LP record Bill Haley & The Comets (Polskie Nagrania Muza 12″ 33⅓ rpm LP, SX 2417)

Audio Recording

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

LP record "Bill Haley & The Comets" (Polskie Nagrania "Muza" 12″ 33⅓ rpm LP, SX 2417)

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.305

Description

A 12-inch, 33⅓ rpm long-play vinyl record in a printed paper sleeve, manufactured by Polskie Nagrania on its "Muza" label — the Polish state record company — and licensed from GNP-Crescendo Records (USA). It collects twelve rock and roll numbers performed by Bill Haley & The Comets: Side A — "I'm Walkin'," "High Heel Sneakers," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Tossin' and Turnin'," "Flip Flop and Fly," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"; Side B — "C.C. Rider," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," "Bring It On Home to Me," "Personality," Haley's own "Crazy Man Crazy," and Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music." The cream Polskie Nagrania/Muza disc label reads "POLSKIE NAGRANIA," "muza," "ZAIKS," "S 33," "SX 2417 A," "GNP - CRESCENDO RECORDS," "Made in Poland." Condition: worn; a blue "409" stamp and a pencilled "L70" on the back.

Context

This LP is another instance of the recurring ArchCuS pattern in which Western popular music reached Cuba pressed in the socialist bloc — here the foundational genre, American rock and roll, on a Polish state-label LP. It parallels the Czechoslovak Supraphon EP (Karel Vlach) and the Soviet "MK" tango discs: international/Western repertoire manufactured in Eastern Europe and circulating into Cuba. Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981, whose "Rock Around the Clock" was the best-selling rock single in the history of the genre; this 1986 LP is therefore a posthumous compilation of his later GNP-Crescendo–era recordings of standards. The bilingual liner notes read rock and roll's birth through a class-and-race lens congenial to a socialist publishing context — emphasizing the US cultural division "white and black," country music versus rhythm and blues, and Bill Haley as the white performer who fused the two. Priced in złoty for the Polish home market.

Audio Format

33 RPM Record

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Leopoldo Arús Gálvez collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Album Detail

Contributors

Contributor

E. Pomorska

Role

Media Artist

Contributor

Adam Halber

Role

Liner Notes

Record Label

Polskie Nagrania Muza

Musical Genre

Rock and Roll

Release Date

1986

Place Recorded

City

Warsaw

Country

Poland

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Liner Notes

The liner notes detail Bill Haley's rise to stardom as a country-turned-rock-and-roll artist. He performed covers of rock songs written by Black artists in order to market rock and roll music as accessible to white Americans.

Album Artwork Description

The front cover is a stippled black-and-white portrait of a laughing Bill Haley against a red starburst; the back carries bilingual (Polish/English) liner notes by Adam Halber, the full track list with composer credits and timings, sleeve design by E. Pomorska, "Made in Poland," and "Cena/Price zł 400."

Notes

Manufactured (pressed) by Polskie Nagrania in Poland (Warsaw), 1986. The master recordings are licensed from GNP-Crescendo Records (Los Angeles, USA) and derive from Bill Haley's late-career re-recordings of c. 1968–1973; the specific session cities are not stated.

Track Details

Title

I'm walkin'

Track Contributors

Contributor

Fats Domino

Role

Language

English

Title

Flip flop and fly

Track Contributors

Dave Williams

Role

Composer

Contributor

Role

Composer

Title

Crazy man crazy

Track Contributors

Contributor

Bill Haley

Title

Rock and roll music

Track Contributors

Contributor

Chuck Berry

Dimensions

Height

31 cm

Width

31 cm

Parts

vinyl, record case

Accessories

Accessory

Case

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Place

City

Warsaw

Country

Poland

Region

Eastern Europe

Continent

Europe

Notes

production

Research Notes

Notes

Recording: the tracks are Haley's late-period GNP-Crescendo/Sonet re-recordings; exact recording dates and cities are not given on the sleeve.

Notes

Provenance: the printed "zł 400" is a Polish-market price; the blue "409" stamp and pencilled "L70" are later marks.

Created By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Create Date

March 31, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 16, 2026