Part cultural history, part music detective story and all documentary, Dawson takes you from the very early roots of Rock n' Roll (the phrase is said to be first coined in the 1920's); Haley's early days and his struggles as musician; his songwriting collaborations; and his life after this huge success among his musician/businessmen friends. Dawson traces in minutiae all the background events and reasons the song evolved, was quickly recorded, released and then exploded after it appeared in the landmark teen drama Blackboard Jungle.

I loved all the intrigues--the behind the scenes and machinations to claim part authorship with the song's writer Max C. Freedman and the subsequent path the record and song publishing rights took through different companies. With a fascinating cover history (other artists who recorded their versions of the song) and a British rememberance chapter written by British '60's Pop star Ian Whitcomb gets it all right.

For more contact BackBeat Books at www.backbeatbooks.com. Sold through Hal Leonard at www.halleonard.com, Rock Around The Clock sells for $16.95.