Bill Haley's Chicks
Encyclopedia
Bill Haley's Chicks was the eighth album of rock and roll
recordings by Bill Haley & His Comets
for Decca Records
, Decca 8821. Released in January 1959 and produced by Milt Gabler
, the album was the third "theme" album Haley recorded for Decca, following Rockin' the Oldies
(rock and roll versions of standards) and Rockin' Around the World
(rock and roll versions of folk songs). This album is built on the theme of women's names, with each song being about a different girl. Included on the album is "Skinny Minnie
", which was a major hit for the band in 1958, reaching no.22 on Billboard and no.25 on Cashbox, along with a mixture of originals and cover versions of standards and jazz songs. "Lean Jean", a song musically and thematically almost identical to "Skinny Minnie", also charted in 1958, reaching no. 52 on Cashbox. The song "B.B. Betty", co-written by Bill Haley and released as a Decca 45 single, featured a solo vocal by Haley's steel guitar
player, Billy Williamson.
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...
recordings by Bill Haley & His Comets
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...
for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, Decca 8821. Released in January 1959 and produced by Milt Gabler
Milt Gabler
Milton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
, the album was the third "theme" album Haley recorded for Decca, following Rockin' the Oldies
Rockin' the Oldies
Rockin' the Oldies was the fifth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Produced by Milt Gabler, the album was released by Decca Records in 1957. It was the first of three "themed albums" that Haley recorded for Decca...
(rock and roll versions of standards) and Rockin' Around the World
Rockin' Around the World
Rockin' Around the World was the sixth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Released in March 1958 on the Decca Records label, Decca 8692, the album was produced by Milt Gabler, who produced all of Haley's recordings for Decca. It was the second of three "themed" albums that...
(rock and roll versions of folk songs). This album is built on the theme of women's names, with each song being about a different girl. Included on the album is "Skinny Minnie
Skinny Minnie
Skinny Minnie is a 1958 song co-written and recorded by Bill Haley and The Comets. The song was released as a Decca single which became a Top 40 chart hit in the U.S....
", which was a major hit for the band in 1958, reaching no.22 on Billboard and no.25 on Cashbox, along with a mixture of originals and cover versions of standards and jazz songs. "Lean Jean", a song musically and thematically almost identical to "Skinny Minnie", also charted in 1958, reaching no. 52 on Cashbox. The song "B.B. Betty", co-written by Bill Haley and released as a Decca 45 single, featured a solo vocal by Haley's steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
player, Billy Williamson.
Track listing
- "Whoa Mabel!" (Bill Haley, Milt GablerMilt GablerMilton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
, Rusty Keefer, Catherine Cafra) - "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider" (Eddie LeonardEddie LeonardEddie Leonard , born Lemuel Golden Toney, was a vaudevillian and a man considered the greatest American minstrel of his day, at a time when minstrel shows were still acceptable as entertainment. He performed in vaudeville for 45 years before that medium faded in the 1920s, and was known for such...
, Eddie Munson) - "Eloise" (Bill Haley, Milt Gabler, Rusty Keefer, Catherine Cafra)
- "DinahDinah (song)"Dinah" is a popular song. The music was written by Harry Akst, and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. It was introduced by Eddie Cantor in Kid Boots in Pittsburgh...
" (Sam M. LewisSam M. LewisSam M. Lewis was a Jewish-American singer and lyricist, born in New York City, New York as Samuel Levine-Biography:...
, Joe Young, Harry AkstHarry AkstHarry Akst was an American songwriter, who started out his career as a pianist in vaudeville accompanying singers such as Nora Bayes, Frank Fay and Al Jolson.-Life and career:Akst was born in New York, United States....
) - "Skinny Minnie" (Bill Haley, Milt Gabler, Rusty Keefer, Catherine Cafra)
- "Mary Mary Lou" (Cayet Mangiaracina)
- "Sweet Sue Just You" (Will J. Harris, Victor YoungVictor YoungVictor Young was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. He was born in Chicago.-Biography:...
) - "B.B. Betty" (Bill Haley, Milt Gabler, Rusty Keefer, Catherine Cafra)
- "CharmaineCharmaine (song)"Charmaine" is a popular song written by Erno Rapee, with lyrics by Lew Pollack. The song was written in 1926 and published in 1927. However, Desmond Carrington on his BBC Radio 2 programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913....
" (Erno RapeeErno RapeeErnö Rapée was one of the most prolific American symphonic conductors in the first half of the 20th Century...
