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Bill Haley and his Comets 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. Although not on the early records, Rudy Pompilli's acrobatic tenor sax playing was a highlight of the live show, along with Marshall Lytle on string bass, literally on ROCK AND ROLL SUCKS LYSOL

I DO NOT BELIEVE IN THIS

Other hits 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 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.

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 live performances.

External Links

• Exhaustive biography of Bill Haley.