We're all about the history of rock & roll at BoomtownAmerica.com!

Every week, we present “ROCK REMEMBERED,” a deep dive into the hidden history of rock & roll, the stories behind the artists and songs that changed the world. Join host, “Boomtown Bill” Cross each Wednesday at 7 pm (Eastern) with an encore broadcast on Saturday at noon (Eastern).

Join us today as we play some "B-Sides That Became Hits!"

We’ve lost another of the pioneering figures in rock & roll. Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka has passed away at the age of 86.

A gifted musician, Sedaka earned a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School of Music. His mother hoped he would become a famous classical pianist. However, as Neil entered his teen years, he discovered and fell in love with rock & roll.

Sedaka got his professional start at 18, when he and his songwriting partner, childhood friend Howard Greenfield, were signed to Aldon Music, the most influential music publisher of what has come to be known as the Brill Building sound. That sound came from songwriters who worked out of two buildings about two blocks apart in downtown Manhattan in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Sedaka sold his first song to Connie Francis in 1958. She took “Stupid Cupid” all the way to #14. Shortly thereafter, Sedaka began singing his own compositions. His first single for RCA, “The Diary,” also reached #14 on the national charts, but several of his follow-ups failed to achieve any success. RCA was on the verge of dropping him from their roster when one of Aldon’s owners, Al Nivens, convinced the label to give him one more shot.

Sedaka and Greenfield came up with a tune dedicated to Neil’s former high school sweetheart and fellow Aldon songwriter, Carole King. “Oh Carol” hit the Top Ten in late 1959 and touched off a successful string of hits, including “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen,” “Calendar Girl,” “Next Door to an Angel,” and “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” which became his first #1 record.

The British Invasion sent his career into a decline, as it did for many other American rockers. Neil took his family and relocated to England, while he also began a new partnership with lyricist Phil Cody. In 1972, Sedaka was approached by ABBA to help write lyrics for one of their early singles, feeling he would have a better feel for English than the native-born Swedes. He wrote the lyrics for “Ring, Ring,” which became one of the group's very first hits outside of their native country.

Sedaka continued to record without much commercial success, but in 1975, two American acts would cover Sedaka songs and launch his comeback. First, the Carpenters recorded “Solitaire,” which reached #1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and #17 on its pop chart. Then, the Captain and Tennille had their breakthrough single with Sedaka’s “Love Will Keep Us Together,” even going so far as to sing “Sedaka is back” over the fadeout.

Sedaka himself returned to the charts by re-recording a slower version of his biggest hit, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” along with new songs like “Laughter in the Rain” and a duet with Elton John on another Sedaka-Cody song called “Bad Blood,” which became Neil’s second #1 hit.

Sedaka continued writing and performing, producing short-form online videos right up to 2025. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983 and has a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. His son, Marc Sedaka, is a screenwriter, and his grandson, Mike, is also a musician.

The very first “rock & roll” film is also one of the best. Rock Around the Clock was rushed into production to capitalize on the success of its title song. That song had been released by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 to almost total apathy. It was forgotten until it became the song that played behind the opening credits of the definitive film about 1950s’ juvenile delinquency, Blackboard Jungle, in 1955. Overnight, rock & roll went from a small following of teenagers in a few cities to a nationwide phenomenon.

Columbia Pictures, always one of Hollywood’s lesser studios, decided to jump on the craze and quickly threw together a film that would showcase the music industry’s newest stars. The film was shot in one month (January, 1956) and rushed into theaters in March. Apparently, the studio was taking no chances that the “fad” for rock would die before they got to make some money off of it.

In addition to Haley, the film also featured the Platters (performing what turned out to be their two biggest hits, “Only You” and “The Great Pretender) and a never-was rock ensemble that billed themselves as Freddie Bell and His Bellboys for the kids. The also included an act aimed at a little older demographic, Tony Martinez and His Band.

The plot (or what passes for a plot) involves band manager Steve Hollis (Johnny Johnston), tiring of big bands, stumbling on Haley and his Comets in a little backwater town. Convinced rock is going to be the next big thing, he signs the band and two local dancers, a brother and sister. The only snag is that all the bookings for the big nightclubs are controlled by a scheming booking agent named Corrine Talbot (Alix Talton). She won’t book the Comets until she can get Hollis to agree to marry her. Hollis only has eyes for Lisa Johns (Linda Gayle), the sister half of the jitterbugging couple who dance while Haley plays.

Unlike many of the rock & roll exploitation films that came later, Rock Around the Clock actually has some decent production values and Gayle & Johnston are talented enough performers to keep you somewhat interested in the plot.

The film features 9 songs by Haley and his band, including “See You Later Alligator, which was recorded and released only a month before the movie.

It’s worth a watch if only because the initial jitterbug sock hop at which Haley’s group is discovered appears to have been one of the inspirations for the high school dance scene in Grease.

A couple of interesting tidbits about Rock Around the Clock:

• Haley’s song was used as the opening song for two movies in less than a year. It would be used again, many years later, to open George Lucas’ American Graffiti and the first season of the TV series Happy Days.

• The film was a fairly big hit, touching off a craze for rock & roll films and leading to a less-successful sequel, Don’t Knock the Rock.

•  It would be remade only a few years later as Twist Around the Clock with Chubby Checker (as well as a remake sequel, Don’t Knock the Twist).

•  Something most audiences were not used to at that time, white, black and Hispanic acts perform at the same venues in the film – and in the finale, perform together – signaling the beginning of a shift in popular conceptions about race relations.

•  Johnny Johnston’s career never really took off. His last major gig was hosting the 1962 nighttime sports game show, Make That Spare. for ABC.

•  Curiously, a soundtrack album for this movie has never been released in the U.S.

Maybe you remember Bazooka Joe. But who remembers Pud?

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Sorry ladies. The same study showed women with nagging husbands received no health benefits.