James Edward Myers (October 26, 1919 – May 10, 2001) was an American songwriter, music publisher, actor, director, producer, and raconteur.
He later formed a band called Jimmy DeKnight and His Knights of Rhythm for which he composed the song "Things That You Say".
He returned to Philadelphia after the war where he joined up with Jack Howard to form Cowboy Records.
Myers' songwriting career dated back to the 1940s, and his DeKnight moniker appears on several country and western recordings made by Haley in the 1949-51 era.
It is also believed that Myers played drums on an early recording by Haley's pre-Comets group, the Saddlemen, though this has yet to be definitively confirmed.
A later claim by Myers (cited in John Swenson's biography Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll) that he played drums on "Rock Around the Clock" has been disproven by the existence of an official recording session document indicating the drummer was Billy Gussak.
He was playing the tune on a piano in his office when his friend composer Max C. Freedman joined in.
'"[7] Myers co-wrote a series of songs with Freedman, among which were "The Covered Wagon Goes Roll, Roll, Rollin'",[8] "The Sun Came Through", "A Bucket Full of Tears", "Make Believe Island", "Adalita", "Let Me Know", "The Password", "Can You Spare a Moment (For the Lord)", and "A Bushel of Sunbeams" and "You're a Long Time Dead" which were also copyrighted in 1953 and published by Myers Music and Standard Songs respectively.
He also wrote an autobiography based upon his experiences in World War II entitled Hell in a Foxhole, and opened a museum in his home dedicated to "Rock Around the Clock".