Bill haley and his comets biography sample

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    THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BILL HALEY (2013): Don't knock the rocker

    One of the first victims of rock'n'roll was a founding father of the style: Bill Haley.

    A country singer with a love of Western Swing, Haley was 30 when his signature song Rock Around the Clock became a massive hit in '55 when it appeared on the soundtrack to the juvenile delinquent film Blackboard Jungle. He would also appear in the first real rock'n'roll film Don't Knock the Rock the following year alongside Little Richard.

    An avuncular character with receding hairline and a kiss curl (a slicked-down curl grown to distract attention from his left eye which had been rendered blind after a childhood operation), Haley never looked the part of a rebel rocker and when Elvis Presley arrived Haley – a John the Baptist for Elvis' rock'n'roll Messiah – was pushed to the margins.

    Even before however, as Mark Lewisohn notes in his new book Tune In about the young Beatles, Haley's brief 1956 tour of Britain was an

  • bill haley and his comets biography sample

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    BILL HALEY

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    'You women have heard of jalopies, you've heard the noise they make', so began the song that was to break the mould and create a piece of musical history. 'Rocket 88' originally recorded by the black group Jackie Brenston and his Deltacats. The year was 1951 and this was the first time a white country singer had covered a hard rhythm and blues tune. Danny Cedrone supplemented Billy Williamson's guitar playing on this release and Haley delivered the song in a low, forceful vocal complemented by Al Rex's heavy slap bass.

    In 1952 the band cut 'Rock The Joint'  with sales topping 75,000. In early 1953 Bill began further developing his formula for what was ultimately to become rock and roll. He added drums to the line up, initially hiring young drummer Charlie Higler. He was replaced in the Summer of 1953 by Dick Richards. The transformation from Western swing band was al

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    Bill Haley and His Comets

    1954 Comets
    L to R: Billy Williamson, Johnny Grande, Joey Ambrose, Marshall Lytle, Dick Richards
    Billy Haley and his Comets fused elements of country music, Western Swing, and black R&B to tillverka some of rock and roll's earliest hits. His "Crazy, Man Crazy" from 1953 was the  first rock and roll record to make the pop charts.

    Members:
    Billy Haley - guitar
    Johnny Grande - accordion and piano
    Billy Williamson - steel guitar
    Rudy Pompelli - sax
    Marshall Lytle - bas replaced  bygd Al Rex
    Francis Beecher - Spanish guitar
    Don Raymond - drums - replaced bygd Ralph Jones in 1953
    Dick Richards - real name Richard Bocelli - drums


    A six month old Haley with father


    Margaret Haley far right

    Bill Haley was born in Highland Park, Michigan on July 6, 1925 to William and Maude Haley. The couple's second child, Haley had a sister Margaret who was born two years earlier.

    When Haley was four while having an operati