{{redirect|Later, Alligator|the video game|Later Alligator}} {{For|the Blackford Oakes novel|See You Later, Alligator (novel)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox song | name = See You Later, Alligator | cover = See You Later Alligator Bill Haley Decca 1956.png | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] | album = | B-side = The Paper Boy (On Main Street, U.S.A.) | released = January 1956 | recorded = December 12, 1955 | studio = | venue = | genre = [[Rock and roll]] | length = 2:45 | label = [[Decca Records]] | writer = [[Bobby Charles|Robert Guidry]] | producer = [[Milt Gabler]] | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = | next_year = }}
"'''See You Later, Alligator'''" is a 1950s [[rock and roll]] song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter [[Bobby Charles]] (credited as Robert Guidry). 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.
==History== Originally titled "Later, Alligator", the song, based on a [[12-bar blues]] chord structure (141541),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME06/Music_matters_Appendix.shtml |title=A sample of 100 rock and roll songs |website=Icce.rug.nl |date=April 6, 2003 |access-date=September 3, 2012 |archive-date=February 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207144935/http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/VOLUME06/Music_matters_Appendix.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 music]]ian, 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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bernard|first=Shane K.|title=Swamp Pop: Cajun and Creole Rhythm and Blues|url=https://archive.org/details/swamppopcajuncre00bern|url-access=registration|year=1996|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|location=Jackson|page=[https://archive.org/details/swamppopcajuncre00bern/page/35 35]}}</ref> Guidry also wrote "[[Walking to New Orleans (song)|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.
==Bill Haley recording== The most famous recording of the song,<ref name=pc5>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19751/m1/ |title=Show 5 – Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll: The rock revolution gets underway. [Part 1] }}</ref> however, was created on December 12, 1955, by [[Bill Haley & His Comets]] at a recording session for [[Decca Records]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thegardnerfamily.org/haley/discography/recordings.html#640 |title=Bill Haley Recordings |publisher=Thegardnerfamily.org |access-date=September 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205001942/http://thegardnerfamily.org/haley/discography/recordings.html#640 |archivedate=February 5, 2012 }}</ref> Unlike most of Haley's recordings for Decca, which were created at the [[Pythian Temple (New York City)|Pythian Temple]] studio in New York City,<ref group="Note">According to John Swenson's book ''Bill Haley'' and the biography ''Sound and Glory'' by John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, Haley's December 1955 recording session of "See You Later Alligator" coincided with a major change in his recording practices. Up until this point, it had been policy for Haley to use a [[session musician]] to play drums on recording sessions (usually [[Billy Gussak]] but also [[Cliff Leeman]] and [[David "Panama" Francis]], although this last musician is disputed); this despite his hiring of talented and popular drummers to perform on stage with the Comets. In the fall of 1955, Haley hired Ralph Jones as his stage drummer but continued to use session musicians on record; according to Swenson and Haley/von Hoelle, Jones successfully lobbied to be also allowed to record with the group on "See You Later Alligator" and the practice of using session drummers was dropped thereafter (though Haley would return to it in the 1970s).</ref> "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 (film)|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,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thegardnerfamily.org/haley/discography/releases.html#640 |title=Bill Haley Releases |publisher=Thegardnerfamily.org |access-date=September 3, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205002113/http://thegardnerfamily.org/haley/discography/releases.html#640 |archivedate=February 5, 2012 }}</ref> ''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.<ref>{{cite book | first= Joel | last= Whitburn | year= 1992 | title= The Billboard Pop Charts: 1955–1959 | publisher= Record Research, Inc | location= Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin | at = 14 January 1956 | isbn= 0-89820-092-X}}</ref> The Decca single peaked at no. 6 on the ''Billboard'' and ''CashBox'' pop singles chart in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tsort.info/music/3m2pga.htm|title=Song artist 140 - Bill Haley & His Comets|publisher=Tsort.info|access-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref>
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,<ref>{{cite news | first=Beulah | last=Racklin | page=J28 | title=Do Kids Speak English? | date=February 28, 1954 | newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] }}</ref> and [[Princess Margaret]] of the United Kingdom was quoted as saying it.<ref>See a biography of Princess Margaret published in the early 1960s.</ref><ref>O'Keefe, Paul (2001). [https://books.google.com/books?id=-LNw6Q6DcHMC&dq=princess+margaret+see+you+later+alligator&pg=PT524 ''Some Sort of Genius: A Life of Wyndham Lewis'']. New York: Random House. Retrieved 8 January 2022.</ref> 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.
