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Revision as of 17:20, 6 November 2004 by 23skidoo (talk | contribs) (→Selected musical highlights)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Bill Haley and his Comets was a rock and roll band of the 50s led by guitarist Bill Haley, one of the earliest groups of white musicians to record rock and roll bring it to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. Haley was a country performer who converted to rock and roll almost before there was such a thing.
Although several members of the Comets became famous, Bill Haley was the star. With his spit curl and the band all in plaid dinner jackets jumping all over the place, they were as revolutionary in their time as ever the Beatles or the Rolling Stones were.
The band was formed as Bill Haley and the Saddlemen c.1949-50, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel. Many Saddlemen recordings would not be released until the 1970s and 1980s, and highlights included romantic ballads such as "Rose of My Heart" and western swing tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away."
Haley began his rock and roll career with a cover of "Rocket 88" in 1951 which sold well and was followed up a cover of a 1940s rhythm and blues song called "Rock the Joint" in 1952. Both songs were released under the increasingly incongruous Saddlemen name. It soon became apparent that a new name was needed to fit the music the band was now playing. A friend of Haley's, making note of the common alternate pronunciation of the name Halley's Comet to rhyme with "Bailey", suggested that Haley call his band The Comets.
The original members of the Comets when the band officially received its new name in the fall of 1952 were Johnny Grande (piano/accordion), Billy Williamson (steel guitar) and Marshall Lytle (string bass).
In 1953, Haley scored his first national success with an original song (co-written by an uncredited Marshall Lytle) called "Crazy Man Crazy", a phrase Haley said he heard from his teenaged audience.
Later, he added Joey Ambrose on tenor sax and Dick Boccelli (aka Dick Richards) on drums. Along with the other original Comets, plus session musicians Danny Cedrone on electric guitar and Billy Gussak on drums (standing in for Boccelli), this was the group that recorded "Rock Around the Clock" on April 12, 1954. Haley's biggest hit, and one of the most important records in rock and roll history, "Rock Around the Clock", started slow but eventually sold an estimated 25 million copies and marked the arrival of a cultural shift.
Ambrose's acrobatic saxophone playing, along with Lytle on the double bass--literally on it, riding it like a pony, and holding it over his head--were highlights of the band's live performances. Their music and their act were part of a tradition in jazz and rhythm and blues, but it all came like a thunderclap to most of their audience.
In 1955, Lytle, Richards and Ambrose quit the Comets in a salary dispute and formed their own group, the Jodimars. Haley hired several new musicians to take their place: Rudy Pompilli on sax, Al Rex on double bass and Ralph Jones on drums, as well as Frank Beecher aka Franny Beecher on electric guitar. This version of the band became even more popular, and appeared in several motion pictures over the next few years.
Other hits enjoyed by the band included R&B covers of "See You Later Alligator" in which Haley's frantic delivery contrasted with the Louisiana langour of the original by Bobby Charles. Furthermore, Haley's cover of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was a completely new performance built out of incompletely bowdlerized bits and pieces of the original by Big Joe Turner. The difference between the two illustrates the difference between rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Many more people heard Joe Turner's version because Haley covered it. When Elvis Presley recorded the song in 1956, he combined Haley's arrangement with Turner's original lyrics but failed to score a subtantial hit.
In the 60s, Bill Haley y sus cometas had continued popularity in Mexico and Latin America, selling many recordings of Spanish and Spanish flavored material and simulated live performances (overdubbed audience over studio recordings). They even hosted a TV series entitled Orfeon a Go-Go. In 1966, the Comets (without Bill Haley) cut a Mexican album with Big Joe Turner, who had always been an idol to Haley; unfortunately, no joint performance of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was recorded.
By the late 1960s, Haley and the Comets were considered an oldies act, and toured with great success with Richard Nader's Rock and Roll Revival tours until the early 1970s. The band's popularly never waned in Europe, and after 1974, when tax and management problems prevented Haley from performing in the United States, he performed in Europe almost exclusively, though he also toured South America in 1975. The band was also kept busy in the studio, recording numerous albums in the 1970s, several with a country music flavor. In 1974, Haley's original recording of "Rock Around the Clock" hit the American sales charts once again thanks to its use in American Graffiti and Happy Days.
