/v-deo.html
I was born in 1952 and consider myself a lifetime rocker (but not exclusively). I am glad to have learned about Danny Cedrrone from you, today.
Thank you.
Great video.
The 50's, 60's & 70's were the decades of Rock 'n Roll baby! (I'd say 80's, but it merged into Heavy Metal). My era was the 70's. Thank you for this awesome story! It really brings the roots of solo'ing down to it's foundation's. Me, I look up to these guy's. I'm just a Bass player. I have a great time tying the Drums with the Rhythms.
What a tragic story. Danny obviously had so much to offer the world of music that we'll never know. But at least he is now recognized for this memorable piece.
I was only 4 years old when Rock Around the Clock was released. My parents were more from the WWII swing/Sinatra generation, so I never heard anything about it at that time, and we didn't even have a television yet. I bought the single in '67 as a groovy curiosity after seeing Blackboard Jungle, and still have it.
Thanks for this video. I was a kid when Rock Around The Clock got most kids into R&R. That solo made the song.
The significance of this is immense. How come this isn't common knowledge? Thank you so much.
Thank you Danny.
You have made my life much better.
Greetings from Finland 🎉
Thank your for this wonderful piece of history and Danny for one of the most important guitar solos of all time.
Excellent presentation! RATC is a perfect record. It still kicks butt today. In addition to the lead guitar and slap bass, I always enjoyed the drums on RATC. They really kick the song along.
I was about 13 when I bought my first record. It was 'Rock-a-beatin-boogie' by Bill Haley and his Comets. A bunch of us bunked off school that day and went to a friend's house, who had a radiogram player. It was a 78 rpm disc which we played over and over all day and literally wore it out!
The best thing any of us can do is say thank you to Danny Cedrone. Thank You, Danny! If it wasn’t for you, there wouldn’t be any Rock and Roll.
brilliant and just new to me to hear all this
I use Danny's solo as an example of someone who could play the intro to KC and the Sunshine band's 'Get down tonight'. Supposedly said to be impossible to play. But after they hear his solo in Rock around the Clock, they become believers. 70 years ago, the magic of Danny.
I'm pretty sure that intro is keyboards, not guitar.
I have always thought that the solo at the beginning of Get Down Tonight was recorded at 7 1/2 ips, and then patched in at 15 ips. -played at half speed and down an octave. (This is how the electric piano/quasi-harpsicord solo was done on the Beatles' In My Life.
It still amazes me how dynamic that solo is. I mean that is pre-Dick Dale SHREDDING. Most of the other cats, talented though they were, they were using blues-based licks that the Brits would cop a few years later. Even today it’s still one of the best solos ever, not just due to technique but in the way it serves the song. Back then you didn’t have drawn-out jams; most songs were between 2 and 3 minutes, with verses and choruses taking up most of it. You had a very small window to make a memorable guitar solo and most players would be happy just playing the vocal melody. Cedrone took it by the throat and absolutely killed it. Tremendous work.
Well said!
I remember playing this 45 record over and over and over. This music had no name until Alan Freed gave it a name. Rock n Roll.
….And, “Rock n Roll” was known in a lot of circles as a southern Black term which cleaned up crass words for SEX !
Iconic guitar solo, it’s a song unto itself! Danny died tragically young, but he’s forever immortalized by his music. Cool show, I’m glad I found it.
Thank you for watching!
Arguably the best solo ever. Great feature enjoyed 👍
Thanks. Great. Loved. Rock. Around. The. Clock. Thought it was brought out by. Chubby. Only. Good to hear of this earlier.man.
REALLY enjoyable YT vid. thanks for the effort and the sharing. BIG thumbs up.👍🏼
Thanks for the visit
That was very interesting to me. For years, I have asked people where and when Rock and Roll got started. No one ever had any satisfactory answers. Now I know.
Rock and Roll actually started before Rock around the clock, but I contend that the guitar solo helped make guitar the instrument of choice for RnR. Bill hayley had steel guitar and sax. After Buddy Holly, most rock bands were guitar bass and drums. Lots of guitar solos since then. Dannys solo was one of the first great popular Rock and Roll solos.
I was definitely influenced to play guitar by this and many other great recordings. I played this at many a gig but never knew who I got it from. Good stuff.
I think most pickers have this solo somewhere in their back pocket, ready pull it out when need be.
Thank you 👍 very very enjoyable 👏🤗😎
I had never heard of Danny Cedrone before listening to you highlighting his accomplishments. Thank you for bringing Danny's part to early Rock & Roll to all if us. Manny great comments as well. Could you do a similar spot about Roy Clark (yes the "Hey Haw" host) as I saw an listened to his solo just resently that he preformed in a segment that aired on T.V. on the Odd Couple show in the day. For which I was astounded and impressed with the depth an breath of his acoustic guitar abilities. Please back check Roy Clark, as I would like to see an hear if he did any other similarly spectacular preformances showing off his ample talent an adepthness!
What a great tutorial on this great guitar solo and of the man himself!
The strings they had to use back then - whew - his solo was much too difficult for most to play. Very talented
Happily surprised to learn about him after all this time.
He never got the credit he deserved. I've been wondering about this for a long time. Good to hear it's beginning to come out.
A very important but unknown part of Rock History and its beginnings. Thanks for this!
Thanks for the bio of Danny Cedrone. Rock n roll epic guitar solo that started it all.
