Bill Haley & His Comets
Encyclopedia
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll
band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets (and variations thereof), was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. During the period late 1954-late 1956, the group placed nine singles into the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.
Bandleader Bill Haley
had previously been a country music
performer; after recording a country and western-styled version of "Rocket 88
", a rhythm and blues song, he changed musical direction to a new sound which came to be called rock and roll.
Although several members of the Comets became famous, Bill Haley remained the star. With his spit curl and the band's matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behaviour, many fans consider them to be as revolutionary in their time as The Beatles
or the Rolling Stones were a decade or two later.
Following Haley's death, no fewer than six different groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming (with varying degrees of authority) to be the official continuation of Haley's group. As of early 2008, three such groups were still performing in the United States and internationally.
tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away". The original members of this group were Haley, pianist and accordion player Johnny Grande
and steel guitar
ist Billy Williamson. Al Thompson was the group's first bass player, followed by Al Rex and Marshall Lytle
. During the group's early years, it recorded under several other names, including Johnny Clifton and His String Band, The Four Aces of Western Swing, and Reno Browne
and Her Buckaroos (although Browne, a female matinee idol of the time, did not actually appear on the record).
Haley began his rock and roll career with a cover of "Rocket 88
" recorded for the Philadelphia-based Holiday Records
label in 1951 which sold well and was followed up a cover of a 1940s rhythm and blues
song called "Rock the Joint
" in 1952 (this time for Holiday's sister company, Essex Records
). Both songs were released under the increasingly incongruous Saddlemen name. It soon became apparent that a new name was needed to fit the new musical style. A friend of Haley's, making note of the common alternative pronunciation of the name Halley's Comet to rhyme with Bailey, suggested that Haley call his band The Comets. (This event is cited in the Haley biographies Sound and Glory by John Haley and John von Hoelle, and Bill Haley by John Swenson and in Still Rockin' Around The Clock, a memoir by Comets bass player, Marshall Lytle.)
The new name was adopted in the fall of 1952. Members of the group at that time were Haley, Grande, Williamson and Lytle. Grande usually played piano on record, but switched to accordion for live shows as it was more portable than a piano and easier to deal with during musical numbers that involved a lot of dancing around. Soon after renaming the band, Haley hired his first drummer, Charlie Higler, though Higler was soon replaced by Dick Boccelli (a.k.a Dick Richards). During this time (and indeed, as late as the fall of 1955), Haley did not have a permanent lead guitar player, choosing to use session musicians on record and either playing lead guitar himself or having Williamson play steel solos.
Slap-back bass, one identifying characteristic of rockabilly, was used on the Comets' recordings of "Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", "Rock Around the Clock", and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll". Prior to becoming the Comets, slapback was also used by bassist Al Rex, although to a lesser extent, on "Yodel Your Blues Away".".
", a phrase Haley said he heard from his teenage audience. Haley later claimed the recording sold a million copies, but this is considered an exaggeration. "Crazy Man, Crazy" was the first rock and roll
song to be televised nationally when it was used on the soundtrack for a 1953 television play starring James Dean
. Haley and His Comets then recorded "Rock Around the Clock
", Haley's biggest hit, and one of the most important records in rock and roll history. Sales of "Rock Around the Clock" started slow but eventually sold an estimated 25 million copies (per the Guinness Book of World Records) and marked the arrival of a cultural shift.
Much more impressive was "Shake, Rattle and Roll
", a somewhat bowdlerized cover version of the Big Joe Turner
recording of earlier in 1954. The record was one of Decca's best-selling records in 1954. The song was the seventh best selling record in November 1954.
In March 1955, the group had four songs in Cash Box magazines top 50 songs: "Dim, Dim the Lights, (I Want Some Atmosphere)", "Birth of the Boogie", "Mambo Rock", and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Although Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" never achieved the same level of historical importance as "Rock Around the Clock", it actually predated it as the first major international rock and roll hit, although it did not attain the Number 1 position in the American charts, but became his first Gold Record. When Elvis Presley
recorded the song in 1956, he combined Haley's arrangement with Turner's original lyrics but failed to score a substantial hit. Late in 1954, Haley also recorded another hit, "Dim, Dim The Lights", which was one of the first R&B songs recorded by a white group to cross over to the R&B charts. Johnnie Ray had reached #1 with "Cry" in 1952.
The (belated) success of "Rock Around the Clock" is attributed to its use in the soundtrack of the film Blackboard Jungle
, which was released in March 1955. The song, which was re-released to coincide with the film, rose to the top of the American musical charts that summer and stayed there for eight weeks, the first rock and roll record to do so.
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 during this time. 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 late 1954, Haley and His Comets appeared in a short subject
entitled Round Up of Rhythm, performing three songs. This was the earliest known theatrical rock and roll film release.
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 (a former member of the Saddlemen) on double bass, and Ralph Jones on drums; in addition, lead guitarist Franny Beecher
, who had been a session musician for Haley since Cedrone's death in the fall of 1954, became a full-time Comet and Haley's first performing lead guitarist. This version of the band became more popular than the earlier manifestation, and appeared in several motion pictures over the next few years.
Other hits recorded by the band included "See You Later, Alligator" in which Haley's frantic delivery contrasted with the Louisiana
languor of the original by Bobby Charles
, "Don't Knock the Rock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", "Rudy's Rock" (the first instrumental hit of the rock and roll era) and "Skinny Minnie".
In 1956 the group appeared in two of the earliest full-length rock and roll movies: Rock Around the Clock
, and Don't Knock the Rock
.
, Jerry Lee Lewis
and Little Richard
began to dominate the record charts (although Haley's cover version of Little Richard's "Rip It Up
" - which was released in direct competition - actually outsold the original). After "Skinny Minnie" hit the charts in 1958, Haley found it difficult to score further successes Stateside, although a spin-off group made up of Comets musicians dubbed The Kingsmen (no relation to the later group of "Louie, Louie" fame) did score a hit with the instrumental, "Weekend" that same year.
Overseas, however, Haley and his band continued to be popular, touring the United Kingdom in February 1957, during which Haley and his crew were mobbed by thousands of fans at Waterloo Station
in London at an incident which the media dubbed the Second Battle of Waterloo
. The group also toured Australia in 1957, and in 1958 enjoyed a successful (if riot-dominated) tour of the European mainland. Bill Haley & His Comets were the first major American rock and roll act to tour the world in this way. Elvis who was on duty in Germany visited them backstage at some shows. During an off day in Berlin they performed two songs in the Caterina Valente
movie "Hier Bin ich Hier Bleib Ich" (Here I Am Here I Stay).
Back in the U.S., Haley attempted to start his own record label, Clymax, and establish his own stable of performers, most notably Philadelphia children's show hostess Sally Starr and the Matys Brothers
. Members of The Comets were commissioned to work as session musicians on many of these recordings, many of which were written or co-written by Haley and/or members of The Comets. The Clymax experiment only lasted about a year. In 1959, Haley's relationship with Decca collapsed and after a final set of instrumental-only recordings in the fall, Haley announced he was leaving Decca for the new Warner Bros. Records
label.
label of Mexico and scored an unexpected hit with "Twist Español", a Spanish language recording based on the Twist
dance craze that was sweeping America at the time. Haley followed up with what was, for a time, the biggest selling single in Mexican
history with "Florida Twist". Although Chubby Checker
and Hank Ballard
were credited with starting the Twist craze in America, in Mexico and Latin America, Bill Haley and His Comets were proclaimed the Kings of the Twist. Thanks to the success to "Twist Español" and "Florida Twist", among others, the band had continued success in Mexico and Latin America
over the next few years, selling many recordings of Spanish and Spanish flavored material and simulated live performances (overdubbed audience over studio recordings) on the Orfeon label and its subsidiary, Dimsa. They hosted a television series entitled Orfeon a Go-Go and made cameo appearance
s in several movies, lipsynching to some of their old hits. Haley, who was fluent in Spanish, recorded a number of songs in the language, but the vast majority of the band's output during these years were instrumental recordings, many utilizing local session musicians playing trumpet. There was also some experimentation with Haley's style during this time; one single for Orfeon was a folk ballad, "Jimmy Martinez", which Haley recorded without the Comets.
In 1966, the Comets (without Bill Haley) cut an album for Orfeon as session musicians for Big Joe Turner, who had always been an idol to Haley; no joint performance of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was recorded, however. In a 1974 interview with BBC Radio
, Haley said Turner's career was in a slump at this time, so he used his then-considerable influence with Orfeon to get Turner a recording session. The Comets' association with Orfeon/Dimsa ended later that year.
By 1967, as related by Haley in an interview with radio host Red Robinson
that same year, the group was "a free agent" without any recording contracts at all, although the band continued to perform regularly in North America and Europe. During this year, Haley—without the Comets—recorded a pair of demos in Phoenix, Arizona
: a country-western song called "Jealous Heart
" for which he was backed by a local mariachi
band (and similar in style to the earlier "Jimmy Martinez", and late-60s-style rocker called "Rock on Baby" backed by a group called Superfine Dandelion. Neither recording would be released for 30 years. In 1968, Haley and the Comets recorded a single for the United Artists
label, a version of Tom T. Hall
's "That's How I Got to Memphis" but no long-term association with the label resulted. In order to revive his recording career, Haley turned to Europe.
of Sweden in 1968 that resulted in a new version of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting the European charts that year. The band would record a mixture of live and studio albums for the label over the next decade.
In the United States in 1969, promoter Richard Nader launched a series of rock and roll revival
concert tours featuring "oldies" acts of the 50s and 60s. One of the first of these shows, held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden
in New York City, resulted in Haley receiving an eight-and-a-half minute standing ovation following his performance, as Nader related in his recorded introduction to Haley's live album Bill Haley's Scrapbook, which was recorded a few weeks later at New York's Bitter End
club.