[[File:See You Later Alligator Bill Haley Arc.jpg|thumb|upright|1956 sheet music cover for the Bill Haley and the Comets recording on Decca, Arc Music, New York]]
===Charts=== {|class="wikitable sortable" |- ! scope="col"|Chart (1956) ! scope="col"|Peak<br />position |- |Netherlands Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|7<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Bill+Haley+And+His+Comets&titel=See+You+Later,+Alligator&cat=s|title=Bill Haley And His Comets - See You Later, Alligator|first=Steffen|last=Hung|website=Hitparade.ch|access-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref> |- ! scope="col"|Chart (1956) ! scope="col"|Peak<br />position |- |U.S. ''Billboard'' Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|6 |- ! scope="col"|Chart (1956) ! scope="col"|Peak<br />position |- |UK Singles Chart<ref>{{cite web|title=officialcharts.com|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/1636/bill-haley-and-his-comets/|website=officialcharts.com|accessdate=December 30, 2022}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|7 |- ! scope="col"|Chart (1956) ! scope="col"|Peak<br />position |- |U.S. ''CashBox'' Singles Chart | style="text-align:center;"|6 |}
===Sales=== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Cuba|nocert=true|salesamount=12,000|salesref=<ref name="CubaSales">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDSTWTiAPuEC&dq=Cuba&pg=PA392|title=On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture|publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]]|date=2008|access-date=August 2, 2023|first=Louis A.|last=Pérez|pages=392–393|isbn=978-0-8078-5899-8 }}</ref>}} {{Table end}}
==Other versions== * The song was performed on the 1956 album ''Rock 'n Roll Dance Party Vol.1'' by [[Alan Freed]] and His Rock 'n' Roll Band featuring [[The Modernaires]] on vocals on [[Coral Records]]. The Modernaires had been [[Glenn Miller]]'s vocal ensemble in his orchestra. * In Spain, the song was covered by a popular group called [[Parchís (group)|Parchís]], under the title "Hasta luego cocodrilo". In Germany, new [[German-language]] lyrics were written for the song, which was retitled "Mr. Patton aus Manhattan"; this version of the song was the subject of European hit recordings by [[Renee Franke]] and [[Werner Hass]]. * On [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], "See You Later Alligator" was sung by Robert Britton Lyons, portraying [[Carl Perkins]], in the musical ''Million Dollar Quartet'', which opened in New York in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Coverage_MDQ_CurtainParty_20000101|author=Zielinski, Peter James|title=Photo Coverage: Million Dollar Quartet Opens on Broadway |date=April 12, 2010 |publisher=Broadwayworld.com|access-date=September 3, 2012}}</ref> Lyons also covered the song in the ''Million Dollar Quartet'' original Broadway cast recording.<ref>MDQ Merchandising LLC (2010). "Song List" and "Performing Credits". In Million Dollar Quartet (p. 5) [CD booklet]. New York City: Avatar Studios; and Chicago: Chicago Recording Company.</ref> * [[Dr. Feelgood (band)|Dr. Feelgood]] also recorded a version based on this original in 1986 which reached no. 93 on the singles chart in the UK. * The song was also recorded by Roy Hall and Otto Bash in 1956. * Wayne Gibson with the Dynamic Sounds featuring [[Jimmy Page]] on lead guitar released the song as a single in August 1964. * [[Freddie and the Dreamers]] also recorded the song for their album of the same name in 1964. * [[Sha Na Na]] recorded the song for their syndicated TV show in 1978. * Mud, The Shakers, Orion, [[Millie Small]], [[James Last]], Col Joye & The Joy Boys, [[Rood Adeo]] & Nighthawks at the Diner, Rock House, [[Horst Jankowski]], [[Lawrence Welk]], and Johnny Earle have also recorded the song.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/work/26339/versions|title=Cover versions of See You Later, Alligator written by Bobby Charles |publisher=Secondhandsongs.com |access-date=April 29, 2021}}</ref><ref name="Rood Adeo & Nighthawks at the Diner’s See You Later, Alligator">{{cite web|title=See You Later, Alligator|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/see-you-later-alligator-mt0007986117|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=December 7, 2014}}</ref> * In 1967, [[Bob Dylan]] and [[The Band]] recorded a parody of the song entitled "See You Later, [[Allen Ginsberg]]," which was released on ''[[The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete]]'' in November 2014. * The title "See You Later Alligator" is not exclusive to this composition, and numerous other unrelated songs by this name have been recorded, including songs for children and a 2008 recording by [[Lana Del Rey]]. * [[Ringo Starr]] released a recording of the song in 2021 on the charity album ''Songs in Quarantine, Volume 2''.
== Explanatory notes == {{Reflist|group=Note}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Bill Haley & His Comets}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:1955 songs]] [[Category:1956 singles]] [[Category:Bill Haley songs]] [[Category:Decca Records singles]] [[Category:Rockabilly songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Bobby Charles]] [[Category:Swamp pop music]] [[Category:1956 quotations]] [[Category:Quotations from music]]