The term rock and roll was a new way of describing music at the time that was a cross between rhythm and blues and country swing.
Many radio listeners had never heard of rock and roll so when the record company released Elvis Presley's Hound Dog, the label on the single called it a Novelty Foxtrot.
Rock Around the Clock was written by a couple of songwriters, Max Freedman and Max Myers, a local musician who published under the name Jimmy De Knight.
When Bill Haley first heard a demo of the song, he wanted to record it, but the owner of Essex Records refused because of a dispute over publishing.
In 1954 Haley signed with Decca Records and as part of his agreement, one side of every single he recorded had to be a song from the Myers/Freedman catalogue, and the first one was Rock Around the Clock, which was originally released on the B-side of a song called Thirteen Women.
However, after the song appeared in Blackboard Jungle it was re-released.
Haley was never able to duplicate the success of Rock Around the Clock, although he did release a number of songs that were popular including See You Later Alligator and Shake, Rattle and Roll.
There is no doubting Bill Haley and his Comets were key figures in the beginnings of rock and roll. Haley died in 1981 at age 55. His band the Comets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.