"See You Later, Alligator" | |
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Single by Bill Haley & His Comets | |
Released | February 1, 1956 |
Recorded | December 12, 1955 |
Genre | Rock and roll |
Length | 2:45 |
Label | Decca Records |
Songwriter(s) | Robert Guidry |
Producer(s) | Milt Gabler |
"See You Later, Alligator" is a 1950s rock and roll song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Bobby Charles. The song was a Top Ten hit for Bill Haley and His Comets in 1956 in the United States, reaching no. 6 on Billboard and CashBox. In the UK, the single peaked at no. 7.
Originally entitled "Later, Alligator", the song, based on a 12-bar blues chord structure (141541), [1] was written by Louisiana songwriter Robert Charles Guidry and first recorded by him under his professional name " Bobby Charles" in 1955. His recording was released on Chess Records under the title "Later, Alligator" as 1609 in November 1955 backed with "On Bended Knee". Guidry, a Cajun musician, adopted a New Orleans–influenced blues style for the recording. The melody of the song was borrowed from bluesman Guitar Slim's "Later for You, Baby" which was recorded in 1954. [2] Guidry also wrote " Walking to New Orleans", which was recorded by Fats Domino.
The song was also recorded by Roy Hall, who had written and recorded " Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" ten weeks before, on December 1, 1955, at a Nashville session.
The most famous recording of the song, [3] however, was that created on December 12, 1955. by Bill Haley & His Comets at a recording session for Decca Records. [4] Unlike most of Haley's recordings for Decca, which were created at the Pythian Temple studio in New York City, [Note 1] "Alligator" and its flip-side, "The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)", were recorded at the Decca Building in New York. The song was featured in Rock Around the Clock, a musical film Haley and the Comets began shooting in January 1956. Regarding the claim that Decca records released this disk on February 1, 1956, in both 45 and 78 formats, [5] Billboard had already listed the song as debuting on January 14, 1956, on the Best Sellers in Stores chart at no. 25 and on the Top 100 at no. 56. [6] The Decca single peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard and CashBox pop singles chart in 1956. [7]
Haley's arrangement of the song is faster-paced than Guidry's original, and in particular the addition of a two-four beat changed the song from a rhythm and blues "shuffle" to rock and roll. The song also has a more light-hearted beat than the original, starting out with a high-pitched, childlike voice (belonging to Haley's lead guitarist, Franny Beecher) reciting the title of the song. The ending of the song was virtually identical to the conclusion of Haley's earlier hit, " Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Bill Haley's recording of "See You Later, Alligator" popularized a catchphrase already in use at the time, [8] and Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom was quoted as saying it. [9] [10] It would become Haley's third and final million-selling single, although it did not hit the top of the American charts.
Haley and the Comets re-recorded the song several more times: in 1964 for Guest Star Records, a drastically rearranged version for Mexico's Orfeon Records in 1966, and once more in 1968 for Sweden's Sonet Records. It was also a staple of the band's live act. Several post-Haley incarnations of The Comets have also recorded versions of the song. Guidry, under his Bobby Charles pseudonym, re-recorded the song in the 1990s.
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
---|---|
Netherlands Singles Chart | 7 [11] |
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Singles Chart | 6 |
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
UK Singles Chart [12] | 7 |
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
U.S. CashBox Singles Chart | 6 |
"See You Later, Alligator" | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Single by Bill Haley & His Comets | |
Released | February 1, 1956 |
Recorded | December 12, 1955 |
Genre | Rock and roll |
Length | 2:45 |
Label | Decca Records |
Songwriter(s) | Robert Guidry |
Producer(s) | Milt Gabler |
"See You Later, Alligator" is a 1950s rock and roll song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Bobby Charles. The song was a Top Ten hit for Bill Haley and His Comets in 1956 in the United States, reaching no. 6 on Billboard and CashBox. In the UK, the single peaked at no. 7.
Originally entitled "Later, Alligator", the song, based on a 12-bar blues chord structure (141541), [1] was written by Louisiana songwriter Robert Charles Guidry and first recorded by him under his professional name " Bobby Charles" in 1955. His recording was released on Chess Records under the title "Later, Alligator" as 1609 in November 1955 backed with "On Bended Knee". Guidry, a Cajun musician, adopted a New Orleans–influenced blues style for the recording. The melody of the song was borrowed from bluesman Guitar Slim's "Later for You, Baby" which was recorded in 1954. [2] Guidry also wrote " Walking to New Orleans", which was recorded by Fats Domino.
The song was also recorded by Roy Hall, who had written and recorded " Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" ten weeks before, on December 1, 1955, at a Nashville session.
The most famous recording of the song, [3] however, was that created on December 12, 1955. by Bill Haley & His Comets at a recording session for Decca Records. [4] Unlike most of Haley's recordings for Decca, which were created at the Pythian Temple studio in New York City, [Note 1] "Alligator" and its flip-side, "The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)", were recorded at the Decca Building in New York. The song was featured in Rock Around the Clock, a musical film Haley and the Comets began shooting in January 1956. Regarding the claim that Decca records released this disk on February 1, 1956, in both 45 and 78 formats, [5] Billboard had already listed the song as debuting on January 14, 1956, on the Best Sellers in Stores chart at no. 25 and on the Top 100 at no. 56. [6] The Decca single peaked at no. 6 on the Billboard and CashBox pop singles chart in 1956. [7]
Haley's arrangement of the song is faster-paced than Guidry's original, and in particular the addition of a two-four beat changed the song from a rhythm and blues "shuffle" to rock and roll. The song also has a more light-hearted beat than the original, starting out with a high-pitched, childlike voice (belonging to Haley's lead guitarist, Franny Beecher) reciting the title of the song. The ending of the song was virtually identical to the conclusion of Haley's earlier hit, " Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Bill Haley's recording of "See You Later, Alligator" popularized a catchphrase already in use at the time, [8] and Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom was quoted as saying it. [9] [10] It would become Haley's third and final million-selling single, although it did not hit the top of the American charts.
Haley and the Comets re-recorded the song several more times: in 1964 for Guest Star Records, a drastically rearranged version for Mexico's Orfeon Records in 1966, and once more in 1968 for Sweden's Sonet Records. It was also a staple of the band's live act. Several post-Haley incarnations of The Comets have also recorded versions of the song. Guidry, under his Bobby Charles pseudonym, re-recorded the song in the 1990s.
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
---|---|
Netherlands Singles Chart | 7 [11] |
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
U.S. Billboard Singles Chart | 6 |
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
UK Singles Chart [12] | 7 |
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
U.S. CashBox Singles Chart | 6 |