Bill Haley & His Comets were an American

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group recorded nine Top 20 singles, one of which was number one and three that were Top Ten. The single "

Rock Around the Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

" was the best-selling rock single in the history of the genre and maintained that position for several years. Band leader

Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...

had previously been a

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country 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. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

performer; after recording a

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

version of

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

and his

Kings of Rhythm Kings of Rhythm are an American music group formed in the late 1940s in Clarksdale, Mississippi and led by Ike Turner through to his death in 2007. Turner would retain the name of the band throughout his career, although the group has undergone c ...

's "

Rocket 88 "Rocket 88" (originally stylized as Rocket "88") is a song that was first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in March 1951. The recording was credited to " Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats"; while Brenston did provide the vocals, the band was actu ...

", one of the first rock and roll recordings, Haley changed his band's musical direction to rock music. They went on to record hit versions of "

Crazy Man, Crazy "Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song written by, and 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 chart ...

", " Shake, Rattle & Roll", the aforementioned "

", "Dim, Dim the Lights", "

Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" is a 1952 song composed by Bill Haley (musician), 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 Aro ...

", "Razzle-Dazzle", "

See You Later, Alligator "See You Later, Alligator" is a 1950s rock and roll song written and first recorded by American singer-songwriter Bobby Charles (credited as Robert Guidry). The song was a Top Ten hit for Bill Haley and His Comets in 1956 in the United States, ...

", " The Saints Rock 'N' Roll" and " Rip It Up". In 1956, the group appeared in two early rock and roll movies with disc jockey

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

: ''

'' and ''

Don't Knock the Rock ''Don't Knock the Rock'' is a 1956 American musical film starring Alan Dale and Alan Freed. Directed by Fred F. Sears, the film also features performances by Bill Haley & His Comets (who were top-billed), Little Richard, The Treniers, and Da ...

''. Though the group was considered to be at the forefront of rock and roll during the genre's formative years, the arrival of more risqué acts such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

by 1956 led the more clean-cut Haley and his Comets to decline in popularity. Haley would remain popular in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and go on to have a comeback as a nostalgia act in the 1970s, along with many of his contemporaries. Following Haley's death, no fewer than seven different groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming (with varying degrees of authority) to be the continuation of Haley's group. As of the end of 2014, four such groups were still performing in the United States and internationally.

Early history

In around the mid-1940s, Bill Haley performed with the Down Homers and formed a group called the Four Aces of Western Swing. The group that later became the Comets initially formed as "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" –1952, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel. The group was also the first to record a cover version (in July 1951) of

, originally a

jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...

song by

Jackie Brenston Jackie Brenston (August 24, 1928 or 1930Most published sources and the U.S. Social Security Death Index give 1930 as his year of birth. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and reportedly his gravestone give 1928. – December 15, 1979) ...

and his Delta Cats, who were actually

and his

. He did so for the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

-based

Holiday Records Holiday Records was an American record label 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 ide ...

label, in what is now recognized as a

style. It sold well and was followed in 1952 by a cover of a 1940s

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

song called " Rock the Joint" for Holiday's sister company,

Essex Records Essex Records was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1951 by Dave Miller (producer), David Miller primarily to record contemporary country and western, rhythm and blues as well as jazz and Gospel music, gospel. Jack Howard was the promot ...

. During those years however, Haley was considered one of the top cowboy yodelers in America. Many Saddlemen recordings were not released until the 1970s and 1980s, and highlights included romantic ballads such as "Rose of My Heart" and

western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country 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. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away". The original members of this group were Haley, pianist and accordion player

Johnny Grande John Andrew Grande (January 14, 1930 – June 3, 2006) was a member of Bill Haley's backing band, The Comets. Life and career Born in South Philadelphia, Grande played piano and accordion with Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, later known as Bill H ...

and

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

ist Billy Williamson. Al Thompson was the group's first bass player, followed by

Al Rex Albert Floyd Piccirilli (July 13, 1928 – May 24, 2020), also known by his stage name Al Rex, was an American bass player for Bill Haley & His Comets and its predecessor Bill Haley and the Saddlemen. Background He started playing for them in 19 ...

and

Marshall Lytle Marshall Edward Lytle (September 1, 1933 – May 25, 2013) was an American rock and roll Double bass, bassist, best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s. He played upright slap bass on the icon ...

. During the group's early years, it recorded under several other names, including Johnny Clifton and His String Band and Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos (although Browne, a female matinee idol of the time, did not actually appear on the record). "Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", and their immediate follow-ups were released under the increasingly incongruous Saddlemen name. It soon became apparent that a new name for the group was needed to fit the new musical style. A friend of Haley's, making note of the common mispronunciation of the name

Halley's Comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

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; ''Bill Haley'' by John Swenson; and in ''Still Rockin' Around the Clock'', a memoir by Comets bass player Marshall Lytle. The new name for the group was adopted in the fall of 1952, before the 1953 release of "

" which had some elements of

and

music. Members of the group at that time were Haley, Johnny Grande, Billy Williamson and Marshall Lytle. Grande usually played piano on records 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, Earl Famous. Displeased with the lineup, Haley sought out Dick Boccelli (also known as Dick Richards), who turned down the job but recommended a young drummer Charlie Higler. Soon after, Haley asked Richards again, who then accepted the role. During this time (and as late as the fall of 1955), Haley did not have a permanent lead guitar player, choosing to use session musicians on records and either playing lead guitar himself or having Williamson play steel solos. Even before the release of more successful records, the group had achieved greatness in some respects: "No one had blended country and R&B on a single before the Comets' "Rock the Joint". No one had scored an American Top 20 hit with anything that could really qualify as rock'n'roll before their single "Crazy Man Crazy" in 1953".

