1 O’Clock, 2 O’Clock, 3 O’Clock Rock…
Jackie Brentson and “Rocket 88.” Chuck Berry. Buddy Holly. Elvis Presley. When the question “When did rock and roll begin” is asked, these are names all likely to surface. Just as likely is “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & The Comets.
On May 14, 1955, “Rock Around the Clock” entered the Billboard charts. The song was re-released after after the debut of the movie Blackboard Jungle. It was #1 in the US by July and #1 in the UK before year’s end.
Here’s a playlist created to celebrate one of the crucial moments in rock and roll history.
“Time” | Pink Floyd | Dark Side of the Moon | Link 1
Tell me there is a better way to start this playlist than with the clocks and alarm bells from Pink Floyd’s masterpiece. I don’t know if any album can stand up to the hype this one continues to generate, but it comes damn close and “Time” is one of the most famous reasons why it continues to sell.
“Clocks” | Coldplay | A Rush of Blood to the Head | Link 2
If you don’t start with the alarms and ticks of Floyd’s “Time,” the stirring piano intro to “Clocks” is a good second. Martin can be overly earnest, but the melody overcomes the frontman. This song holds up five years later.
“Eleven O’Clock Tick Tock” | U2 | Under a Blood Red Sky | Link 3
It’s not U2 at their best, but this one is here for fun.
“Somewhere a Clock is Ticking” | Snow Patrol | Final Straw | Link 4
I was a casual fan of Snow Patrol with the release of Final Straw. TheWifeToWhomI’mMarried has since seriously latched onto them. I had forgotten about this one until I started compiling the playlist.
“3 O’Clock Blues” | B.B. King | King of the Blues | Link 5
One of B.B. King’s early classics. The King had such a smooth voice and could wring so much emotion from it. He turns 81 this year and he’s still out on the road. Let’s hear it for the king!
“2:45 a.m.” | Elliott Smith | Either/Or | Link 6
Elliott sounded so lost on much of Either/Or. This is such a dark song.
“Time is on My Side” | The Rolling Stones | Big Hits. Vol 1 | Link 7
There was a time when this guitar intro was considered fancy. It still sounds great all these years later and so does Jagger- One of my all-time favorites.
Filed under: Rolling Stones, The Concept Album Mix Tape, U2
If I may make some contemporary additions to your list… even if all of them are mere splinters from rock, they’re all songs I dig.
Sour Times - Portishead
The Clock - Thom Yorke
Time In A Bottle - Jim Croce
A Peak In Time - Cut Chemist
Eleven O’Clock - Morphine
Question of Time - Depeche Mode
Clock With No Hands - The Roots
And a guilty pleasure that I sense Sir Saleski might like (don’t know why though):
All Time High - Rita Coolidge
The Thom Yorke and Morphine songs nearly made my playlist, but neither song was a favorite from the respective album. There are all sorts of “time” songs, no question about it, and any of them could work. I almost went with the Yorke song. That one’s pretty good, but I don’t love it. “Eleven O’Clock” was not my favorite Morphine.
Given your DJR roots, I would have pegged Yorke as a shoe-in. You have now disgraced your former namesake. Tsk tsk.
I’m kidding of course. It was a fun exercise for me to see my collection of “time” tracks. The Croce one is a creepy track, if you know that he wrote it for his son before he died.
As for my “roots,” I love Radiohead and Thom Yorke but I’m not one of those idiots who think everything they ever did was masterful beyond reproach. “The Clock” is a good song, not a great one. It was the one of the last ones that didn’t make the cut.
“Time in a Bottle” is a good one, no question about it. I did this a bit on the fly. That one should have come to me.
No need to explain it twice, I was only joking.
Although I must add, it is difficult to imagine the Haley track outside of the beginning to Happy Days. Oh, how television corrupts…
Joke noted, and I like repeating myself. Just wait until you see what I have in store for tomorrow.
You’re right, though, about Happy Days.
it is difficult to imagine the Haley track outside of the beginning to Happy Days. Oh, how television corrupts…
…this reminds me that i still haven’t seen the movie Blackboard Jungle