Holiday Records
Encyclopedia
Holiday Records was an American
recording company
based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
which was active in the early 1950s. Owned by Dave Miller
, who also owned Essex Records
, it is best known for releasing some of the earliest recordings widely identified as rock and roll
, most notably "Rocket 88
" by Bill Haley and His Saddlemen
(later known as The Comets) in 1951.
. In 1947 he hired a young musician named Bill Haley
to work at his radio station. Haley had a band called the Four Aces of Western Swing which he disbanded in 1949-1950 to form the Saddlemen.The group acted as the radio station house band playing country music
live on air.
According to Miller in interviews such as a 1980 interview with Stuart Colman
for BBC Radio
, he took a business trip to the Southern United States
in 1951 and obtained a copy of Rocket 88
, a rhythm and blues
record written by Ike Turner
for his Kings of Rhythm
and sung by the sax player of the band, Jackie Brenston
, recorded at Sam Phillips
' Recording Service in Memphis
and released on Chess Records
of Chicago
. Miller hit on the idea of a white singer recording a cover version of a black R&B song so that it could be sold in then-segregated
record stores.
Taking the record back to Philadelphia, he got Haley and the Saddlemen to record the song and released it on his Holiday label,http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/pics/d01/1795.htm with the more traditional country song "Tearstains on My Heart" http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/artists/h/hale6200.htm as the flipside. Haley also recorded other music that was released by Holiday.
This recording is often identified as the first rock and roll song, although many musical historians say it was the Turner-Brentson original that deserved the appellation. Haley and Miller were encouraged by the sales success of "Rocket 88" and further experiments were recorded, such as "Green Tree Boogie" and "Sundown Boogie", http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/labels/h/h564.htm after which Haley moved to Miller's larger Essex label and continued to have more success with early rock and roll, including his 1952 hit "Rock the Joint
" and 1953's "Crazy Man, Crazy
", an original song that became the first rock song to make the national American sales charts.
Miller disbanded Holiday Records not long after Haley was moved to Essex and the tracks Haley recorded for Holiday were rolled into his Essex catalog. Later in the early 60's, Haley recorded for Sam Phillips
on Holiday Inn Records
formed by D. Wayne Foster and Kemmons Wilson
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
recording company
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
which was active in the early 1950s. Owned by Dave Miller
Dave Miller (producer)
Dave Miller was a record producer and the founder of many budget album record companies.-Biography:...
, who also owned Essex Records
Essex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
, it is best known for releasing some of the earliest recordings widely identified as rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, most notably "Rocket 88
Rocket 88
"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
" by Bill Haley and His Saddlemen
Bill Haley & His Comets
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
(later known as The Comets) in 1951.
History
Dave Miller owned a radio station based in Chester, Pennsylvania in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He also owned a couple of record labels, Holiday and EssexEssex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
. In 1947 he hired a young musician named Bill Haley
Bill Haley
Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...
to work at his radio station. Haley had a band called the Four Aces of Western Swing which he disbanded in 1949-1950 to form the Saddlemen.The group acted as the radio station house band playing country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
live on air.
According to Miller in interviews such as a 1980 interview with Stuart Colman
Stuart Colman
Stuart Colman into a well-known musical family, took up piano and bass guitar, and enjoyed his first taste of success when he joined Pinkerton's Assorted Colours in 1966. Three years later, the group evolved into The Flying Machine and their first single under that name, "Smile A Little Smile For...
for BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, he took a business trip to the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
in 1951 and obtained a copy of Rocket 88
Rocket 88
"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
, a rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
record written by Ike Turner
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
for his Kings of Rhythm
Kings of Rhythm
The Kings of Rhythm are a American rhythm & blues and soul group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has undergone considerable lineup changes...
and sung by the sax player of the band, Jackie Brenston
Jackie Brenston
Jackie Brenston was an African American R&B singer and saxophonist, who recorded, with Ike Turner's band, the first version of the proto-rock and roll song "Rocket 88".-Biography:...
, recorded at Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips
Samuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...
' Recording Service in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and released on Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Miller hit on the idea of a white singer recording a cover version of a black R&B song so that it could be sold in then-segregated
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
record stores.
Taking the record back to Philadelphia, he got Haley and the Saddlemen to record the song and released it on his Holiday label,http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/pics/d01/1795.htm with the more traditional country song "Tearstains on My Heart" http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/artists/h/hale6200.htm as the flipside. Haley also recorded other music that was released by Holiday.
This recording is often identified as the first rock and roll song, although many musical historians say it was the Turner-Brentson original that deserved the appellation. Haley and Miller were encouraged by the sales success of "Rocket 88" and further experiments were recorded, such as "Green Tree Boogie" and "Sundown Boogie", http://rcs-discography.com/rcs/labels/h/h564.htm after which Haley moved to Miller's larger Essex label and continued to have more success with early rock and roll, including his 1952 hit "Rock the Joint
Rock the Joint
"Rock the Joint", also known as "We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight", is a boogie song recorded by various proto-rock and roll singers, notably Jimmy Preston and early rock and roll singers, most notably Bill Haley...
" and 1953's "Crazy Man, Crazy
Crazy Man, Crazy
"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
", an original song that became the first rock song to make the national American sales charts.
Miller disbanded Holiday Records not long after Haley was moved to Essex and the tracks Haley recorded for Holiday were rolled into his Essex catalog. Later in the early 60's, Haley recorded for Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips
Samuel Cornelius Phillips , better known as Sam Phillips, was an American businessman, record executive, record producer and DJ who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s...
on Holiday Inn Records
Holiday Inn Records
Holiday Inn Records was a record label founded by D. Wayne Foster in 1961. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for Foster and Kemmons Wilson, as an independent business venture...
formed by D. Wayne Foster and Kemmons Wilson
Kemmons Wilson
Charles Kemmons Wilson was the founder of the Holiday Inn chain of hotels.-Personal life:He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, the only child of Kemmons and Ruby "Doll" Wilson. His father was an insurance salesman who died when Kemmons was nine months old...
.
External links
- [ Jackie Brenston and Rocket 88]
- [ Determining first Rock and Roll Record]
- Foster, D. Wayne. retrieved from 2008 audio interview recording; http://www.HolidayInnRecords.com.