45 RPMs 28: Bill Haley and the Comets ~ See You Later Alligator

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Sixty-three years ago today, December 12, 1955, Bill Haley and His Comets (link below) recorded, the blockbuster song, See You Later, Alligator (link below). Alligator was the second song I heard by Haley & the comets, the first being, of course, Rock Around the Clock (link below).     

Bill Haley and His Comets - See You Later, Alligator

45 rpm record 

photo by Styrous®

The song was originally entitled Later, Alligator and based on a 12-bar blues chord structure (141541), and written by Louisiana songwriter Robert Charles Guidry and first recorded by him under his professional name "Bobby Charles" in 1955 (link below). His recording was released on Chess Records under the title Later, Alligator as 1609 in November 1955 backed with On Bended Knee. Guidry, a Cajun musician, adopted a New Orleans-influenced blues style for the recording. The melody of the song was borrowed from Later for You, Baby, by bluesman Guitar Slim, which was recorded in 1954 (link below). Guidry also wrote Walking to New Orleans (link below), which was recorded by Fats Domino.

Bill Haley and His Comets - See You Later, Alligator

45 rpm record, side 1

photo by Styrous®

Haley's arrangement of the song is faster-paced than Guidry's original, and in particular the addition of a two-four beat changed the song from a rhythm and blues "shuffle" to rock and roll. The song also has a more light-hearted beat than the original, starting out with a high-pitched, childlike voice (belonging to Haley's lead guitarist, Franny Beecher) reciting the title of the song. The ending of the song was virtually identical to the conclusion of Haley's earlier hit, "Shake, Rattle and Roll".    

Bill Haley and His Comets - See You Later, Alligator

45 rpm record, side 1 label detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Unlike most of Haley's recordings for Decca, which were created at the Pythian Temple studio in New York City, Alligator and its flip-side, The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.), were recorded at the Decca Building in New York City.         

Bill Haley and His Comets - The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)

45 rpm record, side 1

photo by Styrous®

The song was featured in Rock Around the Clock, a musical film Haley and the Comets began shooting in January 1956.       

Bill Haley and His Comets - The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)

45 rpm record, side 2 label detail

photo by Styrous®

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Bill Haley and the Comets ~  
          ~ See You Later Alligator  

          ~ The paper boy      

Robert Guidry ~ See You Later Alligator     

      

     

   

    

     

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