, Lew PollackLew PollackLew Pollack was a song composer active during the 1920s and the 1930s.Pollack was born in New York. Among his best known songs are "Charmaine" and "Diane" with Ernö Rapée, "Miss Annabelle Lee", "Two Cigarettes in the Dark", "At the Codfish Ball" , and Go In and Out The Window, now a...
) - "Corrine, Corrina" (Bo Chatmon, Mitchell ParishMitchell ParishMitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old...
, J. Mayo WilliamsJ. Mayo WilliamsJay Mayo "Ink" Williams was a pioneering African-American producer of recorded blues music. Ink Williams earned his nickname by his ability to get the signatures of talented African-American musicians on recording contracts...
) - "Marie" (Irving BerlinIrving BerlinIrving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
) - "Lean Jean" (Stella Lee, Johnny GrandeJohnny GrandeJohn A. Grande , better known as Johnny Grande, was a member of Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets.-Life and Career:...
, Ralph Jones, Rudy PompilliRudy PompilliRudy Pompilli in Chester, Pennsylvania on April 16, 1924 — died February 5, 1976) was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets.-Biography:...
)
Personnel
- Bill HaleyBill HaleyBill 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:...
– rhythm guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals on all but 8 - Franny BeecherFranny BeecherFrancis "Franny" Beecher , also known as Frank Beecher, was lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos combining elements of country music and jazz...
– lead guitar - Billy Williamson – steel guitarSteel guitarSteel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
, vocal on 8 - Johnny GrandeJohnny GrandeJohn A. Grande , better known as Johnny Grande, was a member of Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets.-Life and Career:...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Al Rex – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Ralph Jones – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Rudy PompilliRudy PompilliRudy Pompilli in Chester, Pennsylvania on April 16, 1924 — died February 5, 1976) was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets.-Biography:...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
on 2
Cover versions of "Skinny Minnie"
- Carter-Lewis and the SouthernersCarter-Lewis And The SouthernersCarter-Lewis and the Southerners were an early-1960s rock band formed by the Birmingham-born musicians Ken Lewis and John Carter .Carter and Lewis were initially songwriters...
(featuring Jimmy PageJimmy PageJames Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
on lead guitar), March 27, 1964, Oriole CB 1919, 45 single b/w "Easy to Cry"; Your Time Is Gonna Come: The Roots of Led Zeppelin, 1964-1969 album, 2007 - Tony SheridanTony SheridanTony Sheridan , is an English rock and roll singer-songwriter and guitarist...
and the Beat Brothers, Polydor, 1964 45 single, Polydor NH52927, b/w "You'd Better Move On"; My BonnieMy BonnieMy Bonnie is the name of a 1961 single, a 1962 album and a 1963 EP by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Brothers, better known as The Beatles.-History:...
album, Polydor, 1962; Vagabond, 2002, Bear Family; The Beatles: Ain't She Sweet album, Polygram, 2002 - Gerry and the Pacemakers, June, 1965, Laurie 45 single, b/w "It's Gonna Be Alright"; A side reached #23 on the Billboard Hot 100 ; I'll Be There U.S. album; The Best of the EMI Years (2008)
- Beat Chics (featuring Jimmy Page on lead guitar), November 6, 1964, Decca F 12016, b/w "Now I Know", 45 single
- Goldie & the GingerbreadsGoldie & the GingerbreadsGoldie & the Gingerbreads was an all-female American rock band from 1962 to 1967 consisting of 3 musicians and a singer. They were the first all-female rock band signed to a major record label....
, A side 45 single, Spokane 45-4005, "Skinny Vinnie" - Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders, 1965, It's Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders album, Fontana
- Jimmy and the Rackets, 1964, Elite Special 9427-45, b/w "O Mona Lisa", 45 single, #1 on the German charts in 1964, 32 weeks on the charts
- The Rollicks, also known as The Shouters, The Rollicks, Bear Family BCD 16478 AR, 1990
- Jerry Williams, 1965, Sonet LP, Mr. Dynamite Explodes Again!, Grand Prix album Rock & Roll Time, 1968, EP
- The SonicsThe SonicsThe Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders...
, on 1966 album Boom - The Rubins, also known as The Five Rubins, live, 1964
- The MummiesThe MummiesThe Mummies are an American garage punk band from San Mateo, California formed in 1988.-Showmanship:Originally hailing from San Mateo, California, the band was formed by Trent Ruane , Maz Kattuah , Larry Winther and Russell Quan . They became a key part of San Francisco's burgeoning garage punk...
