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"Fractured"
Single by Bill Haley with Haley's Comets
Released1953
Recorded1953
Genre Rock and roll
Length2:12
Label Essex Records
Songwriter(s) Bill Haley, Marshall Lytle
Producer(s) Dave Miller
Bill Haley with Haley's Comets singles chronology
" Crazy Man, Crazy"
(1953)
"Fractured"
(1953)
" Live It Up"
(1953)

"Fractured" was the title of an early rock and roll song written by Bill Haley and Marshall Lytle and first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets, then going by the name Bill Haley with Haley's Comets, in 1953. The song was released as an Essex Records 78 single in 1953, peaking at #24 on the Billboard singles chart.

History

The music and the lyrics were written by Bill Haley and Marshall Lytle. [1]

The song was recorded at Redo Art Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was released by Essex Records as a B side single in July, 1953. The personnel on the recording included Haley's core Comets members Marshall Lytle (bass), Billy Williamson ( steel guitar), and Johnny Grande (piano), plus session musicians Art Ryerson (lead guitar) and Billy Gussak (drums). [2] [3]

The recording was released on Essex Records as Essex 327B backed with "Pat-a-Cake". [4]

The term "fractured" was a popular slang expression of that time, which like the earlier "crazy, man, crazy", was chosen as the title of the song to appeal to teenage record buyers.

Charts

"Fractured" was a Top 40 hit on the Billboard pop singles chart, reaching #24 in August, 1953. [5]

Sources

  • Jim Dawson, Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution! (Backbeat Books, 2005), pp. 50–55.
  • John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, Sound and Glory (Dyne-American, 1990).
  • John Swenson, Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll (Stein & Day, 1985).

References

  1. ^ Rock the Joint! The Original Essex Recordings, 1951–1954. SKR 1529. Roller Coaster Records, UK, 1989. See the liner notes by Chris Gardner, Bill Haley Holiday/Essex Session File.
  2. ^ Bill Haley Essex and Decca Discography Archived 2012-03-26 at the Wayback Machine at This is Vintage Now
  3. ^ "Bill Haley 1951-1954 discography (Holiday and Essex Records)". thegardnerfamily.org. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  4. ^ "Bill Haley Recordings". thegardnerfamily.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2015-02-11.
  5. ^ "Song artist 88 - Bill Haley & his Comets". tsort.info. Retrieved 2015-02-11.