Actually, Sonny Dae and the Knights were an all white ITALIAN novelty group that played the eastern seaboard in the early 1950's.
One of the song's composers (James Meyers, a.k.a. Jimmy DeKnight) had Bill Haley and the Saddlemen (the Comets, as they were then known) in mind when composing the song. Due to tensions between Meyers and Haley's record producer at Essex (Dave Miller), the song was not allowed to be recorded by Haley while under contract with Essex. As a favor to Meyers, Haley's manager passed it on to Sonny Dae (real name: Paschal Vennitti) to record at the Arcade label.
I stand corrected and appreciate the details on Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock, I know his wasn't the original.