5-CD box (LP-size) with 100-page hardcover book, 113 tracks. Playing time 287:22 mns.

Released to coincide with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bill Haley's death in 1981, Bear Family Records in association with Rollercoaster Records present?for the first and only time?absolutely all of Bill Haley's pre-Decca recordings. Other companies have tried to gather Bill Haley's groundbreaking early recordings, but Bear Family and Rollercoaster spent 20 years painstakingly getting it right and carefully assembling every known recording?and more!

Was 2004 the 50th anniversary of the birth of rock 'n' roll? Absolutely not! These recordings, made between 1946 and 1954, are where rock 'n' roll really began. Bill Haley was first. Unquestionably the first. And this is where Bill Haley began. All these recordings predate Rock Around The Clock, and reveal Bill and the Comets at work on their own unique blend of boogie woogie, hillbilly, pop, blues, and jazz, years before anyone else.

For the first and only time, all of Bill Haley's pre-Decca recordings have been gathered in one place. On five CDs, we hear him invent the as-yet unnamed music that came to be called rock 'n' roll and eventually changed the world.

In 1946, Bill Haley was a member of the Downhomers cowboy band before going out on his own with his Four Aces of Western Swing. From that point, the music changed fast as Bill Haley recorded for Center, Cowboy, Keystone, Atlantic, Holiday, Abbey, Vogue, Gotham, and Essex. In addition to all of Bill Haley's recordings for those labels, this set also includes fabulously rare 'live' recordings, transcriptions, demonstration discs, and alternate takes. It's all here, including the first true rock 'n' roll hits: Rock The Joint, Real Rock Drive, Crazy Man Crazy, Fractured, and Rocket 88. The last word on the beginnings of rock 'n' roll!

This box also includes hundreds of rare and previously unseen photos as well as a complete essay on Bill Haley's early days by expert Chris Gardner.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

• WESTERN SWING:
• Too Many Parties, Too Many Pals
• Four Leaf Clover Blues
• Candy Kisses
• Tennessee Border
• The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along
• Yodel Your Blues Away
• Behind The Eight Ball
• Foolish Questions
• BILL HALEY, alias 'JOHNNY CLIFTON & HIS
• STRING BAND':
• Loveless Blues
• Stand Up And Be Counted
• BILL HALEY & THE SADDLEMEN:
• Deal Me A Hand (I Play The Game Anyway)
• Ten Gallon Stetson (With A Hole In The Crown)
• Susan Van Dusan
• I'm Not To Blame
• I'm Gonna Dry Every Tear With A Kiss
• Why Do I Cry Over You'
• Teardrops From My Eyes
• BILL HALEY & THE SADDLEMEN, alias 'RENO
• BROWNE & HER BUCKAROOS':
• My Sweet Little Girl From Nevada
• My Palomino And I

Disc 2:

• LORETTA & THE SADDLEMEN:
• Rocket '88'
• Tearstains On My Heart
• Green Tree Boogie
• Down Deep In My Heart
• I'm Crying
• Pretty Baby
• A Year Ago This Christmas
• I Don't Want To Be Alone This Christmas
• Jukebox Cannonball
• Sundown Boogie
• THE SADDLEMEN:
• Barnyard Special
• Rose Of My Heart
• Two Timin' Blues
• Long Gone Daddy
• I'm Lonesome
• A Sweet Bunch Of Roses
• Please Make Up Your Fickle Mind
• My Heart Tells Me (I'm Still In Love With...)
• LOU GRAHAM & THE SADDLEMEN: (alt. takes)
• DOWNHOMERS:
• Out Where The Westwind Blows
• Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone
• Boogie Woogie Yodel
• Baby, I Found Out All About You

Disc 3:

• Rock The Joint
• Icy Heart
• Dance With A Dolly (With A Hole In Her...)
• Rockin' Chair On The Moon
• BILL HALEY & HALEY'S COMETS:
• Stop Beatin' Around The Mulberry Bush
• Real Rock Drive
• Crazy Man, Crazy
• What'cha Gonna Do'
• Pat-a-Cake
• Fractured
• Live It Up
• Farewell, So Long, Goodbye
• I'll Be True
• Ten Little Indians
• Yes Indeed! (1)
• Yes Indeed! (2)
• Chattanooga Choo Choo
• Straightjacket

Disc 4:

• SWING) 1947-1950:
• Rovin' Eyes
• Candy And Women
• My Mom Heard Me Cry Over You
• Cotton Haired Girl
• The Wreck On The Highway
• A Yodeler's Lullaby
• All I Need Is Some More Lovin'
• Red River Valley
• Easy Rocking Chair
• I Wasted A Nickel Last Night
• My Bucket's Got A Hole In It
• Sunday Down In Tennessee
• BILL HALEY & HIS SADDLEMEN:
• Within This Broken Heart Of Mine
• THE DOWNHOMERS:
• Down Home
• Following The Sun
• She Taught Me How To Yodel
• Cool Water
• Open Up Them Pearly Gates For Me
• Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone'
• BILL HALEY airshots:
• Arizona Cowboy Advert
• Westinghouse And Twin Bars Advert

Disc 5:

• Cherry Tree Lane
• Cute Little Brown-Eyed Gal
• BILL HALEY (& THE FOUR ACES OF WESTERN
• SWING) - acetates unissued:
• SWING) acetates unissued:
• Ages And Ages Ago
• Honestly
• I Dreamed Of An Old Love Affair
• Whispering
• I Love You So Much It Hurts
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• A Bundle Of Kisses
• Are You Teasing Me'
• I Want You
• Gotta Have My Baby Baby Back
• Take Me In Your Arms

Additional Details

Label: Bear Family Records

Genre: Pop/Rock

Run Time: 287 mins

Release Date: 01/02/07

UPC: 4000127165091