James E. Myers

James E. Myers was a larger-than-life figure who wore many hats during a long career in showbiz: composer, producer, musician and actor. Myers, under his nom de plume Jimmy DeKnight, will forever be remembered as the co-writer of "Rock Around the Clock," which gave Bill Haley and the Comets their 25 million-copy-selling hit and kickstarting the rock and roll era. There is debate over whether Myers actually wrote "Rock Around the Clock," or whether most of the work was actually done by co-writer Max Freedman. But Myers deserves credit for promoting the song and helping to make it the hit it became. In later years, Myers operated a Rock Around the Clock Museum out of his home and wrote an autobiography about his time serving in the Second World War, called Hell in a Foxhole.

Birthday: October 26, 1919

Death: May 10, 2001