TODAY'S ROCKIN' DATE IN 1955

Rock and Roll begins! It was on today's date in 1955 that the very first Rock song to make it to #1 was Bill Haley and His Comet's "Rock Around The Clock", spending eight straight weeks at #1. It would be the next year that Elvis Presley would finally have a number one song. Rock Around The Clock would go on to become the biggest selling Rock single in history (even to this day, according to the RIAA and Guiness Book Of World Records), although a Christmas song and a Princess Diana Tribute song sold more in categories other than Rock and Roll.
That's Bill Haley in the pic with lead guitarist for The Comets, Frank Beecher, who just announced last week that he is retiring from touring with the Comets, he ranks right up there with Chet Atkins and Les Paul, he even played with Benny Goodman before joining The Comets, what a career! The picture is from their first German movie, from 1958.
Bill Haley and His Comets also had the very first million-selling Rock single the year before in 1954 with "Shake Rattle & Roll".
And, synonymously, Tom Hanks turns 50 years old today, it has been reported that Hanks is working on a motion picture about the life of Bill Haley, he has been quoted as saying "...Haley's life is one that needs to be told..."
Oh, and it was also on today's date, the same year, 1955, that Pat Boone debuted on the charts with his version of "Ain't That A Shame", just thought I'd throw that in there.