"Shake, Rattle And Roll" (J. Stone) - Bill Haley and His Comets; Decca label, # 7 Billboard Hot 100 - 1954. Inducted in 2009.
"Shake, Rattle & Roll" was not only Bill Haley And His Comets' first Top Ten record, but it was also the first ever rock and roll record to reach that Billboard chart position. Haley, who started out as a country singer, had been experimenting with R&B songs for a couple of years on the Essex label before signing with Decca Records in 1954.
His first record for the label, "Rock Around The Clock", failed to sell when it was first released in May of 1954, but its follow-up, "Shake, Rattle And Roll" helped make Bill Haley And His Comets the first big rock and roll stars.
The song was a cover of Big Joe Turner's original but with some of the more suggestive lyrics changed. Turner had a # 1 R&B hit with his version, and it also reached # 22 on the Hot 100, a remarkable feat for a black artist in 1954.
