24. This singer and his group were one of the pioneers of Rock'n'Roll with their number one hit, which was featured in the movie "Blackboard Jungle". Who was he?
From Quiz Dead Singers Society USA
Answer:
Bill Haley (Bill Haley And His Comets)
Bill Haley was born William John Clifton Haley in Michigan, USA, in 1925. He died in Texas, USA, in 1981 aged 55. An alcoholic, he apparently died in his sleep of a heart attack although there was some suspicion of a brain tumor. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Bill Haley And His Comets first hit on the Billboard Hot 100 was "Shake Rattle And Roll" which reached number seven in 1954. Their last US hit was the re-released "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" which reached number 39 in 1974, after being used as the opening music for the US TV show "Happy Days". It reached number 12 on the UK chart the same year. Between 1954 and 1974 Bill Haley And His Comets had ten US Top 20 hits. Three of those were Top Ten hits. One of them, "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" was number one for eight weeks in 1955. It was featured in the 1955 movie "Blackboard Jungle" starring Glenn Ford, Anne Francis and Louis Calhern. Bill Haley And His Comets' first hit on the UK chart was "Shake Rattle And Roll" which reached number four in 1954. Their last UK hit was "Haley's Golden Medley" which reached number 50 in 1981 but was not released in the US. Between 1954 and 1981 Bill Haley And His Comets had ten UK Top 20 hits of which eight were Top Ten hits. One of those was "Rock Around The Clock" which was number one for five weeks in 1955/56. It was their only US/UK number one and entered the UK chart on eight separate occasions, number 17 in Jan 1955, number one in Oct 1955, number five in Sept 1956, number 24 in Dec 1956, number 25 in Jan 1957, number 22 in Jan 1957, number 20 in Apr 1968 and number 12 in Mar 1974.