Billy Gussak
William "Billy" Gussak (c. 1920 – 1994) was an American jazz and recording session drummer, best known for being the drummer on the classic 12 April 1954 recording of "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Some sources incorrectly spell his name as Guesak. Gussak was a well-respected session drummer, who had been used by Haley on some of his 1953 recordings, including "Real Rock Drive" and "Crazy Man, Crazy" in preference to the Comets' usual live drummer Dick Boccelli (also known as Dick Richards). According to one source , it was record producer Milt Gabler who insisted on using Gussak. "Gabler, who wanted to stress the big beat sound that he could get from [recording studio] Pythian Temple's acoustics, brought in his own session drummer ... Beginning with his three rim shots at the start of the record, Gussak would drop echoed snare bombs throughout, giving a dynamic to "Rock Around The Clock" that Haley's material had never had before." Gussak continued as a studio drummer after "Rock Around The Clock" became successful, recording occasionally with Haley through 1954/55 and then recording with The Jodimars, the members of the Comets who had split away from Haley. Gussak later moved to California, where he recorded with Perry Como among others, before retiring due to arthritis. In the early 1960s he collaborated on some songs with eccentric musician Stephen "Brute Force" Friedland, at the time the boyfriend of his daughter. Gussak is also credited with a number of patents in relation to drum design. He died in 1994. |
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Birth and Death Data: Born 1920, Died 1994
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1955
Roles Represented in DAHR: traps, drums
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 61 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-037652 | 10-in. | 6/16/1939 | Guess I'll go back home (This summer) | Three Reasons ; Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with female vocal trio and jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-038235 | 10-in. | 7/7/1939 | Time on my hands | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-038236 | 10-in. | 7/7/1939 | Manhattan | Disck Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-038237 | 10-in. | 7/7/1939 | Drifting down the river of dreams | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-038238 | 10-in. | 7/7/1939 | Old mill wheel | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-041579 | 10-in. | 8/17/1939 | Blue orchids | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-041580 | 10-in. | 8/17/1939 | One morning in May | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-041581 | 10-in. | 8/17/1939 | Lazy river | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-041582 | 10-in. | 8/17/1939 | Its a hundred to one (I'm in love) | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042638 | 10-in. | 9/5/1939 | (Everybody's happy for) Myrtle | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042639 | 10-in. | 9/5/1939 | It's funny to everyone but me | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042640 | 10-in. | 9/5/1939 | The beautiful buxom barmaid | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042641 | 10-in. | 9/5/1939 | The starlit hour | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042776 | 10-in. | 10/3/1939 | Who told you I cared | Dinah Shore | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042777 | 10-in. | 10/3/1939 | I like to recognize the tune | Dinah Shore | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042778 | 10-in. | 10/3/1939 | I thought about you | Dinah Shore | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042779 | 10-in. | 10/3/1939 | (Why couldn't it last) Last night | Dinah Shore | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042944 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | Ciri-biri-bin | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042945 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | Vol vistu gaily star | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042946 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | Goody goodbye | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-042947 | 10-in. | 10/12/1939 | No mama no | Smoothies | Mixed vocal trio, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-043307 | 10-in. | 10/24/1939 | It's the talk of the town | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-043308 | 10-in. | 10/24/1939 | I can't get started | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-043309 | 10-in. | 10/24/1939 | It's a hap-hap-happy day | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps | |
Victor | BS-043310 | 10-in. | 10/24/1939 | The creaking old mill on the creek | Dick Todd | Male vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, traps |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gussak, Billy," accessed March 29, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114901.
Gussak, Billy. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 29, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/114901.
"Gussak, Billy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 29 March 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gussak, Billy, -1994 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no2009073425
Wikidata: Billy Gussak - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q4912652
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/88500719
MusicBrainz: Billy Gussak - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/846a18aa-ae8f-4d5a-a9c3-dde7b985abde
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