The band appeared in several concert films in the early 1970s, including The London Rock and Roll Show
and Let the Good Times Roll
. After 1974, tax and management problems prevented Haley from performing in the United States, so 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 for Sonet and other labels in the 1970s, several with a country music
flavor. In 1974, Haley's original Decca recording of "Rock Around the Clock" hit the American sales charts once again thanks to its use in American Graffiti
and Happy Days
.
, died of cancer
after a nearly 20-year career with the Comets. Haley continued to tour for the next year with a succession of new sax players, but his popularity was waning again and his 1976 performance in London was critically lambasted by music media such as Melody Maker
. That year, the group also recorded an album, R-O-C-K at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
for Sonet Records. In early 1977, Haley announced his retirement from performing and settled down at his home in Mexico. According to the John Swenson biography of Haley, the musician was quoted as saying that he and Pompilli had an agreement that if one died, the other would retire.
The Comets continued to tour on their own during this period.
In 1979, Haley was persuaded to return to performing with the offer of a lucrative contract to tour Europe. An almost completely new group of musicians, mostly British - including Pete Thomas (saxophonist)
- were assembled to perform as The Comets, and Haley appeared on many television shows as well as in the movie Blue Suede Shoes, filmed at one of his London concerts in March 1979. A few days later, a performance in Birmingham
was videotaped and aired on UK television; it was released on DVD in 2005. During the March tour, Haley recorded several tracks in London for his next album with Sonet, completing the work that summer at Muscle Shoals in Alabama
; released later in the year, the resulting album Everyone Can Rock & Roll was the last release of new recordings by Bill Haley before his death.
In November 1979, Haley and the Comets performed for Queen Elizabeth II
, a moment Haley considered the proudest of his career. It was also the last time he performed in Europe and the last time most fans saw him perform "Rock Around the Clock".
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
. The tour was critically lambasted, but surviving recordings of a performance in Johannesburg
show Haley in good spirits and good voice. Nonetheless, according to the Haley News fan club newsletter and the Haley biography Sound and Glory, planned concerts such as a fall 1980 tour of Germany, and proposed recording sessions in New York and Memphis
were cancelled—including a potential reunion with past members of the Comets—and Haley returned to his home in Harlingen, Texas
where he died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack
on February 9, 1981.
In April 1981, Bill Haley & His Comets returned to the British musical charts once again when MCA Records (inheritors of the Decca catalog) released "Haley's Golden Medley", a hastily compiled edit of the band's best known hits in the style of the then-popular "Stars on 45
" format. The single reached No. 50 in the UK but was not released in the United States.
In 1987, Bill Haley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
. At that time, supporting bands were not also named to the hall. This policy has since changed and efforts have been under way for several years to have The Comets also named to the Hall. Bill Haley and His Comets have also been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
and, in July 2005, the surviving members of the 1954–55 Comets (see below) represented Haley when Bill Haley and His Comets were inducted into Hollywood's Rockwalk
, a ceremony also attended by Haley's second wife and youngest daughter. The Comets placed their handprints in cement; a space was left blank for Haley.
In 2005, Bill Haley And His Comets were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. Two of the band's recordings have been voted Legendary Michigan Songs: "Rock Around The Clock" in 2007, and "Shake, Rattle And Roll" in 2009.
-based piano player Joey Welz who was briefly a Comet in the mid-1960s) that appeared on The Tomorrow Show, and another run by an Elvis Presley
impersonator named Joey Rand (this group later lost a legal action over the right to use the Comets name).
The Comets, featuring musicians who performed with Haley in 1954–1955, reunited in 1987 and are still touring the world as of 2007, playing showrooms in the United States and Europe. They have also recorded a half-dozen albums for small labels in Europe and the United States. This version of the group has also been credited as Bill Haley's Original Comets, and in circumstances where the use of the Comets name is in dispute, A Tribute to Bill Haley and The Original Band. The basic line-up of this group from 1987 to May 2006 consisted of Marshall Lytle (bass), Joey Ambrose (sax), Johnny Grande (piano), Dick Richards (drums) and Franny Beecher (guitar). British singer Jacko Buddin augmented the group on vocals during most of their European tours, with Lytle taking over on vocals for US/Canadian tours beginning in 2000 and full-time in Europe in the mid-2000s. Since they connected with Klaus Kettner's Rock It Concerts (Germany) in 1991 they have played hundreds of shows all over Europe, dozens of television shows and in March 2007 pre-opened the Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany.
Two additional groups claim the name Bill Haley's Comets and have extensively toured in the United States since forming in the 1980s: one originally Haley's 1965–68 drummer John "Bam-Bam" Lane, the other run by Al Rappa who played bass for Haley off-and-on between late 1959 and early 1969 (some media promotion for Rappa erroneously states that he joined the group in 1956). Both these musicians claim trademark
ownership of the Bill Haley's Comets name; this dates back to Lane and Rappa (during a period when they worked together as one band) winning a trademark infringement lawsuit against the aforementioned Joey Rand group in 1989. Both Rappa and Lane's bands have, from time to time, recruited other former Comets for their line-ups (for example, in 2005, Rappa joined forces with Joey Welz), but for the most part the bandleaders are the only regular members who have worked with Bill Haley directly. Lane died in 2007 but his group continues to perform, led by bandleader Lenny Longo, who has no direct Bill Haley connection. Al Rappa incorporated numerous professional musicians from the Southern Indiana area such as Warren Batts, Joe Esarey, Dave Matthews, John Urbina and many others to make a full band. Al Rappa performed his Upright Bass show before thousands in audiences all over the country. The band members from Al Rappas "Comets" went on to form the LocoMotion showband and continued touring the States without Al Rappa. LocoMotion is now no longer a band. Esarey went on to graduate from Cedarville University and Luther Rice Seminary and now pastors a growing church in Ohio. Esarey has released two Saxophone solo albumns and is currently writing and producing Christian music for a worship group.
In March and July 2005, the members of the 1954–55 group, now billed as simply The Comets after decades of controversy over the use of the name, made several high-profile concert appearances in New York City and Los Angeles organized by Martin Lewis as part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of rock and roll, the release of Blackboard Jungle, the 50th anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting Number 1, and the 80th birthday of Bill Haley. During a July 6, 2005 concert at the Viper Room
in West Hollywood, The Comets were joined on stage for one song by Gina Haley
, the youngest daughter of Bill Haley; at a similar appearance in March they were joined by Haley's eldest son, John W. Haley.
In 2006, The 1954–55 Comets spent much of the year in residence at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri
. Meanwhile, the John Lane edition of Bill Haley's Comets recorded a new album in Tennessee in early 2006 which has yet to be released.
On June 2, 2006, Johnny Grande, keyboardist with the 1954–55 Comets and an original founding member of the band, died after a short illness. The following month, 85-year-old guitarist Franny Beecher
announced his retirement, though he was at one point announced as participating in an early 2007 tour of Germany. The three remaining original Comets (Lytle, Richards, and Ambrose) continue to perform in Branson with new musicians taking over the keyboard and lead guitar positions. During September 2006, PBS
in the United States aired a series of programs videotaped in Branson during the spring of 2006; these shows include the last recorded performances of the complete Original Comets line-up including Grande.
John "Bam-Bam" Lane died on February 18, 2007 but his edition of Bill Haley's Comets is expected to continue touring, with the 2006 recordings to be released in Lane's memory.
On October 27, 2007 ex Comets guitar player Bill Turner opened the afore mentioned Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany. He will also join the New Comets during their 'Remember Bill Haley Tour 2011' with Bill Haley's daughter Gina Haley.
Several bands patterning themselves after The Comets are also active in Europe, including Bill Haley's New Comets
in Germany.
1950
1951
1952
As Bill Haley & His Comets (and name variations thereof)
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1968
1970
1971
1978
1979
1980
and other contemporaries of the 1950s, a large stock of previously unreleased recordings by Bill Haley exist and have been released periodically in the years following his death. Many of these are early country and western tracks recorded as demos or, for some reason, unreleased. However, occasionally tracks from the 1950s and 1960s have emerged, as have live recordings. Since the early 1990s several European labels have released a number of previously unreleased recordings, including Hydra Records, Rollercoaster Records, Rockstar Records, Buddah Records
, and Bear Family Records
.
Notable discoveries that have been commercially released have included:
A number of recordings exist in the hands of private collectors and remain to be commercially released, including a number of privately made live recordings of several 1960s and 1970s concerts, and a number of rehearsal recordings from 1960. To date, however, no one has discovered any alternative takes of any of Haley's most famous recordings of the 1950s, in particular "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
The group has also appeared as guest stars on a number of other recordings by Andy Lee Lang, Schurli Weiss and others.
". Reportedly, "Chick Safari", a 1960 recording, reached the No. 1 position on the Indian musical charts. Both the single "Florida Twist" and the Twist LP Record went to No. 1 in Mexico.
Based on the Billboard
Hits of the World chart, Bill Haley and the Comets had the following chart hits in Mexico and India in 1962:
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets (and variations thereof), was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. During the period late 1954-late 1956, the group placed nine singles into the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.
Bandleader Bill Haley
Bill Haley
Bill Haley was one of the first American rock and roll musicians. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and their hit song "Rock Around the Clock".-Early life and career:...
had previously been a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
performer; after recording a country and western-styled version of "Rocket 88
Rocket 88
"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
", a rhythm and blues song, he changed musical direction to a new sound which came to be called rock and roll.
Although several members of the Comets became famous, Bill Haley remained the star. With his spit curl and the band's matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behaviour, many fans consider them to be as revolutionary in their time as The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
or the Rolling Stones were a decade or two later.
Following Haley's death, no fewer than six different groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming (with varying degrees of authority) to be the official continuation of Haley's group. As of early 2008, three such groups were still performing in the United States and internationally.
