DC

I’ve been a Red Robinson fan since 1956 when I’d come home from school in Everett, Washington and turn on CJOR and listen to Red do his magic. I was so impressed that as I grew older, I followed in his footsteps and became a disk jockey in Seattle for many years. We also share in a desire to constantly learn more about Rock & Roll. One of our favorite discussions is the unsung heroes of R & R.
Recently, Red and I were talking about landmark songs and Rock Around The Clock came up in discussion.
Now, any kid that ever picked up a guitar (in the 50’s and 60’s) had to learn Rock Around The Clock and its difficult guitar solos, but hardly anybody knows the name of that guitar player. His name is Danny Cedrone, and he was born in New York and raised in Philly. He played locally in Philadelphia with his group the Esquire Boys and they released a song written for them by Bill Haley called Rock A Beatin’ Boogie in 1954. Bill Haley was a good friend of Danny Cedrone, and every time Bill recorded he insisted that Danny be on hand to play lead guitar. Danny played on most of Haley’s recordings from 1949-1954. In April of 1954, Danny was called to the studio to help Haley and the Comets record their first Decca record 13 Women and Rock Around The Clock. Amazingly, Decca released 13 Women as the “A” side, and the record sunk without a chance to be heard. A year later, Rock Around The Clock was used over the credits of a movie called “Blackboard Jungle”. The song took off immediately and established itself as the first multi-media Rock & Roll hit. Rock &Roll songs had been recorded as early as 1951, but Rock Around The Clock was the first song to achieve unanimous popularity.
Danny Cedrone never lived to see his work accepted; he died six weeks after the song was recorded. He slipped, fell down a flight of stairs, broke his neck in three places, and died instantly. He was 33 years old.
Danny and his wife Millie had 4 daughters at the time of his death. The girls were aged 5 through 12. The only money they received for Rock Around The Clock was $42.00 for his session fee. With Danny gone, Millie had to go to work to support her family. Her youngest daughter, Janet, says that 1955 and 1956 were tough years for Millie because she would hear Danny’s song on the air constantly. Decca records only made one gold record and gave it to Bill Haley. Millie was left with nothing to show for her husband’s work.
Red and I, along with two of our other friends, Stan Foreman (retired EMI promo executive) and Doug Leftwich,(Milestone Awards) decided to band together and have a gold record made for Mrs. Cedrone. She is 89 years old and lives with Janet in Philadelphia.
It only took us 50 years, but we’ve finally arranged for Millie to have her gold record.
Now you know about Danny Cedrone, the other guitar that changed the world.
Millie, this one’s for you darlin'.
Millie past away in 2005.