The Esquire Boys has been played on NTS shows including Jazzman, with Dark Eyes first played on 22 November 2016.

Cedrone, former of the band, was born in Jamesville, New York. Cedrone's musical career began in the 1940s, but he came into his own in the early 1950s, first as a session guitarist hired by what was then a country and western musical group based out of Chester, Pennsylvania called Bill Haley and His Saddlemen. In 1951, Cedrone played lead on their recording of "Rocket 88" which is considered one of the first acknowledged rock and roll recordings.

At around this time, Cedrone formed his own group, The Esquire Boys and this is believed to be one of the reasons he never joined Haley's group as a full-time member. In 1952, Cedrone played lead guitar on Haley's version of "Rock the Joint", and his swift guitar solo, which combined a jazz-influenced first half followed by a lightning-fast down-scale run, was a highlight of the recording. (Haley's piano player, Johnny Grande, later described this solo as a "gimmick" that Cedrone often used.)

Cedrone's involvement with the Esquire Boys kept him off of Haley's recording schedule for most of 1952 and 1953 (noted jazz guitarist Art Ryerson replaced him). During this time, Cedrone made a number of recordings with the Esquires, most notably two versions of the Bill Haley composition, "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", several years before Haley would record it himself. The first version was released in December, 1952 on Rainbow Records as 200. The Esquire Boys recorded a second version of "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" in 1954 released as Guyden 705-A, which reached no. 42 on the Cashbox pop singles chart on October 30, 1954.

"Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" would also be recorded by Bill Haley and the Comets in 1955 on Decca, Buddy Morrow on Mercury, Johnny Curtis with the Toppers on Tops, Gabe Drake and his Rockets with the Orchestra under Maury Laws on Prom 1135, Willie Restum and His Music on Capitol, the Deep River Boys on HMV in 1956, Ivor and the Basil Kirchin Band in the UK, Artie Malvin and the Rhythm Rockets on Waldorf Music Hall Records MH 33 149 in 1955 on the Rock and Roll album, Artie Malvin with the Deerhill Dudes on the Waldorf 33 BU 2 Rock 'N Roll Jamboree album in 1958, The Treniers on Okeh 7023, Truck Stop in 1973, Omar Lamparter, The Original Band, The Danish Sharks, The Jodimars in 1955 for Capitol which was unissued, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra in 2000.

Cedrone returned to work with Haley's group in 1954, by which time it had been renamed The Comets. He played a key role in the band's first recording session for Decca Records on April 12, 1954 when they recorded "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Cedrone

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DannyCedrone#EsquireBoys_discography