Early history and Rocket 88
The band initially formed as Bill Haley and the Saddlemen c. 1949–1952, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel. During those years Haley was considered one of the top cowboy yodelers in America. 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 swingWestern swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away". The original members of this group were Haley, pianist and accordion player Johnny Grande
Johnny Grande
John A. Grande , better known as Johnny Grande, was a member of Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets.-Life and Career:...
and steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
ist Billy Williamson. Al Thompson was the group's first bass player, followed by Al Rex and Marshall Lytle
Marshall Lytle
Marshall Lytle , who also goes by the name Tommy Page, is an American rock and roll musician, best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s.-Career:...
. During the group's early years, it recorded under several other names, including Johnny Clifton and His String Band, The Four Aces of Western Swing, and Reno Browne
Reno Browne
Reno Browne, sometimes billed as Reno Blair was an accomplished equestrian and B-movie actress during the late 1940s and into the 1950s, with most of her films being in 1949....
and Her Buckaroos (although Browne, a female matinee idol of the time, did not actually appear on the record).
Haley began his rock and roll career with a cover of "Rocket 88
Rocket 88
"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
" recorded for the Philadelphia-based Holiday Records
Holiday Records
Holiday Records was an American recording company based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which was active in the early 1950s. Owned by Dave Miller, who also owned Essex Records, it is best known for releasing some of the earliest recordings widely identified as rock and roll, most notably "Rocket...
label in 1951 which sold well and was followed up a cover of a 1940s rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
song called "Rock the Joint
Rock the Joint
"Rock the Joint", also known as "We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight", is a boogie song recorded by various proto-rock and roll singers, notably Jimmy Preston and early rock and roll singers, most notably Bill Haley...
" in 1952 (this time for Holiday's sister company, Essex Records
Essex Records
Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
). Both songs were released under the increasingly incongruous Saddlemen name. It soon became apparent that a new name was needed to fit the new musical style. A friend of Haley's, making note of the common alternative pronunciation of the name Halley's Comet to rhyme with Bailey, suggested that Haley call his band The Comets. (This event is cited in the Haley biographies Sound and Glory by John Haley and John von Hoelle, and Bill Haley by John Swenson and in Still Rockin' Around The Clock, a memoir by Comets bass player, Marshall Lytle.)
The new name was adopted in the fall of 1952. Members of the group at that time were Haley, Grande, Williamson and Lytle. Grande usually played piano on record, but switched to accordion for live shows as it was more portable than a piano and easier to deal with during musical numbers that involved a lot of dancing around. Soon after renaming the band, Haley hired his first drummer, Charlie Higler, though Higler was soon replaced by Dick Boccelli (a.k.a Dick Richards). During this time (and indeed, as late as the fall of 1955), Haley did not have a permanent lead guitar player, choosing to use session musicians on record and either playing lead guitar himself or having Williamson play steel solos.
Slap-back bass, one identifying characteristic of rockabilly, was used on the Comets' recordings of "Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", "Rock Around the Clock", and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll". Prior to becoming the Comets, slapback was also used by bassist Al Rex, although to a lesser extent, on "Yodel Your Blues Away".".
National success and Rock Around the Clock
In 1953 Haley scored his first national success with an original song called "Crazy Man, CrazyCrazy Man, Crazy
"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
", a phrase Haley said he heard from his teenage audience. Haley later claimed the recording sold a million copies, but this is considered an exaggeration. "Crazy Man, Crazy" was the first rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
song to be televised nationally when it was used on the soundtrack for a 1953 television play starring James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
. Haley and His Comets then recorded "Rock Around the Clock
Rock Around the Clock
"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...
", Haley's biggest hit, and one of the most important records in rock and roll history. Sales of "Rock Around the Clock" started slow but eventually sold an estimated 25 million copies (per the Guinness Book of World Records) and marked the arrival of a cultural shift.
Much more impressive was "Shake, Rattle and Roll
Shake, Rattle and Roll
"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a prototypical twelve bar blues-form rock and roll song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting name Charles E. Calhoun. It was originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, and most successfully by Bill Haley & His Comets...
", a somewhat bowdlerized cover version of the Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
recording of earlier in 1954. The record was one of Decca's best-selling records in 1954. The song was the seventh best selling record in November 1954.
In March 1955, the group had four songs in Cash Box magazines top 50 songs: "Dim, Dim the Lights, (I Want Some Atmosphere)", "Birth of the Boogie", "Mambo Rock", and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Although Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" never achieved the same level of historical importance as "Rock Around the Clock", it actually predated it as the first major international rock and roll hit, although it did not attain the Number 1 position in the American charts, but became his first Gold Record. When Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
recorded the song in 1956, he combined Haley's arrangement with Turner's original lyrics but failed to score a substantial hit. Late in 1954, Haley also recorded another hit, "Dim, Dim The Lights", which was one of the first R&B songs recorded by a white group to cross over to the R&B charts. Johnnie Ray had reached #1 with "Cry" in 1952.
The (belated) success of "Rock Around the Clock" is attributed to its use in the soundtrack of the film Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle
Blackboard Jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evan Hunter.-Plot:...
, which was released in March 1955. The song, which was re-released to coincide with the film, rose to the top of the American musical charts that summer and stayed there for eight weeks, the first rock and roll record to do so.
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 during this time. Their music and their act were part of a tradition in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, but it all came like a thunderclap to most of their audience. In late 1954, Haley and His Comets appeared in a short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
entitled Round Up of Rhythm, performing three songs. This was the earliest known theatrical rock and roll film release.
The Jodimars
The Jodimars was an American rock and roll band that was formed in the summer of 1955 and remained active until 1958. The band was created by former members of Bill Haley & His Comets who had quit that group in a salary dispute...
. Haley hired several new musicians to take their place: Rudy Pompilli
Rudy Pompilli
Rudy Pompilli in Chester, Pennsylvania on April 16, 1924 — died February 5, 1976) was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets.-Biography:...
on sax, Al Rex (a former member of the Saddlemen) on double bass, and Ralph Jones on drums; in addition, lead guitarist Franny Beecher
Franny Beecher
Francis "Franny" Beecher , also known as Frank Beecher, was lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos combining elements of country music and jazz...
, who had been a session musician for Haley since Cedrone's death in the fall of 1954, became a full-time Comet and Haley's first performing lead guitarist. This version of the band became more popular than the earlier manifestation, and appeared in several motion pictures over the next few years.
Other hits recorded by the band included "See You Later, Alligator" in which Haley's frantic delivery contrasted with the Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
languor of the original by Bobby Charles
Bobby Charles
Bobby Charles was an American singer-songwriter.An ethnic Cajun, Charles was born as Robert Charles Guidry in Abbeville, Louisiana and grew up listening to Cajun music and the country and western music of Hank Williams...
, "Don't Knock the Rock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", "Rudy's Rock" (the first instrumental hit of the rock and roll era) and "Skinny Minnie".
In 1956 the group appeared in two of the earliest full-length rock and roll movies: Rock Around the Clock
Rock Around the Clock (film)
Rock Around the Clock is the title of a 1956 Musical film that featured Bill Haley and His Comets along with Alan Freed, The Platters, Tony Martinez and His Band, and Freddie Bell and His Bellboys. It was produced by B-movie king Sam Katzman and directed by Fred F...
, and Don't Knock the Rock
Don't Knock the Rock
Don't Knock the Rock is a 1957 rock and roll film starring Alan Dale as a rock star who returns to his hometown to rest up for the summer only to find that rock and roll has been banned there by disapproving adults...
.
Decline in popularity
The band's popularity in the United States began to wane in 1956–57 as sexier, wilder acts such as Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
and Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
began to dominate the record charts (although Haley's cover version of Little Richard's "Rip It Up
Rip It Up (song)
"Rip It Up" is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Bill Haley and his Comets and Little Richard in 1956. The Little Richard version hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart for two weeks and peaked at number seventeen on the pop chart.-Cover...
" - which was released in direct competition - actually outsold the original). After "Skinny Minnie" hit the charts in 1958, Haley found it difficult to score further successes Stateside, although a spin-off group made up of Comets musicians dubbed The Kingsmen (no relation to the later group of "Louie, Louie" fame) did score a hit with the instrumental, "Weekend" that same year.
Overseas, however, Haley and his band continued to be popular, touring the United Kingdom in February 1957, during which Haley and his crew were mobbed by thousands of fans at Waterloo Station
Waterloo station
Waterloo station, also known as London Waterloo, is a central London railway terminus and London Underground complex. The station is owned and operated by Network Rail and is close to the South Bank of the River Thames, and in Travelcard Zone 1....
in London at an incident which the media dubbed the Second Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. The group also toured Australia in 1957, and in 1958 enjoyed a successful (if riot-dominated) tour of the European mainland. Bill Haley & His Comets were the first major American rock and roll act to tour the world in this way. Elvis who was on duty in Germany visited them backstage at some shows. During an off day in Berlin they performed two songs in the Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente
Caterina Valente is a singer, dancer, and actress. She was born into an Italian artist family; her father Giuseppe was a well-known accordion player, her mother, Maria Valente, a musical clown...
movie "Hier Bin ich Hier Bleib Ich" (Here I Am Here I Stay).
Back in the U.S., Haley attempted to start his own record label, Clymax, and establish his own stable of performers, most notably Philadelphia children's show hostess Sally Starr and the Matys Brothers
Matys Brothers
The Matys Brothers were a rockabilly musical act made up of the four Matys brothers, and their sister Vera for a time, were born and raised in Chester, in the Philadelphia area...
. Members of The Comets were commissioned to work as session musicians on many of these recordings, many of which were written or co-written by Haley and/or members of The Comets. The Clymax experiment only lasted about a year. In 1959, Haley's relationship with Decca collapsed and after a final set of instrumental-only recordings in the fall, Haley announced he was leaving Decca for the new Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
label.