, 1990, Rekkids; Never Been Caught album, Telstar, 2002 - Bryan Davies, Australian 45 single b/w "I Should Have Stayed in Bed", HMV, April, 1965; Barry GibbBarry GibbBarry Alan Crompton Gibb, CBE , is a singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in the Isle of Man to English parents. With his brothers Robin and Maurice, he formed The Bee Gees, one of the most successful pop groups of all time. The trio got their start in Australia, and found their major...
of The Bee Gees wrote and sang backing and harmony vocals on "I Should Have Stayed in Bed" - Lee Curtis and the All-Stars, Liverpool rock group, 1964
- Louis PrimaLouis PrimaLouis Prima was a Sicilian American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Prima rode the musical trends of his time, starting with his seven-piece New Orleans style jazz band in the 1920s, then successively leading a swing combo in the 1930s, a big band in the 1940s, a Vegas lounge act in the...
, Keely SmithKeely SmithKeely Smith is an American jazz and popular music singer who enjoyed popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. She collaborated with, among others, Louis Prima and Frank Sinatra.-Career:...
, Sam ButeraSam ButeraSam Butera was a tenor saxophone player best noted for his collaborations with Louis Prima and Keely Smith. Butera is frequently regarded as a crossover artist who performed with equal ease in both R & B and the post-big band pop style of jazz that permeated the early Vegas nightclub...
, and The Witnesses, The Capitol Recordings; The EP Collection, 2000 - The Lyres, 1987, Early Years Live, 1979-1983, Crypt, 1997
- Snooks EaglinSnooks EaglinSnooks Eaglin, born Fird Eaglin, Jr. , was a New Orleans-based guitarist and singer. He was also referred to as Blind Snooks Eaglin in his early years....
, 1995, Soul's Edge album on Black Top - The Lions, 1964, 45 single b/w "Sticks and Stones", TD 246; Hit House Shake, King Beat, 1989
- Sten & Stanley, 1965, Decca 45, Decca F 44503, b/w "Goldfinger"
- The Watusi (band)Watusi (band)Watusi is a popular Reggae/Worldbeat band formed in Dallas, TX in 1982 by Jimi Towry and a Rwandan native, Ruta Gengwa. Pioneers of the "Worldbeat" mix of Reggae, soca, Afrikan, Latin, funk and jazz styles, they have spread their music all over the world....
, 2009 - Albert West, 1988, West & Friends album, Arcade 01 3290 61
- Jumpin' Gene SimmonsJumpin' Gene SimmonsJumpin' Gene Simmons was an American rockabilly singer and songwriter known best for his 1964 novelty single "Haunted House."-Biography:...
, Sun rockabilly singer, 1965, 45 single b/w "I'm A Ramblin' Man", HI 45-2086; Haunted House: The Complete Jumpin' Gene Simmons on Hi Records - Ray Brown & The WhispersRay Brown & The Whispers. For other uses of Whispers, see Whispers page.Ray Brown & The Whispers were a highly successful Australian rock band from 1964 to 1967...
, Australian rock group,1964, Ray Brown & The Whispers album, Leedon LL-31646 - The Liverpool 5, as The 5 Liverpools, 45 single b/w "Tokio", 1964, CBS 1623; Tokio International album, CBS 62460, 1965
- The Rocking Ghosts, Danish rock band, The Rocking Ghosts album, Metronome MLP 15166, 1964
- The Shanes, Swedish rock group, The Shanes, Rock-In-Beat, 2000
- Johnnie Cliff Five, Die Hamburg Szene, 2001
- Alan Dale, Raven RVLP15, 1963; Alan Dale and The Houserockers: The Early Masters
- Bill Haley's Comets, Rock and Roll Survivors Featuring Al Rappa and Joey Welz
- The Tigers, Legend of The Tigers: Rare and Unreleased Tracks, 2003; The Tigers on Stage, 1967
- The Team Beats, Smash! Boom! Bang!, Bear Family BCD 16466, 2001
- Ricky King, Rock `n` Roll Party, Epic 26158, 1984
- Larry Donn, That's What I Call a Ball, 2003, Collector/Wht
- Bill Blaine and The Dynamics, Western Australian Snake Pit Rock 'N' Roll, Vol. 1, 2004; The Rockin' Years
- Bill Haley Orchestra, 2008, Let the Good Times Roll album, CultSound
- Jesse Robin
- The Blue Cats
- The Hillbilly Voodoo Dolls
- The Zettlers, A side 45 single, Swe Disc SWES 1105, Sweden, 1965