Born: July 6, 1925 - Highland Park, Michigan, USA Died: February 9, 1981 - Harlingen, Texas, USA Cause: heart attack
William John Clifton Haley - better known as Bill Haley, leader of the first-ever rock & roll band The Comets - is probably the greatest musical pioneer of the 20th century. He was the first white artist to record a rhythm & blues hit - the 1951 "Rocket 88" for Dave Miller´s subsidiary label Holiday - and scored a rockabilly hit in 1952 with "Rock The Joint" (Essex) long before the term was known and the style was adopted by Sam Phillips on Sun Records, when Phillips recorded artists like Elvis Presley and Charlie Feathers. In 1953 Haley entered the Billboard & Cashbox Top 20 with his composition "Crazy Man Crazy". Some historians believe this song is the first rock & roll record, and other historians disagree, but there's no doubt that it was definitely the first to enter the pop charts. In 1954 Haley enjoyed two million-sellers with "Dim Dim The Lights" and "Shake, Rattle & Roll" for the major label Decca (now MCA). His recording of "Rock Around The Clock" was used in the MGM movie Blackboard Jungle (1955) starring Glenn Ford and a young Sidney Poitier, as well as the underrated Vic Morrow, who was heavily criticized for his allegedly Marlon Brando-like performance, but who was just doing what most every young actor in the US--including James Dean, who oddly enough was never criticized for it--did, which was display Brando's at the time refreshing rebelliousness. It gave Haley his first #1 hit, which at this writing is the greatest-selling single record of all time. From 1955 to 1960 Haley enjoyed 22 Top 30 Hits and appeared in four movies - a short called Round Up of Rhythm (1954), then Rock Around the Clock (1956) and Don't Knock the Rock (1956), and in a German film, Hier bin ich - hier bleib' ich (1959) alongside Caterina Valente, with whom he sang the duet "Viva La Rock & Roll".In 1960 Haley, embroiled in major legal problems relating to his divorce, fled to Mexico, where he became known as the "Spanish King Of Twist" and had a best-selling record in Latin America with "Florida Twist". He also starred in three movies there, before having a major worldwide comeback in 1968, when "Rock Around The Clock" made the international charts again, scoring #1 in England and the UK. In 1970 he recorded an artistically highly successful album in Nashville entitled "Rock Around The Country" (Sonet), and starred in the Peter Clifton-directed The London Rock and Roll Show (1973) along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard. He appeared in Let the Good Times Roll (1973) and toured extensively with the Richard Nader Revival Package Shows. He also recorded the theme song for the hit TV series "Happy Days" (1974) starring Henry Winkler and 'Ron Howard (I)' . In 1976 his saxophonist for 25 years, Rudy Pompilli, died of lung cancer; after that Haley retired for three years. "I was out of the business for the past three years," he explained, "because my saxophone player died. We were together for 25 years, and we had a pact--if he died first I would stop playing, and if I died first he would not play. But now I feel the mourning period is over, and I´m about 80% ready to go back on the road." In 1979 he toured the UK and Germany, also playing a command performance for the Queen. It was at this time that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and a few years later, on February 9 1981, he passed away after a tour of South Africa. Currently there are four bands playing under "The Comets" banner, one being the official one led by Al Rappa, who is the only musician of this lineup who has any Haley connection, having played bass for him between 1959 and 1969. Another band is led by Joey Rand, who once fronted a Comet lineup consisting of musicians who actually played with Haley. A third band feature drummer John "Bam Bam" Lane, who worked for Haley between 1962 and 1969. The "original" band, however, is still playing, and consists of Englishman Jacko Buddin doing a nice job on the Haley vocals and featuring all the original Comets: Franny Beecher (lead guitar), Joey Ambrose (sax), Dick Richards (drums) and Marshall Lytle (double bass), and they recently recorded an outstanding album for the Las Vegas based Rollin Rock label of Ronny Weiser. They´re still rocking around the clock !!!
Bill Haley's Comets Bill Haley's Comets featuring John 'Bam Bam' Lane are one of the greatest oldies acts in the country.Performing the hits, Rock Around The Clock, Shake, Rattle and Roll, See You Later, Alligator and other classics. Available from the Neal ... America's First Rock 'n' Roll Band. Bill Haley: Home Page 1
Bill Haley Biography BILL HALEY. William John Clifton Haley. William John Clifton Haley was born 6th July 1925 at Highland Park, Michigan. His father, William Albert Haley was from Firebrick, Kentucky. www.rhull.freeserve.co.uk/biography1.htm
Bill Haley tribute Bill Haley. On February 9, 1981 : Bill Haley dies at the age of 55. Real Audio 99 K. If ever there was an anthem to rock and roll it was the song "We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" performed by Billy Haley and His Comets. ... icon, a symbol of the era. Bill Haley had made his mark on music and generations ... www.hotshotdigital.com/tribute/BillHaley.html
Bill Haley and his Comets Bill Haley and his Comets. William John Clifton Haley was born in Highland Park, Michigan on July 6, 1925 to William and Maude Haley. Bill had one sister, Margaret, who was born two years earlier. ... and by the summer of 1950, through the efforts of Jimmy Myers, Bill Haley and his Saddlemen cut their first records ... www.classicbands.com/haley.html
Bill Haley & His Comets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ... Bill Haley and His Comets was a rock and roll band that was founded in the 1950s and ... by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Haley_and_the_Comets
"EXTRA!" Page 1 / Bill Haley and the Comets Bill Haley, Comets, Rockabilly Hall of Fame ... Reviews & News about. Bill Haley and The Comets ... These are the earliest known recordings by Bill Haley and this is their first commercial release ... www.rockabillyhall.com/Extra.html
Bill Haley -- Encyclopædia Britannica Bill Haley American singer and songwriter considered by many to be the father of rock and roll thanks to his 1955 hit “Rock Around the Clock.” ... 9, 1981, Harlingen, Texas. Bill Haley and His Comets ... song "Rock Around the Clock," which became a chart-topping hit in 1955 after Bill Haley and His Comets recorded it ... www.britannica.com/eb/article-9109646
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