Mexico and the late 1960s
In 1961–1962, Bill Haley y sus Cometas (as the band was known in Latin America) signed with the OrfeónOrfeón
Orféon is a record label from Mexico, which has released a large number of recordings for the Latin American market since at least the 1950s. During the 1960s, the label signed American rockers Bill Haley & His Comets and the band had numerous regional hits on the label...
label of Mexico and scored an unexpected hit with "Twist Español", a Spanish language recording based on the Twist
Twist (dance)
The Twist was a dance inspired by rock and roll music. It became the first worldwide dance craze in the early 1960s, enjoying immense popularity among young people and drawing fire from critics who felt it was too provocative. It inspired dances such as the Jerk, the Pony, the Watusi, the Mashed...
dance craze that was sweeping America at the time. Haley followed up with what was, for a time, the biggest selling single in Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
history with "Florida Twist". Although Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker is an American singer-songwriter. He is widely known for popularizing the twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard's R&B hit "The Twist"...
and Hank Ballard
Hank Ballard
Hank Ballard , born John Henry Kendricks, was a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters and one of the first proto-rock 'n' roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s...
were credited with starting the Twist craze in America, in Mexico and Latin America, Bill Haley and His Comets were proclaimed the Kings of the Twist. Thanks to the success to "Twist Español" and "Florida Twist", among others, the band had continued success in Mexico and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
over the next few years, selling many recordings of Spanish and Spanish flavored material and simulated live performances (overdubbed audience over studio recordings) on the Orfeon label and its subsidiary, Dimsa. They hosted a television series entitled Orfeon a Go-Go and made cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in several movies, lipsynching to some of their old hits. Haley, who was fluent in Spanish, recorded a number of songs in the language, but the vast majority of the band's output during these years were instrumental recordings, many utilizing local session musicians playing trumpet. There was also some experimentation with Haley's style during this time; one single for Orfeon was a folk ballad, "Jimmy Martinez", which Haley recorded without the Comets.
In 1966, the Comets (without Bill Haley) cut an album for Orfeon as session musicians for Big Joe Turner, who had always been an idol to Haley; no joint performance of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was recorded, however. In a 1974 interview with BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
, Haley said Turner's career was in a slump at this time, so he used his then-considerable influence with Orfeon to get Turner a recording session. The Comets' association with Orfeon/Dimsa ended later that year.
By 1967, as related by Haley in an interview with radio host Red Robinson
Red Robinson
Red Robinson was the first Canadian disc jockey to play Rock and Roll music, both in the Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon markets....
that same year, the group was "a free agent" without any recording contracts at all, although the band continued to perform regularly in North America and Europe. During this year, Haley—without the Comets—recorded a pair of demos in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
: a country-western song called "Jealous Heart
Jealous Heart
"Jealous Heart" is a classic C&W song which has also been recorded by several Pop singers.-Early versions:The first recording of "Jealous Heart" was made in 1944 by its composer Jenny Lou Carson...
" for which he was backed by a local mariachi
Mariachi
Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...
band (and similar in style to the earlier "Jimmy Martinez", and late-60s-style rocker called "Rock on Baby" backed by a group called Superfine Dandelion. Neither recording would be released for 30 years. In 1968, Haley and the Comets recorded a single for the United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
label, a version of Tom T. Hall
Tom T. Hall
Thomas "Tom T." Hall is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has written 11 #1 hit songs, with 26 more that reached the Top 10, including the pop crossover hit "I Love", which reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100...
's "That's How I Got to Memphis" but no long-term association with the label resulted. In order to revive his recording career, Haley turned to Europe.
Revival
By the late 1960s, Haley and the Comets were considered an oldies act. The band's popularity never waned in Europe, and the group signed a lucrative deal with Sonet RecordsSonet Records
Sonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
of Sweden in 1968 that resulted in a new version of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting the European charts that year. The band would record a mixture of live and studio albums for the label over the next decade.
In the United States in 1969, promoter Richard Nader launched a series of rock and roll revival
Rock and roll revival
Rock and Roll Revival was a back-to-basics musical trend of the late 1960s and early 1970s, in a sort-of backlash against the heavier and psychedelic rock sounds then in vogue....
concert tours featuring "oldies" acts of the 50s and 60s. One of the first of these shows, held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City, resulted in Haley receiving an eight-and-a-half minute standing ovation following his performance, as Nader related in his recorded introduction to Haley's live album Bill Haley's Scrapbook, which was recorded a few weeks later at New York's Bitter End
Bitter End
Bitter End was the second single released off 'Love/Hate' on 8 October 2007 by Manchester band Nine Black Alps.-Song:The song shows a very different side to Nine Black Alps...
club.
The band appeared in several concert films in the early 1970s, including The London Rock and Roll Show
The London Rock and Roll Show
The London Rock and Roll Show was a concert held at Wembley Stadium in London, England on August 5, 1972. It was the first ever concert held at the stadium....
and Let the Good Times Roll
Let the Good Times Roll (film)
Let the Good Times Roll is a 1973 rockumentary / concert film directed by Robert Abel and Sidney Levin. It features numerous stars from the American pop and rock music scene of the 1950s.-Summary:...
. After 1974, tax and management problems prevented Haley from performing in the United States, so 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 for Sonet and other labels in the 1970s, several with a country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
flavor. In 1974, Haley's original Decca recording of "Rock Around the Clock" hit the American sales charts once again thanks to its use in American Graffiti
American Graffiti
American Graffiti is a 1973 coming of age film co-written/directed by George Lucas starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford...
and Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
.
Late career
In February 1976, Haley's saxophone player and best friend, Rudy PompilliRudy Pompilli
Rudy Pompilli in Chester, Pennsylvania on April 16, 1924 — died February 5, 1976) was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets.-Biography:...
, died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
after a nearly 20-year career with the Comets. Haley continued to tour for the next year with a succession of new sax players, but his popularity was waning again and his 1976 performance in London was critically lambasted by music media such as Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
. That year, the group also recorded an album, R-O-C-K at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama,in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett , Roger Hawkins , Jimmy Johnson and David Hood left FAME Studios to create their own studio...
for Sonet Records. In early 1977, Haley announced his retirement from performing and settled down at his home in Mexico. According to the John Swenson biography of Haley, the musician was quoted as saying that he and Pompilli had an agreement that if one died, the other would retire.
The Comets continued to tour on their own during this period.
In 1979, Haley was persuaded to return to performing with the offer of a lucrative contract to tour Europe. An almost completely new group of musicians, mostly British - including Pete Thomas (saxophonist)
Pete Thomas (saxophonist)
Pete Thomas is a leading British music producer, TV and film composer, recording musician, and saxophonist. He was born in London and is now based in Southampton, England. He is also an expert in Jazz music and theory.-Biography:...
- were assembled to perform as The Comets, and Haley appeared on many television shows as well as in the movie Blue Suede Shoes, filmed at one of his London concerts in March 1979. A few days later, a performance in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
was videotaped and aired on UK television; it was released on DVD in 2005. During the March tour, Haley recorded several tracks in London for his next album with Sonet, completing the work that summer at Muscle Shoals in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
; released later in the year, the resulting album Everyone Can Rock & Roll was the last release of new recordings by Bill Haley before his death.
In November 1979, Haley and the Comets performed for Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, a moment Haley considered the proudest of his career. It was also the last time he performed in Europe and the last time most fans saw him perform "Rock Around the Clock".
In 1980, Bill Haley and His Comets toured South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
but Haley's health was failing and it was reported that he had a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
. The tour was critically lambasted, but surviving recordings of a performance in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
show Haley in good spirits and good voice. Nonetheless, according to the Haley News fan club newsletter and the Haley biography Sound and Glory, planned concerts such as a fall 1980 tour of Germany, and proposed recording sessions in New York and Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
were cancelled—including a potential reunion with past members of the Comets—and Haley returned to his home in Harlingen, Texas
Harlingen, Texas
Harlingen is a city in Cameron County in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, United States, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than , and is the second largest city in Cameron County and the sixth largest in the Rio Grande Valley...
where he died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on February 9, 1981.
In April 1981, Bill Haley & His Comets returned to the British musical charts once again when MCA Records (inheritors of the Decca catalog) released "Haley's Golden Medley", a hastily compiled edit of the band's best known hits in the style of the then-popular "Stars on 45
Stars on 45
Stars on 45 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was briefly very popular in the United Kingdom, throughout Europe, the United States and Australia in the early 1980s. The group later shortened its name to Stars On in the U.S., while in the U.K. and Ireland it was known as Starsound...
" format. The single reached No. 50 in the UK but was not released in the United States.
In 1987, Bill Haley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
. At that time, supporting bands were not also named to the hall. This policy has since changed and efforts have been under way for several years to have The Comets also named to the Hall. Bill Haley and His Comets have also been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on the internet on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities involved in this pioneering American music genre....
and, in July 2005, the surviving members of the 1954–55 Comets (see below) represented Haley when Bill Haley and His Comets were inducted into Hollywood's Rockwalk
Guitar Center
Guitar Center is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in the world with 223 locations throughout the United States. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California....
, a ceremony also attended by Haley's second wife and youngest daughter. The Comets placed their handprints in cement; a space was left blank for Haley.
In 2005, Bill Haley And His Comets were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. Two of the band's recordings have been voted Legendary Michigan Songs: "Rock Around The Clock" in 2007, and "Shake, Rattle And Roll" in 2009.
The Comets
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 short-lived Comets reunions were attempted in the 1980s, including one contingent (organized by BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-based piano player Joey Welz who was briefly a Comet in the mid-1960s) that appeared on The Tomorrow Show, and another run by an Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
impersonator named Joey Rand (this group later lost a legal action over the right to use the Comets name).