Right enough - Important ingredients! Without the guitar and sax solos "Rock Around the Clock" could be just a hoe-down song. I saw Bill and the Comets on a mid-1970s UK tour - oh boy, poor Bill looked tired and worn out but I have no idea if "The Comets" were the original people. They cantered through a medley of the hits ending with this one and the left the stage and didn't come back - played less than half an hour. Such a shame. The memory of that gig always reminds me of a quote I read from Del Shannon. In a - rather bitter - interview he gave in the 1980s he said "You try playing 'Runaway' every night of your life for the next 25 years and tell me how it feels". Yeah, I got it.
rock and roll wore him out, it aged him before his time, but if your a musician you got to make that coin.
@@jonyjoe8464 Well, Bill was a heavy chain smoker, and had bouts with the bottle from time to time, sadly....
Excellent. I'm also a huge fan of the three guys cited, Gatton, Setzer and the Rev.
We danced to Rock Around the Clock in our cotillion class in Woodland Hills, California, in the 1960 I was nine years old.
R I P Danny, thank you for the great riff on Rock Around the Clock!!!
thanks for posting....ur rite great solo...came across a transcription of it and played with a group decades ago......
Yea, it’s hard for me to get the timing right on the solo.
Thank you for sharing this. I also thought it was Bill who 'guitared' that part. Unfortunate he passed into the other realm but hay, he's still playing the guuitar rockin' every one!
One of the top 10 guitar solos of all time. Easily
Four daughters and a wife named Milly…that a lot of Millys in one house! Seriously though, thanks for telling the story of this great guitarist. His swing chops made for superb rock ‘n’ roll. That whole band was cool as anything. Maybe a little more roll in today’s rock would spice things up a bit.
I had to to learn that solo for a fifties show band years ago. Just about killed me! Lol.
Ahh you got me on that one. It does sound like 5 gals named Milly ( as opposed to 5 guys named Mo)
Yes it’s a hard solo to play….right. I’m still working on it. Thx for watching
I've always been blown away by this solo. Kind of wondered why everyone wasn't still talking about it!
What a great tribute! Thanks.🙏🙏🙏
Great video about a timeless solo, well done 😎
Hey, thanks!
Wow, thanks for the incredible info! Had zero idea. Including the exact copy from “rock the joint”, or that Bill Haley was involved in “country” directly. So much great info.
“Rock around the clock” is one of my favorites. But I would say that Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode is the template for Rock n’ Roll with it’s guitar riffs and solos and it’s message about a young man that learns to play a guitar and becomes famous.
I saw the Comets on stage at the '50 winters later' show at the Surf ballroom in Clearlake, Iowa in 2009. They were fantastic!
As Dick Clark once said,”Rock Around the Clock” was the National Anthem of Rock n’ Roll.
Simply awesome.Thank you for the information.
Great video. Great song. Thanks for the story behind the solo.
Thank you!
@@westcoastramble You’re welcome.
Very intertesting fact. Thanks.
thanks for the music Danny
Thanks for sharing all this great and cool info! Kind regards Rick THE TINSTARS.
This guitar riff was an influence on so many, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, the Beatles, and on, and on....
I don't see that riff influencing Chuck Berry, He was already a blues guitarist. The popularity of the song, amongst white teenagers, is something that he probably noticed, and may have influenced him to aim for that audience, with his own music.
Chuck Berry's track " my ding a ling" was probably the pinnacle of his career 🤓
@@steveoswin6084 It is all very subjective, and I respect your opinion, however, I would say the "pinnacle" was Johnny B Good.
@@garymorris1856I heartily agree. I also have " up in the morning and off to school......" going through my head and I haven't seen a classroom in 63 years.
Has anyone heard' my ding a ling "😂
It’s a fabulous story. It’s amazing how events happen. This guitar solo sets a standard for early rock using rockabilly guitar which blends again into early rock.
True, I love how these small events shape our culture
The memories I remember the most of Rock...clock is that my aunt was playing it so much in '55. I was 9 and she was16 when I accidentally sat on the record and broke it.😢
What a great video. The first GREAT rock solo. Thanks Danny.
That's why you never hear that incredible solo on any tv footage of Bill Haley and the Comets performing Rock Around the Clock, because Danny Cedrone died 10 days after recording that blistering solo, and if he had lived to see the success of the song on Blackboard Jungle, Bill Haley may have hired him as a permanent member of the Comets, and we could've seen Rock Around the Clock performed the way it was actually recorded on those old TV shows.....
That's cool. I just performed this song at a city fair in Huntington Beach California a few months ago. Been playing it for decades one of my favorites.
What a shame that guy died so soon after recording that solo. God only knows what else he might have done.
@@MichaelTheophilus906yes
Probably that exact same solo he'd already used twice before.
What a great story. Thank you for sharing.
Great stuff, thanks for the heads up on RnR' s kick off story.
This for watching! We’ve got more stories to tell.
Thanks for this. I've always thought this is one of the best solos ever. Thanks Danny! Your light still shines.
One of the greatest guitar solos ever, yet this solo, and Danny Cedrone, are hardly ever mentioned when it comes to the great guitarists. A real shame. The story is that a heart attack caused the fall which killed Danny.
It’s kind of like what happened to Buddy Holly, who was a rock and roll musician who wrote his own songs he performed and was 20 years ahead of his time. One has to wonder what even more powerful influence on music he might have had if he hadn’t been killed in a plane crash in 1959.
Danny left his wife Marie and 4 daughters. Must've been tough on m. At least, his family finally got some recognition when Danny was inducted in the RnR Hall of Fame in 2012
Yeah...that sounds more like what happened to him,only 34 years old.
@@johnbravo7542 The same way Rod Price, Foghat's lead guitarist is said to have died, at double the age, and probably much heavier.
Thanks for the story and sharing Tom
Thanks for watching!