Don't Knock the Rock
Encyclopedia
Don't Knock the Rock is a 1957 rock and roll
film starring Alan Dale
as a rock star who returns to his hometown to rest up for the summer only to find that rock and roll has been banned there by disapproving adults. With the help of disc jockey Alan Freed
and film headliners Bill Haley and His Comets, they set out to prove that the music isn't as bad as adults think.
Other acts in the film were Little Richard
, The Treniers
, and Dave Appell
and the Applejacks. The Treniers were an energetic R&B combo who recorded what are regarded as several of the first rock and roll recordings, including the first version of "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", which Haley wrote and later claimed inspired Alan Freed to coin the term "rock and roll". The Applejacks were the house band for the famed Cameo-Parkway Records
. Applejacks guitarist Dave Appell produced, arranged, and co-wrote many Cameo-Parkway hits during the early 1960s including "Let's Twist Again", "Wild One", "Bristol Stomp", "Mashed Potato Time" and "South Street."
The film was an immediate follow-up to the earlier Rock Around the Clock
, which had also starred Haley and Freed. Although Haley and the Comets were the top-billed stars of this film, their role in it was relatively minor and the film failed to duplicate the box office success of its predecessor. Today it is mostly remembered for introducing Little Richard to a mass audience.
The title of the film comes from one of Haley's hit records of 1956. The Haley recording is played over the opening credits, but in the film it is Alan Dale who actually performs the number.
In one scene a young couple dances to Haley's "Hook Line and Sinker".
Don't Knock the Rock is often listed in reference books as being a 1957 release, due to it receiving its US premiere in mid-December 1956.
The version of the guitar instrumental "Goofin' Around" performed in this film differs from the version released on Decca Records
; it has yet to be officially issued although a film audio recording of the scene in which it was played (as opposed to the original studio recording) was released in the late 1990s by the German label Hydra Records. Due to sheet music
for the songs "Applejack" and "Country Dance" being released as a tie-in with this movie but with Bill Haley's, not Dave Appell's, photo on the cover, these songs, although Haley-sounding, are often erroneously cited as Bill Haley recordings.
or laserdisc
in North America. On January 23, 2007, Sony Pictures (current owners of the Columbia catalog) released the first Region 1 DVD edition of the film alongside Rock Around the Clock
.
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...
film starring Alan Dale
Alan Dale (singer)
Alan Dale was an American singer of traditional popular and rock and roll music.-Early life:He was born Aldo Sigismondi in the Brooklyn borough of New York...
as a rock star who returns to his hometown to rest up for the summer only to find that rock and roll has been banned there by disapproving adults. With the help of disc jockey Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
and film headliners Bill Haley and His Comets, they set out to prove that the music isn't as bad as adults think.
Other acts in the film were Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, The Treniers
The Treniers
The Treniers were an American R&B and jump blues musical group, led by identical twins Cliff and Claude Trenier. Their Gene Gilbeaux Orchestra included Don Hill on saxophone, Shifty Henry and later James Johnson on bass, Henry Green on drums and Gene Gilbeaux on piano, with the Treniers Twins and...
, and Dave Appell
Dave Appell
Dave Appell Dave (David) Appell Dave (David) Appell (born March 24, 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, worked as an arranger, producer, and musician in Philadelphia, in the 1950s.-Career:...
and the Applejacks. The Treniers were an energetic R&B combo who recorded what are regarded as several of the first rock and roll recordings, including the first version of "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", which Haley wrote and later claimed inspired Alan Freed to coin the term "rock and roll". The Applejacks were the house band for the famed Cameo-Parkway Records
Cameo-Parkway Records
Cameo-Parkway Records was the parent company of Cameo Records and Parkway Records, which were major American Philadelphia-based record labels from 1956 and 1958 to 1967...
. Applejacks guitarist Dave Appell produced, arranged, and co-wrote many Cameo-Parkway hits during the early 1960s including "Let's Twist Again", "Wild One", "Bristol Stomp", "Mashed Potato Time" and "South Street."
The film was an immediate follow-up to the earlier Rock Around the Clock
Rock Around the Clock (film)
Rock Around the Clock is the title of a 1956 Musical film that featured Bill Haley and His Comets along with Alan Freed, The Platters, Tony Martinez and His Band, and Freddie Bell and His Bellboys. It was produced by B-movie king Sam Katzman and directed by Fred F...
, which had also starred Haley and Freed. Although Haley and the Comets were the top-billed stars of this film, their role in it was relatively minor and the film failed to duplicate the box office success of its predecessor. Today it is mostly remembered for introducing Little Richard to a mass audience.
The title of the film comes from one of Haley's hit records of 1956. The Haley recording is played over the opening credits, but in the film it is Alan Dale who actually performs the number.
In one scene a young couple dances to Haley's "Hook Line and Sinker".
Don't Knock the Rock is often listed in reference books as being a 1957 release, due to it receiving its US premiere in mid-December 1956.
Songs performed in the movie
- "Don't Knock the Rock" - Bill Haley and His Comets
- "I Cry More" - Alan Dale
- "You're Just Right" - Dale
- "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" - Haley
- "Goofin' Around" - Haley
- "Hook, Line And Sinker" - Haley
- "Applejack" - Dave Appell and the ApplejacksDave AppellDave Appell Dave (David) Appell Dave (David) Appell (born March 24, 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, worked as an arranger, producer, and musician in Philadelphia, in the 1950s.-Career:...
- "Your Love Is My Love" - Dale
- "Calling All Comets" - Haley
- "Out Of The Bushes" - The Treniers
- "Rip It UpRip It Up (song)"Rip It Up" is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Bill Haley and his Comets and Little Richard in 1956. The Little Richard version hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart for two weeks and peaked at number seventeen on the pop chart.-Cover...
" - Bill Haley and His Comets - "Rocking On Saturday Night" - Treniers
- "Gonna Run" - Dale
- "Long Tall SallyLong Tall Sally"Long Tall Sally" is a rock and roll 12-bar blues song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson and Richard Penniman , recorded by Little Richard and released March 1956 on the Specialty Records label....
" - Little Richard - "Tutti-Frutti" - Richard
- "Country Dance" - Appell
- "Don't Knock the Rock" - Dale
The version of the guitar instrumental "Goofin' Around" performed in this film differs from the version released on 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....
; it has yet to be officially issued although a film audio recording of the scene in which it was played (as opposed to the original studio recording) was released in the late 1990s by the German label Hydra Records. Due to sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
for the songs "Applejack" and "Country Dance" being released as a tie-in with this movie but with Bill Haley's, not Dave Appell's, photo on the cover, these songs, although Haley-sounding, are often erroneously cited as Bill Haley recordings.
Home video release
Don't Knock the Rock was never released officially on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
or laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
in North America. On January 23, 2007, Sony Pictures (current owners of the Columbia catalog) released the first Region 1 DVD edition of the film alongside Rock Around the Clock
Rock Around the Clock (film)
Rock Around the Clock is the title of a 1956 Musical film that featured Bill Haley and His Comets along with Alan Freed, The Platters, Tony Martinez and His Band, and Freddie Bell and His Bellboys. It was produced by B-movie king Sam Katzman and directed by Fred F...
.