The Comets, featuring musicians who performed with Haley in 1954–1955, reunited in 1987 and are still touring the world as of 2007, playing showrooms in the United States and Europe. They have also recorded a half-dozen albums for small labels in Europe and the United States. This version of the group has also been credited as Bill Haley's Original Comets, and in circumstances where the use of the Comets name is in dispute, A Tribute to Bill Haley and The Original Band. The basic line-up of this group from 1987 to May 2006 consisted of Marshall Lytle (bass), Joey Ambrose (sax), Johnny Grande (piano), Dick Richards (drums) and Franny Beecher (guitar). British singer Jacko Buddin augmented the group on vocals during most of their European tours, with Lytle taking over on vocals for US/Canadian tours beginning in 2000 and full-time in Europe in the mid-2000s. Since they connected with Klaus Kettner's Rock It Concerts (Germany) in 1991 they have played hundreds of shows all over Europe, dozens of television shows and in March 2007 pre-opened the Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany.
Two additional groups claim the name Bill Haley's Comets and have extensively toured in the United States since forming in the 1980s: one originally Haley's 1965–68 drummer John "Bam-Bam" Lane, the other run by Al Rappa who played bass for Haley off-and-on between late 1959 and early 1969 (some media promotion for Rappa erroneously states that he joined the group in 1956). Both these musicians claim trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ownership of the Bill Haley's Comets name; this dates back to Lane and Rappa (during a period when they worked together as one band) winning a trademark infringement lawsuit against the aforementioned Joey Rand group in 1989. Both Rappa and Lane's bands have, from time to time, recruited other former Comets for their line-ups (for example, in 2005, Rappa joined forces with Joey Welz), but for the most part the bandleaders are the only regular members who have worked with Bill Haley directly. Lane died in 2007 but his group continues to perform, led by bandleader Lenny Longo, who has no direct Bill Haley connection. Al Rappa incorporated numerous professional musicians from the Southern Indiana area such as Warren Batts, Joe Esarey, Dave Matthews, John Urbina and many others to make a full band. Al Rappa performed his Upright Bass show before thousands in audiences all over the country. The band members from Al Rappas "Comets" went on to form the LocoMotion showband and continued touring the States without Al Rappa. LocoMotion is now no longer a band. Esarey went on to graduate from Cedarville University and Luther Rice Seminary and now pastors a growing church in Ohio. Esarey has released two Saxophone solo albumns and is currently writing and producing Christian music for a worship group.
In March and July 2005, the members of the 1954–55 group, now billed as simply The Comets after decades of controversy over the use of the name, made several high-profile concert appearances in New York City and Los Angeles organized by Martin Lewis as part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of rock and roll, the release of Blackboard Jungle, the 50th anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting Number 1, and the 80th birthday of Bill Haley. During a July 6, 2005 concert at the Viper Room
Viper Room
The Viper Room is a nightclub located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. It was opened in 1993 and was partly owned by actor Johnny Depp until 2004. The club became known for being a hangout of Hollywood elite, and was the site where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on...
in West Hollywood, The Comets were joined on stage for one song by Gina Haley
Gina Haley
Linda Georgina Haley is an American singer-songwriter.Haley is the youngest child of rock and roll pioneer Bill Haley from his marriage to his last wife Martha; she grew up in Harlingen and she was only five years old when her father died in 1981...
, the youngest daughter of Bill Haley; at a similar appearance in March they were joined by Haley's eldest son, John W. Haley.
In 2006, The 1954–55 Comets spent much of the year in residence at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri
Branson, Missouri
Branson is a city in Taney County in the U.S. state of Missouri. It was named after Reuben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s....
. Meanwhile, the John Lane edition of Bill Haley's Comets recorded a new album in Tennessee in early 2006 which has yet to be released.
On June 2, 2006, Johnny Grande, keyboardist with the 1954–55 Comets and an original founding member of the band, died after a short illness. The following month, 85-year-old guitarist Franny Beecher
Franny Beecher
Francis "Franny" Beecher , also known as Frank Beecher, was lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos combining elements of country music and jazz...
announced his retirement, though he was at one point announced as participating in an early 2007 tour of Germany. The three remaining original Comets (Lytle, Richards, and Ambrose) continue to perform in Branson with new musicians taking over the keyboard and lead guitar positions. During September 2006, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the United States aired a series of programs videotaped in Branson during the spring of 2006; these shows include the last recorded performances of the complete Original Comets line-up including Grande.
John "Bam-Bam" Lane died on February 18, 2007 but his edition of Bill Haley's Comets is expected to continue touring, with the 2006 recordings to be released in Lane's memory.
On October 27, 2007 ex Comets guitar player Bill Turner opened the afore mentioned Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany. He will also join the New Comets during their 'Remember Bill Haley Tour 2011' with Bill Haley's daughter Gina Haley.
Several bands patterning themselves after The Comets are also active in Europe, including Bill Haley's New Comets
Bill Haley's New Comets
Bill Haley's New Comets is a rock and roll band founded in 1987 by singer Joe "Bill" Clifton. As only legal successors of the original performers this band keeps Bill Haley's music alive in its original fifties style with original instrumentation, stage outfits and stage acrobatics.In 2004, the...
in Germany.
Discography
Bill Haley & His Comets recorded many singles and albums. The following list references only their original release and does not include compilation albums or single reissues. This list does not include releases on which the Comets worked as session musicians and only includes releases during Haley's lifetime.Singles
As Bill Haley & the Saddlemen (and variations of the name)1950
- "Deal Me a Hand" / "Ten Gallon Stetson" (Keystone 5101)
- "Susan Van Dusan" / "I'm Not to Blame" (Keystone 5102)
- "Why Do I Cry Over You?" / "I'm Gonna Dry Ev'ry Tear With a Kiss" (AtlanticAtlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
727) - "My Sweet Little Girl from Nevada" / "My Palomino and I" (CowboyCowboy RecordsCowboy Records was a record label in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Buddy DeSylva and Johnny Mercer in 1942. It was later owned by Jimmy DeKnight and Jack Howard. Artists who recorded for the label included Bill Haley, who made his first commercial single release with the label as...
1701) - released as Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos
1951
- "Rocket 88Rocket 88"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
" / "Tearstains on My Heart" (HolidayHoliday RecordsHoliday Records was an American recording company based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which was active in the early 1950s. Owned by Dave Miller, who also owned Essex Records, it is best known for releasing some of the earliest recordings widely identified as rock and roll, most notably "Rocket...
105) - "Green Tree Boogie" / "Down Deep in My Heart" (Holiday 108)
- "I'm Crying" / "Pretty Baby" (Holiday 110) - with Loretta Glendenning
- "A Year Ago This Christmas" / "I Don't Want to Be Alone for Christmas" (Holiday 111)
1952
- "Jukebox CannonballWabash Cannonball"The Wabash Cannonball" is an American folk song about a fictional train, thought to have originated in the late nineteenth century. Its first documented appearance was on sheet music published in 1882, titled "" and credited to J. A. Roff...
" / "Sundown Boogie" (Holiday 113) - "Rock the JointRock the Joint"Rock the Joint", also known as "We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight", is a boogie song recorded by various proto-rock and roll singers, notably Jimmy Preston and early rock and roll singers, most notably Bill Haley...
" / "Icy Heart" (EssexEssex RecordsEssex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
303) - "Dance with a Dolly" (With a Hole in Her Stockin')" / "Rocking Chair on the Moon" (Essex 305)
As Bill Haley & His Comets (and name variations thereof)
1953
- "Stop Beatin' round the Mulberry Bush" / "Real Rock Drive" (Essex 310)
- "Crazy Man, CrazyCrazy Man, Crazy"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
" / "Whatcha Gonna Do?" (Essex 321) - "Pat-a-CakePat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man"Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man", "Pat-a-cake", "patty-cake" or "pattycake" is one of the oldest and most widely known surviving English nursery rhymes...
" / "Fractured" (Essex 327) - "Live it Up" / "Farewell-So Long-Goodbye" (Essex 332)
1954
- "I'll Be True" / "Ten Little IndiansTen Little Indians"Ten Little Indians" is a children's rhyme. The song is usually performed to the Irish folk tune "Michael Finnegan". It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13512.-Lyrics:The modern lyrics are believed to be public domain and are as follows:...
" (Essex 340) - "Chattanooga Choo ChooChattanooga Choo Choo"Chattanooga Choo Choo" is a song by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon . It was recorded in a big-band/swing manner by Glenn Miller and his orchestra and featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade, which starred Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller and his orchestra, The Modernaires, Milton Berle...
" / "Straight Jacket" (Essex 348) - "Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)" / "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the ClockRock Around the Clock"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...
" (DeccaDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
29124) - "Rock Around the Clock" was initially released as the B-side - "Shake, Rattle and RollShake, Rattle and Roll"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a prototypical twelve bar blues-form rock and roll song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting name Charles E. Calhoun. It was originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, and most successfully by Bill Haley & His Comets...
" / "ABC Boogie" (Decca 29204) - "Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)" / "Happy Baby" (Decca 29317)
- "Yes Indeed!" / "Real Rock Drive" (TransworldEssex RecordsEssex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951 by David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and gospel. Jack Howard was the promotion manager. The label had little popular success. They issued a 1954 single called "Oh, Mein...
718)
1955
- "Mambo Rock" / "Birth Of The BoogieBirth of the BoogieBirth Of The Boogie is a 1955 song composed by Bill Haley with Billy Williamson and Johnny Grande. The song was released as a Decca single by Bill Haley and His Comets....
" (Decca 29418) - "Razzle-Dazzle" / "Two Hound Dogs" (Decca 29552)
- "Burn That Candle" / "Rock-A-Beatin' BoogieRock-A-Beatin' BoogieRock-A-Beatin' Boogie is a 1952 song composed by Bill Haley and first recorded by The Esquire Boys in 1952. Bill Haley and the Comets recorded the song in 1955 for Decca. The song was featured in the 1956 movie Rock Around the Clock....
