The hoopla surrounding the purported fiftieth anniversary of rock & roll didn t quite ring true. Bill Haley might have lobbied for 2001 ... fifty years after he d covered Rocket 88 ; or 2002 ... fifty years after he d recorded Rock The Joint; or 2003 ... fifty years after he broke into the pop charts with Crazy Man Crazy, a record that fit every criterion of rock n roll. But, of course, Bill Haley said not a word; he had died neglected and alone on the Mexican border in 1981, and even at the time of his death he was wondering why he d be written out of the story. (Colin Escott, Nashville) On April 12th 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets created the National Anthem Of Teenagers (Lillian Roxon) with Rock Around The Clock , - the song which became the best-selling rock single of all time. It was not until July 6th 1954 when Elvis Presley cut his first disc - That s Alright - which became only a local hit in Memphis. During the same year, Bill Haley & His Comets received their first gold records for their million-sellers Shake, Rattle & Roll and Dim Dim the Lights . Bo Diddley was a year away from scoring his first hit. The same applied to Chuck Berry. Buddy Holly was sixteen and playing with school friend Bob Montgomery as a Western swing duo. Little Richard did various odd jobs, whereas Fats Domino did not change his New Orleans R&B to a more mainstream rock & roll approach until 1955. Last but not least, Jerry Lee Lewis was still performing country music in the honky tonks of Louisiana. In 1955, Bill Haley s highly controlled, syncopated chorus of sounds, all driven by a wild, primitive, but always thundering beat, was introduced worldwide in the box office smash teenage drama Blackboard Jungle starring Glenn Ford and a young Sidney Poitier. This film was the ignition for Rock Around The Clock becoming synonymous with rock & roll. With sales now exceeding 200,000,000 copies, it was recorded by more than 500 artists in 32 different languages. It has also been featured in 40 motion pictures and, of course, as the title track to the TV series Happy Days .
Otto Fuchs was born on May 13th 1978 in Mariazell, Styria /Austria. He discovers a deep passion for rock & roll while being in his early teens. Just fourteen years old, he becomes the youngest writer for the german "Rock & Roll music magazine". From 2000 - 2004 he hosts The Rocket 88 Show for KRKT 99.1 FM Rock It Radio, Ventura / California. Numerous interviews with 1950s Rock & Roll Legends such as Billy Lee Riley, Marvin Rainwater, Gene Vincent Blue Cap Drummer Dickie "Be Bop" Harrell, Bill Haley´s Comets members Marshall Lytle and Bill Turner are led & recorded by Fuchs for this show ... During that period he also places various articles in the german "Dynamite - The World Of Rock & Roll" magazine.
In 2005 he starts to contribute reviews and interviews for german jive, swing & rockabilly magazine "Slam Bam". Bob Timmers of the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame recruits him as columnist for the Tennessee based Rockabilly Hall Of Fame. While Otto Fuchs continues to write in german for the Stompin´ News magazine, the column for the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame is the first medium which requires him to write in his second language English. During a trip to his former home, London (he lived there from 1997 - 1999), Otto Fuchs meets John Howard. Soon the two men come to the agreement that UK Rock , whose editor John Howard was then, will publish Otto Fuchs´ work as well. As February 9th 2011 marks the 30th year of the death of Bill Haley, the book "Bill Haley - Father of Rock & Roll" shall contribute to have Bill Haley´s legacy live on