In February 1976, Haley's saxophone player and best friend, Rudy Pompilli, died of cancer after a 20-year career with the Comets. Haley continued to tour for the next year, but confessed that his heart was no longer in it, and in early 1977 he announced his retirement and settled down at his home in Mexico. The Comets continued to tour on their own.
In 1979, Haley was persuaded to return to performing with a lucrative contract to tour Europe. An almost completely new group of musicians were assembled to perform as The Comets, and Haley appeared on many TV shows as well as the movie Blue Suede Shoes, filmed at one of his British concerts. In November 1979, Haley and the Comets performed for Queen Elizabeth II, a moment Haley considered the proudest of his career.
In 1980, Bill Haley and His Comets toured South Africa but Haley's health was failing and it was reported that he had a brain tumor. Further concerts and recording sessions were cancelled and he returned to his home in Harlingen, Texas where he died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on Feb. 9, 1981.
More than 100 musicians performed with Bill Haley & His Comets between 1952 and Haley's death in 1981, many becoming fan favorites along the way. Several Comets reunions were attempted in the 1980s.
The Original Comets, who performed with Haley in 1954-1955, are still touring the world as of 2004, packing showrooms in the United States and Europe. Two additional groups also claim the name Bill Haley's Comets and extensively tour in the United States: one featuring Haley's 1965-68 drummer John "Bam-Bam" Lane, the other run by his 1959-69 bass player, Al Rappa. All three groups lay claim to the title of "official" band, and on Oct. 1, 2004, Lane filed a lawsuit against the 1954-55 Comets, alleging trademark infringement.
Selected musical highlights
This list consists of songs that are often cited by Comets fans as among their best recordings, however Bill Haley and His Comets recorded hundreds of songs between 1952 and 1979. For a complete discography and song list, visit Bill Haley Central.
- Rocket 88 (1951)
- Rock the Joint (1952)
- Crazy Man Crazy (1953)
- Real Rock Drive (1953)
- Rock Around the Clock (1954)
- Shake, Rattle and Roll (1954)
- Dim, Dim the Lights (1954)
- Mambo Rock (1955)
- Razzle-Dazzle (1955)
- Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie (1955)
- The Saints' Rock and Roll (1955)
- See You Later Alligator (1955)
- Rudy's Rock (1956)
- Goofin' Around (1956)
- Hot Dog Buddy Buddy (1956)
- Don't Knock the Rock (1956)
- Rockin' Thru the Rye (1956)
- Rip it Up (1956)
- Rock Lomond (1957)
- Rock the Joint (re-recording) (1957)
- Ain't Misbehavin' (1957)
- Skinny Minnie (1958)
- Corrine Corrina (1958)
- Joey's Song (1958)
- A Fool Such As I (1959)
- Skokiaan (1959)
- Tamiami (1960)
- Stagger Lee (1960)
- I Don't Hurt Anymore (1960)
- Hawk (1960)
- Chick Safari (1960)
- Florida Twist (1961)
- Yakety Sax (1962)
- The Spanish Twist (1962)
- Marie Twist (1962)
- Tenor Man (1963)
- One Phone Call (1963)
- Jimmy Martinez (1964)
- She Thinks I Still Care (1964)
- The Green Door (1964)
- Land of A Thousand Dances (1966)
- How Many? (1966)
- Jealous Heart (1967)
- Cryin' Time (1968)
- Flip, Flop and Fly (1968)
- That's How I Got to Memphis (1968)
- Almost Persuaded (1969)
- Dance Around the Clock (1970)
- A Little Piece at a Time (1970)
- No Letter Today (1970)
- Games People Play (1970)
- Rudy's Rock (re-recording; Rudy Pompilli solo recording) (1975)
- Same Old Loverman (Rudy Pompilli solo recording) (1975)
- I Got a Woman (1976)
- Hail Hail Rock and Roll (1979)
- God Bless Rock and Roll (1979)
External links
- Exhaustive biography of Bill Haley.
- http://originalcomets.org/
- Exhaustive list of Comets musicians
- Bill Haley Central Web Portal