" (Decca 29713)
1956
- "See You Later AlligatorSee You Later Alligator"See You Later, Alligator" is the title of an iconic rock and roll song of the 1950s.Originally entitled "Later Alligator", the song, based on a 12-bar blues chord structure , was written by Louisiana songwriter Robert Charles Guidry and first recorded by him under his professional name "Bobby...
" / "The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)" (Decca 29791) - "The Saint's Rock 'n' RollWhen the Saints Go Marching In"When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as "The Saints", is an American gospel hymn that has taken on certain aspects of folk music. The precise origins of the song are not known. Though it originated as a spiritual, today people are more likely to hear it played by a jazz band...
" / "R-O-C-K" (Decca 29870) - "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" / "Rockin' Through the Rye" (Decca 29948)
- "Rip it Up" / "Teenager's Mother (Are You Right?)" (Decca 30028)
- "Rudy's RockRudy's RockRudy's Rock is a 1956 instrumental composed by Bill Haley and Rudy Pompilli and released as a Decca single. The song appeared in the 1956 movie Rock Around the Clock....
" / "Blue Comet Blues" (Decca 30085) - "Don't Knock the RockDon't Knock the RockDon't Knock the Rock is a 1957 rock and roll film starring Alan Dale as a rock star who returns to his hometown to rest up for the summer only to find that rock and roll has been banned there by disapproving adults...
" / "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" (Decca 30148)
1957
- "Forty Cups of Coffee" / "Hook, Line and Sinker" (Decca 30214)
- "(You Hit the Wrong Note) Billy Goat" / "Rockin' Rollin' Rover" (Decca 30314)
- "The Dipsy Doodle" / "Miss You" (Decca 30394)
- "Rock the Joint (a.k.a. New Rock the Joint [stereo])" / "How Many?" (Decca 30461)
- "Mary, Mary Lou" / "It's a Sin" (Decca 30530)
1958
- "Skinny MinnieSkinny MinnieSkinny Minnie is a 1958 song co-written and recorded by Bill Haley and The Comets. The song was released as a Decca single which became a Top 40 chart hit in the U.S....
" / "Sway with Me" (Decca 30592) - "Lean Jean" / "Don't Nobody Move" (Decca 30681)
- "Chiquita Linda (Un Poquito de tu Amor)" / "Whoa Mabel!" (Decca 30741)
- "Corrine, Corrina" / "B.B. Betty" (Decca 30781)
1959
- "I Got a WomanI Got a Woman"I Got a Woman" is a song co-written and recorded by American R&B/soul musician Ray Charles and released as a single in December 1954 on the Atlantic label as Atlantic 45-1050 b/w "Come Back Baby." Both sides later appeared on his 1957 album Ray Charles .-Origin:The song builds on...
" / "CharmaineCharmaine (song)"Charmaine" is a popular song written by Erno Rapee, with lyrics by Lew Pollack. The song was written in 1926 and published in 1927. However, Desmond Carrington on his BBC Radio 2 programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913....
" (Decca 30844) - "(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" / "Where'd You Go Last Night" (Decca 30873)
- "Shaky" / "Caldonia" (Decca 30926)
- "Joey's SongJoey's Song"Joey's Song" was a 1959 release for Bill Haley & His Comets. It was one of the band's last successful commercial releases. The song only made #46 on the Billboard Charts and #35 on Cashbox, however the song did make #1 in Australia for 8 weeks from December 12, 1959 to January 30, 1960 based on...
" / "Ooh! Look-a-There, Ain't She Pretty?" (Decca 30956)
1960
- "SkokiaanSkokiaan"Skokiaan" is a popular tune originally written by Rhodesian musician August Musarurwa in the tsaba-tsaba big band style that succeeded marabi...
(South African Song)" / "Puerto Rican Peddler" (Decca 31030) - "Music! Music! Music!Music! Music! Music!"Music! Music! Music!" is a popular song written by Stephen Weiss and Bernie Baum and published in 1949.The biggest-selling version of the song was recorded by Teresa Brewer on December 20, 1949, and released by London Records as catalog number 604. It became a #1 hit and a million-seller in 1950...
" / "Strictly Instrumental" (Decca 31080) - "Candy Kisses" / "Tamiami" (Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
5145) - "Hawk" / "Chick Safari" (Warner Bros. 5154)
- "So Right Tonight" / "Let the Good Times Roll, Creole" (Warner Bros. 5171)
- "Rock Around the Clock" / "Shake Rattle and Roll" (new versions) (Warner Bros. no. 7124)(Back to Back Hits)
1961
- "Honky Tonk" / "Flip, Flop and Fly" (Warner Bros. 5228)
- "Riviera" / "War Paint" (Gone 5116)
- "Twist Español" / "My Kind of Woman (Spanish version)" (OrfeonOrfeon RecordsOrfeon Records was a Turkish producer of phonographs and gramophone records. The first record company in Turkey, it was founded by the Blumenthal Family in 1912. The company was based in Constantinople and was actively producing records up until 1924 when it was purchased by Columbia Records...
1010) [May 1961] - "Cerca del Mar" / "Tren Nocturno" (Orfeon 1036)
- "Florida Twist" / "Negra Consentida" (Orfeon 1047)
- "Spanish Twist (English version)" / "My Kind of Woman" (GoneGone RecordsGone Records was a record label founded by George Goldner that was active in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was founded in 1957. Among the artists that recorded for the label were Bill Haley & His Comets, Ral Donner, Jo-Ann Campbell, and Johnny Rivers. It was acquired by Morris Levy and...
5111) [September 1961]
1962
- "Caravan Twist" / "Actopan Twist" (Orfeon 1052)
- "La PalomaLa PalomaThis article is about the song. For the American city, see La Paloma, Texas."La Paloma" is a popular song, having been produced and reinterpreted in diverse cultures, settings, arrangements, and recordings over the last 140 years. The song was composed and written by Spanish composer Sebastián...
" / "Silbando Y Caminando" (Orfeon 1062) - "Bikini Twist" / "Rudy's" (Orfeon 1067)
- "Mas Twist" / "Tampico Twist" (Orfeon 1082)
- "Twist Lento" / "Sonora Twist" (Orfeon 1100)
- "Martha" / "Tacos de Twist" (Orfeon 1132)
- "Jalisco Twist" / "Pueblo del Twist" (Orfeon 1169)
1963
- "Tenor Man" / "Up Goes My Love" (Newtown 5013)
- "White Parakeet" / "Midnight in Washington" (Newhits 5014)
- "Dance Around the Clock" / "What Can I Say" (Newtown 5024)
- "Tandy" / "You Call Everybody Darling" (Newtown 5025)
- "Yakety SaxYakety Sax"Yakety Sax" is a piece of music written by James Q. "Spider" Rich and popularized by saxophonist Boots Randolph.The composition includes pieces of assorted fiddle tunes such as "Chicken Reel", and was written for a performance at a venue called The Armory in Hopkinsville, Kentucky...
" (by Bill Haley & His Comets)" / "Boot's Blues" (by Boots RandolphBoots RandolphHomer Louis "Boots" Randolph III was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit, "Yakety Sax"...
(LogoLogo RecordsLogo Records was a British record company formed in the mid-1970s by British record executives Geoff Hannington and Olav Wyper. It was originally funded and part-owned by UK publishing company Marshall Cavendish. In 1977, the company purchased Transatlantic Records which was at that time owned...
7005) - "ABC Boogie (new version)" (by Haley) / "Rock Around the Clock" (by Phil Flowers (Kasey 7006)
- "Pure de PapasMashed PotatoThe Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. It was danced to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time". Also referred to as "mash potato" or "mashed potatoes", the move vaguely resembles that of the Twist, by Sharp's fellow Philadelphian, Chubby...
" / "Anoche" (Orfeon 1195) - "El Madison de la Estrella" / "Viajando Con el Madison" (Orfeon 1229)
- "Avenida Madison" / "Reunion de Etiqueta" (Orfeon 1243)
- "Limbo Rock" / "Ana Maria" (Orfeon 1269)
1964
- "Green DoorGreen Door" Green Door" is a 1956 popular song with music composed by Bob Davie and lyrics written by Marvin Moore. The lyrics describe a nondescript establishment, with a green door, behind which "a happy crowd" play piano, smoke and "laugh a lot", and inside which the singer is not allowed.-Possible...
" / "Yeah, She's Evil!" (Decca 31650) - "Adios Mariquita Linda" / "El Quelite" (Orfeon 1324)
- "Mish Mash" / "Madero y Gante" (Orfeon 1333)
- Jimmy Martinez/Al Compás del Reloj (Orfeon 1429)
1965
- Burn That Candle (new version) /Stop, Look and Listen (APTApt RecordsApt Records was a sub-label from ABC-Paramount Records. The label released only singles. The name was derived from ABC-Paramount's parent company, American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres....
25081) - Tongue-Tied Tony/Haley-a-Go-Go (APT 25087)
- A Gusto Contigo/Mish Mash (Orfeon 1570)
1966
- Land of a Thousand DancesLand of a Thousand Dances"Land of a Thousand Dances" is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which was added by Cannibal & the Headhunters in their version of the song in 1965, whose version peaked at number thirty...
/Estomago Caliente (Orfeon 1825) - Rock Around the Clock/Rip it Up (new versions) (Orfeon 1894)
1968
- That's How I Got to Memphis/Ain't Love Funny, Ha Ha Ha (United ArtistsUnited Artists RecordsUnited Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
50483)
1970
- Rock Around the Clock/Framed (live versions) (Kama SutraKama Sutra RecordsKama Sutra Records was started in 1964 by Arthur "Artie" Ripp, Hy Mizrahi and Phil Steinberg as Kama Sutra Productions, a production house. The word "Kama Sutra" is a Sanskrit terminology....
