Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Bill Haley Edition

Today, we pay tribute to a rock ‘n’ roll pioneer. Bill Haley doesn’t quite reside in the lofty heights of Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Buddy Holly, et. al, and I suppose that makes sense. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t important in popularizing the genre. Haley’s music was originally rooted in country & western and western swing. Like a lot of artists of the time, he searched high and low for material, and could see how the kids were enjoying faster, blues based material. Haley and his band, redubbed The Comets, basically came at rockabilly from a different direction, finding the intersection between jump blues and western swing. Haley co-wrote “Crazy Man Crazy”, a number 15 hit that was the first rock ‘n’ roll song to make the Top 40. With “Rock Around The Clock”, he found the perfect song, and a studio guitarist, Danny Cedrone, added the magic solo that turned that song into major smash. It spent eight weeks at number one and was the first single sell a million copies both in Germany and Britain. Haley had other hits and provided a somewhat safer face for the music, without being a bland pretender like Pat Boone. Let’s pay tribute to this key rock ‘n’ roll figure by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up. 

1. Ramones — Do You Remember Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio (End Of The Century): While I understand why this Phil Spector produced album was considered a disappointment by most Ramones fans at the time it came out, this single was the first Ramones song to get any airplay in Chicago, and I remember taping it off in the radio (back in the days when many stations would spin whole albums late at night) and listened to it a lot. Yes, this was a safer sound, but it emphasized the pop aspects of the Ramones, and demystified them. Going back to the old records was easy, as even with the harsher guitars, I could hear the classic song structures. This song is a lot of fun.
2. Kristian Hoffman — Palace Of Corn (&): The former member of The Mumps and Swingin’ Madisons, and musical director for Klaus Nomi and Rufus Wainwright, came up with the great idea of doing a bunch of duets with a diverse bunch of artists, hence the title &. This is a nice mid-tempo pop song with Darian Sahanaja (of The Wondermints and Brian Wilson’s musical secretary) joining Hoffman on vocals.
3. Family — Glove (Bandstand): Family was a ’70s British rock band. I picked this up because it contains a song covered by Chris Stamey and Peter Holsapple on their last album. It mixes a few shimmering acoustic songs with slightly off-kilter blues based rock songs like this one. This song lurches along in a nifty way before hitting a beautifully fluid guitar solo that sends the song to a higher plane.
4. The Monkees — Last Train To Clarksville (The Monkees): This was the song that started it all for The Monkees. While it was the television show that drove their record sales, a lot of folks might not know that this single was released before the show debuted. And this irresistible Boyce and Hart composition headed straight to the top of the charts. This record also introduced the world to the great vocal stylings of Mickey Dolenz, who brought his acting skill to how he put the words across.
5. The Move — Words Of Aaron (Message From The Country): A great Jeff Lynne song from the final album by The Move. This is one Lynne’s songs from the album that foreshadowed what he’d be doing with Electric Light Orchestra. This has a psych-pop melody, beefy bass and a bit of and R & B feel in the electric piano.
6. Advertising — Respect (Jingles): Advertising was a twee power pop band, somewhat in the vein of acts like 10CC, that got a record contract at the beginning of the new wave era. Led by songwriter Tot Taylor, their sole album is a delightful slice of clever tunesmithing. Taylor’s lyrics were witty, the arrangements were clever and every song has a strong chorus. This tune is no exception.
7. New Order — Shame of the Nation (Low-Life): Back-to-back weeks for New Order. Low-Life is just a darned good album, and they pretty much had perfected their dance rock sound. This song is on the bonus disc of the reissue. It has a decent groove, but the sound carries it, as it’s not blessed with much in the hook or melody department.
8. The Finn Brothers — Luckiest Man Alive (Everyone Is Here): While the second Finn Brothers album isn’t as amazing as the first one, both Neil and Tim Finn had a some fine songs. This is one of Tim’s tunes, a rousing acoustic guitar number. Tim’s voice has weathered in an appealing way — this song has a bit of Ronnie Lane vibe, but for the more Beatle-y chorus.
9. The Posies — I May Hate You Sometimes (Children Of Nuggets): An early song from this Washington state band. From the beginning, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow’s voices blended so well. This is an intense tune, that sounds like a tougher Hollies.
10. Dumptruck — For The Country (For The Country): Title track from the third Dumptruck album, produced by Hugh Jones. Jones gives them a more widescreen production sound, in keeping with his work with so many great British post-punk bands. On this song, Dumptruck kind of sounds like a precursor of acts like For Against and Kingsbury Manx. A really underrated band.