Saturday, April 12, 2014

Saturday morning tunes: Glad rags

Sixty years ago today, Bill Haley and his band spent three hours in a Decca recording studio in New York City, most of which was spent trying to get one usable recording of "Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)." In the last 40 minutes of the session, they managed to get two takes -- one largely unusable -- of a second tune. After substantial editing, the producers decided it might be good enough to be a B-side release.

Today, few people would recognize the very young Dick Clark who opens this video; fewer still probably know what a B-side is; and likely no one remembers "Thirteen Women" -- but that 40-minute squeaker produced an anthem.


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