508)
1971
- Travelin' Band/A Little Piece at a Time (JanusJanus RecordsJanus Records was a record label owned by GRT Records, also known as General Recorded Tape. Artists who had hits on Janus included Mungo Jerry, The Whispers, Cymande, Charlie, Al Stewart, Ian Thomas, and Ray Stevens. Chess Records was administered as a division of Janus in the early 1970s...
J-162) - Me and Bobby McGeeMe and Bobby McGee"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster, originally performed by Roger Miller. Others performed the song later, including Kristofferson himself, and Janis Joplin who topped the U.S. singles chart with the song in 1971 after her death, making the song the second...
/I Wouldn't Have Missed it for the World (SonetSonet RecordsSonet Records is a jazz record label operating as an imprint of Universal Music Sweden. It was founded in Sweden in 1956.Sonet Records was established by Sven Lindholm and Gunnar Bergström, who managed the label into the 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the...
2016)
1978
- Yodel Your Blues Away/Within This Broken Heart of Mine (previously unissued pre-Comets recordings) (Arzee 4677)
1979
- Hail Hail Rock and Roll/Let the Good Times Roll Again (Sonet 2188)
- Everyone Can Rock and Roll/I Need the Music (Sonet 2194)
1980
- God Bless Rock and Roll/So Right Tonight (Sonet 2202)
Albums
- 1956 - Rock 'n' Roll Stage ShowRock 'n' Roll Stage ShowRock 'n' Roll Stage Show was the fourth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Released by Decca Records in August 1956 it was the group's first album to include new, as opposed to previously-released material. And although the album spawned several singles, it also featured...
(Decca 8345) - 1957 - Rockin' the OldiesRockin' the OldiesRockin' the Oldies was the fifth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Produced by Milt Gabler, the album was released by Decca Records in 1957. It was the first of three "themed albums" that Haley recorded for Decca...
(Decca 8569)
- 1958 - Rockin' Around the WorldRockin' Around the WorldRockin' Around the World was the sixth album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Released in March 1958 on the Decca Records label, Decca 8692, the album was produced by Milt Gabler, who produced all of Haley's recordings for Decca. It was the second of three "themed" albums that...
(Decca 8692) - 1959 - Bill Haley's ChicksBill Haley's ChicksBill Haley's Chicks was the eighth album of rock and roll recordings by Bill Haley & His Comets for Decca Records, Decca 8821. Released in January 1959 and produced by Milt Gabler, the album was the third "theme" album Haley recorded for Decca, following Rockin' the Oldies and Rockin' Around the...
(Decca 8821) - 1959 - Strictly InstrumentalStrictly Instrumental (album)Recorded over the span of more than 18 months, Strictly Instrumental was the ninth rock and roll album by Bill Haley & His Comets, and their final album of new material for Decca Records...
(Decca 8964) - 1960 - Bill Haley and His CometsBill Haley and His Comets (1960 album)Bill Haley and His Comets is the title of the tenth album of rock and roll recordings by Bill Haley & His Comets. Released in April 1960, it was the band's first album release for Warner Bros. Records, following their departure from Decca Records at the end of 1959...
(Warner Bros. 1378) - 1960 - Haley's Juke BoxHaley's Juke BoxHaley's Juke Box: Songs of the Bill Haley Generation , was the twelfth album by Bill Haley & His Comets. Released by Warner Bros...
(Warner Bros. 1391) - 1961 - Twist (Dimsa 8255)
- 1961 - Bikini Twist (Dimsa 8259)
- 1962 - Twistin' Knights at the Roundtable (live) (RouletteRoulette RecordsRoulette Records is an American record label, which was founded in late 1956, by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Khals, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed as director...
SR-25174) - 1962 - Twist Vol. 2 (Dimsa 8275)
- 1962 - Twist en Mexico (Dimsa 8290)
- 1963 - Rock Around the Clock King (Guest Star 1454)
- 1963 - Madison (Orfeon 12339)
- 1963 - Carnaval de Ritmos Modernos (Orfeon 12340)
- 1964 - Surf Surf Surf (Orfeon 12354)
- 1966 - Whiskey a Go-Go (Orfeon 12478)
- 1966 - Bill Haley a Go-Go (Dimsa 8381)
- 1968 - Biggest Hits (re-recordings plus new tracks) (Sonet 9945); issued in England as Rock Around the Clock (Hallmark SHM 668) and in North America as Rockin' (Pickwick SPC 3256)
- 1968 - On Stage Vol. 1 (live) (Sonet SLP63)
- 1968 - On Stage Vol. 2 (live) (Sonet SLP69)
- The above two albums have been reissued in many forms, including by Janus Records as the two-album set, Razzle-Dazzle (Janus 7003), a numerous releases on the Pickwick and Hallmark labels.
- 1970 - Bill Haley Scrapbook (live) (Kama Sutra/Buddah 2014)
- 1971 - Rock Around the Country (Sonet 623); issued in North America by GNP-Crescendo (LP 2097) and as Travelin' Band on Janus (JLS 3035)
- 1973 - Just Rock 'n' Roll Music (Sonet 645); issued in North America by GNP-Crescendo (LP 2077)
- 1974 - Live in London '74 (live) (Antic 51501)
- 1975 - Golden Favorites (compilation with unreleased tracks) (MCA CoralMCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
7845P) - 1976 - Rudy's Rock: The Sax That Changed the World (billed as Rudy Pompilli and the Comets; recorded without Haley) (Sonet 696)
- 1976 - R-O-C-K (re-recordings) (Sonet 710)
- 1978 - Golden Country Origins (previously unissued pre-Comets recordings) (Grassroots Records)
- 1979 - Everyone Can Rock and Roll (Sonet 808)
Compilation albums
- Rock with Bill Haley and the CometsRock with Bill Haley and the CometsRock with Bill Haley and the Comets is the title of an early rock and roll music compilation album issued by Essex Records in 1954, and featuring music by the titular group, Bill Haley & His Comets. The album features recordings made by Haley in 1952 and 1953, including his hits, "Rock the Joint"...
(Essex 102; 1954) - Shake, Rattle and RollShake, Rattle and Roll (album)Shake, Rattle and Roll is the title of an early rock and roll compilation album issued by Decca Records in 1955, and featuring music by Bill Haley & His Comets...
(Decca DL5560; 1955) - Rock Around the ClockRock Around the Clock (album)Rock Around the Clock was the third album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley and His Comets. Released by Decca Records in December 1955 it was, like the two albums that preceded it, a compilation album of previously issued singles. Most of album's contents were in fact previously issued by Decca...
(Decca DL8225; 1956) - Rockin' the JointRockin' the Joint (Bill Haley & His Comets album)Rockin' the Joint is a compilation album of rock and roll music by Bill Haley & His Comets. Released on Decca Records in August 1958, it was the group's seventh album. The album consisted of recordings that, for the most part, had only been released previously as singles or on EPs; all of the...
(Decca DL8775; 1958) - Bill Haley & His Comets (VocalionDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
3696; 1963)
Unreleased recordings
As with Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
and other contemporaries of the 1950s, a large stock of previously unreleased recordings by Bill Haley exist and have been released periodically in the years following his death. Many of these are early country and western tracks recorded as demos or, for some reason, unreleased. However, occasionally tracks from the 1950s and 1960s have emerged, as have live recordings. Since the early 1990s several European labels have released a number of previously unreleased recordings, including Hydra Records, Rollercoaster Records, Rockstar Records, Buddah Records
Buddah Records
Buddah Records was founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's founding...
, and Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label that specializes in reissues of archival material ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.-History:...
.
Notable discoveries that have been commercially released have included:
- Several 1946 radio recordings Haley made with the Down Homers (Rock n' Roll Arrives box set, Bear Family Records, 2006);
- A large cache of country-western recordings made by Haley in the 1946–51 era, before the formation of the Comets (also released on Rock 'n' Roll Arrives);
- An April 1955 concert in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
including the earliest known live recordings of "Rock Around the Clock" (Rock 'n' Roll Show, Hydra Records, 1995); - A concert recording from the German tour of 1958 (Vive La Rock 'n' Roll, Big Beat Records, 2002);
- A 1957 radio recording from Haley's tour of Australia;
- Soundtrack recordings from the 1958 film Here I Am, Here I Stay and the 1954 short film Round Up of Rhythm (On Screen, Hydra Records, 1998);
- Previously unreleased live recordings from the 1969 Bill Haley's Scrapbook sessions at the Bitter End (CD release of Bill Haley's Scrapbook (Kama Sutra/Buddah, 1993) and The Warner Brothers Years and More box set (Bear Family, 1999);
- Two Christmas recordings and a version of "Flip Flop and Fly" from the 1968 United Artists sessions;
- In-studio discussion recordings and alternate takes from the 1979 Everyone Can Rock and Roll sessions (The Journey to Fame, Denton Media, 2004);
- Assorted demos and alternate takes from the Decca and Warner Bros. era from the period 1958–1961, as well as additional alternate takes and unreleased tracks from the various labels Haley recorded with in the mid-1960s (The Decca Years and More box set (Bear Family, 1991) and The Warner Brothers Years and More box set (Bear Family, 1999); and
- Two 1962 broadcasts for Armed Forces Radio (On the Air, Hydra Records, 2001).
A number of recordings exist in the hands of private collectors and remain to be commercially released, including a number of privately made live recordings of several 1960s and 1970s concerts, and a number of rehearsal recordings from 1960. To date, however, no one has discovered any alternative takes of any of Haley's most famous recordings of the 1950s, in particular "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".
Later Comets recordings
Several of the post-Haley contingents of Comets had their own single and album releases:- The 1981–82 Comets reunion group recorded on single in 1982, Bring Back the Music/The Hawk Talks (Music City Records). Musicians involved in this recording included former Comets Franny Beecher, Al Rappa and Joey Welz. Welz later released a single overdubbing two Haley demo recordings using a group of session musicians who were dubbed The Comets for the occasion.
- The Joey Rand version of Bill Haley's Comets recorded an album in the 1980s.
- The John Lane version of Bill Haley's Comets recorded a live album in the early 2000s, along with a Christmas single.
- Al Rappa's version of Bill Haley's Comets have recorded tracks with Joey Welz.
- The 1954–55 Comets (a.k.a. The Original Comets) have been the most prolific, recording a half-dozen albums since 1993 -
- We're Gonna Party! (Hydra Records, 1993)
- You're Never Too Old to Rock (Hydra, 1994)
- The House is Rockin (Rollercoaster Records, 1998)
- Still Rockin' Around the Clock (Rollin' Rock RecordsRollin' Rock RecordsRollin' Rock Records is an American rockabilly record label founded by producer Ronnie Weiser. Initially created as music magazine Rollin' Rock in 1969, the magazine became a full-fledged record label in 1970...
, 1999) - Aged to Perfection (Rollin' Rock, 2001)
- Bill Haley's Original Comets (CD-DVD hybrid; Bradley House Records, 2003)
The group has also appeared as guest stars on a number of other recordings by Andy Lee Lang, Schurli Weiss and others.
Chart positions (US and UK)
- 1953
- Billboard or Cash Box charts:
- "Crazy Man, CrazyCrazy Man, Crazy"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week...
" - # 11, Cashbox; # 12, Billboard, June 27, 1953 - "Fractured" - #24, Billboard, August 1953
- "Live It Up" - #25, Billboard, October 1953
- 1954
- "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" - US # 23 on May 29, 1954 [for only one week]; UK # 17, in December 1954
- "Shake, Rattle and RollShake, Rattle and Roll"Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a prototypical twelve bar blues-form rock and roll song, written in 1954 by Jesse Stone under his assumed songwriting name Charles E. Calhoun. It was originally recorded by Big Joe Turner, and most successfully by Bill Haley & His Comets...
" – # 7 [04/54]; # 4 UK, 12/1954
- 1955
- "Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)" - # 11, Billboard; # 10 R&B chart 01/1955
- "Birth Of The BoogieBirth of the BoogieBirth Of The Boogie is a 1955 song composed by Bill Haley with Billy Williamson and Johnny Grande. The song was released as a Decca single by Bill Haley and His Comets....
" – #17, Billboard; # 18, Cashbox, 04/1955 - "Mambo Rock" – (flipside of "Birth Of The Boogie") # 17, Billboard, US; # 14, UK, 04/1955
- "Two Hound Dogs" – # 9, Billboard; # 31, Cashbox, (09/1955)
- "Burn That Candle" - # 22 Cashbox, 11/26/1955
- "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" – (A-side) of "Burn That Candle") #23, Billboard; #24 Cashbox Week ending NOVEMBER 19, 1955
- subsequent
- "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the ClockRock Around the Clock"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954...
" – US R'n'B #3 then # 1 (8 weeks), Billboard, US; # 1 (7 weeks), Cashbox, 06/1955; # 1, UK, 10/1955; UK recharts # 5 09/1956; # 24, 12/1956; #25 01/1957; #20 04/1968; #34 05/1968; #12 UK then #39 US, 04/1974
- "Razzle-Dazzle" - (A-side of "Two Hound Dogs") # 15, 09/1955; # 13 UK, 09/1956
- "Rock-A-Beatin' BoogieRock-A-Beatin' BoogieRock-A-Beatin' Boogie is a 1952 song composed by Bill Haley and first recorded by The Esquire Boys in 1952. Bill Haley and the Comets recorded the song in 1955 for Decca. The song was featured in the 1956 movie Rock Around the Clock....
" – (A-side) of "Burn That Candle") #23, Billboard; # 24, Cashbox; # 4 RU, 01/1956 - "The Saints Rock 'n' Roll" - # 18, 04/1956 # 5 UK, 05/56
- "R-O-C-K" - (A-side of "The Saints Rock and Roll") # 29, Billboard; # 21, Cashbox, 04/1956
- "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" - # 36, Cashbox; # 60, Billboard, 06/1956
- "Rockin' Through the Rye" - (flipside of "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy") #39, Cashbox; #78, Billboard; # 3, UK, 08/1956; # 19 (UK), 01/1957
- "See You Later, Alligator" – # 6, 02/1956; # 7 UK, 03/1956; # 12 UK, 09/1956 (new entry)
- "Rip It UpRip It Up (song)"Rip It Up" is a song written by Robert Blackwell and John Marascalco. It was first released by Bill Haley and his Comets and Little Richard in 1956. The Little Richard version hit number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart for two weeks and peaked at number seventeen on the pop chart.-Cover...
" – # 25, 08/1956; # 4 UK, 11/1956 - "Teenager's Mother (Are You Right?)" - (flipside of "Rip it Up") - #45, Cashbox; # 68, Billboard, 08/1956
- "Rudy's RockRudy's RockRudy's Rock is a 1956 instrumental composed by Bill Haley and Rudy Pompilli and released as a Decca single. The song appeared in the 1956 movie Rock Around the Clock....
""- # 34, Billboard, US; # 38, Cashbox; # 30 (UK), 11/1956; re-charts # 26 (UK), 12/1956 - "Don't Knock the Rock" - # 45, 12/1956; # 5, NME, UK, 02/1957
- "Rock the Joint" (1952 recording) - # 20 UK, 02/1957
- "Forty Cups of Coffee"/"Hook, Line and Sinker" - # 70, Billboard; "Forty Cups of Coffee", #46, Cashbox, 04/1957
- "(You Hit the Wrong Note) Billy Goat" - # 60, Billboard; # 54, Cashbox, 06/1957
- "Skinny Minnie" - # 22, Billboard; # 25, Cashbox, 05/1958
- "Lean Jean" - # 67, Billboard; # 52 Cashbox, 08/1958
- "Week End" - (recorded under the name The Kingsmen) # 35, Billboard Hot 100, November/1958
- "Joey's SongJoey's Song"Joey's Song" was a 1959 release for Bill Haley & His Comets. It was one of the band's last successful commercial releases. The song only made #46 on the Billboard Charts and #35 on Cashbox, however the song did make #1 in Australia for 8 weeks from December 12, 1959 to January 30, 1960 based on...
" - # 46, Billboard; # 35, Cashbox, US; # 1 (8 weeks), Kent Music ReportKent Music ReportThe Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
, Australia; # 26, Canada, 11/1959 - "Skokiaan (South African Song)Skokiaan"Skokiaan" is a popular tune originally written by Rhodesian musician August Musarurwa in the tsaba-tsaba big band style that succeeded marabi...
" - # 70, 1960 - "Tamiami" - # 79, Cashbox, March 12, 1960
- "Rock Around The Clock" - US Pop, # 39, Billboard; # 36, Cashbox; UK, # 12, in April 1974
- "Haley's Golden Medley" - (posthumous edit of "Rock Around the Clock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie", and "See You Later Alligator" with "A-B-C Boogie" as the B side) # 50, UK, 04/1981
- "Swing the Mood" - (featured samples of the original Decca recordings of "Rock Around the Clock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in a mix by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers) #1, (5 weeks), UK; #11, Billboard Hot 100, #7, Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, US, July 1989
American Chart Toppers (Top 100)
- Launched on January 1, 1955 (coast to coast, under control).
- (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock: enters the "A.C.T." on 21/05/1955 topping on 9/07/1955 for 8 weeks.
British Chart Toppers (Top 20)
- Also launched on January 1, 1955 (round 2 decades later under control of Scotland Yard).
- (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock: enters the B.C.T. on 7/01/1955 reaching #17 two weeks later, re-enters on 14/10/1955 topping on 25/11/1955 for 11 weeks then re-enters once again on 21/09/1956 peaking at #5 a few weeks later.***Also B.C.T.'s #25 in January 1957 dropping out for a week before making its fifth and final re-entry on Columbia/Brunswick at #22.
Mexico and India
In addition, Bill Haley and the Comets also scored chart hits in Latin America, Mexico, and India during the period 1961–1966 with recordings such as "Twist Español", "Florida Twist", "Spanish Twist", "Caravan Twist", and "Land of a Thousand DancesLand of a Thousand Dances
"Land of a Thousand Dances" is a song written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962. The song is famous for its "na na na na na" hook, which was added by Cannibal & the Headhunters in their version of the song in 1965, whose version peaked at number thirty...
". Reportedly, "Chick Safari", a 1960 recording, reached the No. 1 position on the Indian musical charts. Both the single "Florida Twist" and the Twist LP Record went to No. 1 in Mexico.
Based on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hits of the World chart, Bill Haley and the Comets had the following chart hits in Mexico and India in 1962:
- "Florida Twist", #3, Mexico, Billboard Hits of the World, April 28, 1962
- "Caravan Twist", #5, Mexico, Billboard Hits of the World, April 28, 1962
- "Spanish Twist", #3, India, Billboard Hits of the World, June 30, 1962
Sources
- Jim Dawson, Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution! (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2005)
- John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, Sound and Glory (Wilmington, DE: Dyne-American, 1990)
- John Swenson, Bill Haley (London: W.H. Allen, 1982)
- Discography information from Bill Haley Central and Bill Haley & His Comets, etc.: A Discography, an unpublished reference work by Herbert Kamitz.
- What Was The First Rock'N'Roll Record? ISBN 0-571-12939-0 (paper)
- Rock File no 4 - Panther Books Ltd., Great Britain, 1st Pub. 1976. (ISBN unavailable). ISBN possibly (0?)-586-04370-5.
- Billboard magazine.
- Cash Box magazine.