National success and "Rock Around the Clock"

In 1953, Haley scored his first national success with his original song, "Crazy Man, Crazy", a phrase Haley said he heard from his teenage audience, again released on Essex. Haley later claimed the recording sold a million copies, but this is considered an exaggeration. Some sources indicate that the recording—a blend of R&B, western and pop music—is a contender for the title of "first rock'n'roll record" while others state that it was merely "the first rock and roll song to be a hit on the pop charts". It was also said to be the first rock'n'roll recording to be played on national television in the United States (in an episode of Omnibus in 1953). On their last release from Essex, new band member Joey Ambrose is heard on the B-side, "Straight Jacket". In the spring of 1954, Haley and His Comets left Essex for New York-based

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

, where they were placed under the auspices of veteran producer

Milt Gabler Milton Gabler (May 20, 1911 – July 20, 2001) was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century. These included being the first person to deal in record reissues, the first to sel ...

, who would produce all of the band's recordings for the label and who had been involved in creating many proto-rock and roll recordings by the likes of the

Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (1911–1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (1916–1995), and mezz ...

and

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

dating back to the 1940s. One of Jordan's records,

Saturday Night Fish Fry "Saturday Night Fish Fry" is a jump blues song written by Louis Jordan and Ellis Lawrence Walsh, best known through the version recorded by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five. The recording is considered to be one of the "excellent and commercially ...

(1949), is considered to be a contender for the title of "first rock'n' roll record. Gabler later commented that "all the tricks I used with Louis Jordan, I used with Bill Haley". The group's first session, on April 12, 1954, yielded "

", which would become Haley's biggest hit and one of the most important records in rock and roll history. Sales of "Rock Around the Clock" started slowly, since it was the B-side of the single, but it performed well enough, that a second Decca session was commissioned. "

Shake, Rattle and Roll "Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as "''Charles Calhoun''", his songwriting name) and first recorded that year by Big Joe Turner, whose version ranked No. 127 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine li ...

" followed, a somewhat bowdlerized cover version of the

Big Joe Turner Joseph Vernon "Big Joe" Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him". Turner's greatest fa ...

recording released earlier in 1954. The single was one of Decca's best-selling records of 1954 and the seventh-best-selling record in November 1954. In 1954, Anita Gordon starred in ''Round Up of Rhythm'', a film short in which she, and Disc Jockey Bill Delzell, played ' Straight Jacket ' and 'Shake Rattle and Roll', which the group are seen playing. In March 1955, the group had four songs in Cash Box magazine's top 50 songs: "Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)"; "Birth of the Boogie"; "Mambo Rock"; and "Shake, Rattle and Roll". Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" never achieved the same level of historical importance as "Rock Around the Clock" but it predated it as the first international rock and roll hit. It did not attain the Number 1 position on the American charts, but it became Haley's first gold record.

recorded the song in 1956, combining Haley's arrangement with Turner's original lyrics, but his version was not a substantial hit. Late in 1954, Haley 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 John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

had reached Number 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'' is a 1955 American social drama film about an English teacher in an interracial inner-city school, based on the 1954 novel ''The Blackboard Jungle'' by Evan Hunter and adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Brook ...

,'' which was released on March 19, 1955. The song was re-released to coincide with the film and shifted to the single's A-side. Haley's recording became an anthem for rebellious 1950s youth and reached Number 1 on the pop charts, remaining there for eight weeks,
and went to Number 3 on the R&B chart. According to

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, the group was "the first rock'n'roll band" and the song was particularly "important because it was the first rock'n'roll record heard by millions of people worldwide". 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 is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

, but it all came like a thunderclap to most of their audience. In late 1954, Haley and His Comets appeared in a

short subject A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film or ...

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 Rudolph Clement Pompilii (April 16, 1924 – February 5, 1976) was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets. He was usually credited under the alternate spelling Rudy Pompilli and occasionally as ...

on sax, Al Rex (a former member of the Saddlemen) on double bass, and Ralph Jones on drums. In addition, lead guitarist

Franny Beecher Francis Eugene Beecher (September 29, 1921 – February 24, 2014) was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos that incorporated elements of jazz. He composed the ...

, who had been a session musician for Haley since

Danny Cedrone Donato Joseph "Danny" Cedrone (June 20, 1920 – June 17, 1954) was an American guitarist and bandleader, best known for his work with Bill Haley & His Comets on their epochal "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954. Career Cedrone was born in Jamesv ...

's death in the spring of 1954, became a full-time Comet and Haley's first performing lead guitarist (Cedrone had played the guitar solo on the original recording of "Rock Around the Clock" and died shortly after the recording session for "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in the summer of 1954). This version of the band became more popular than the earlier manifestation and appeared in several

motion pictures A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

over the next few years. Other hits recorded by the band included "

" in which Haley's frantic delivery contrasted with the

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

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". Bill Haley and the Comets performed "Rock Around the Clock" in an a cappella and a lip-synched version on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

television program ''

Texaco Star Theater ''Texaco Star Theater'' is an American comedy-variety show, broadcast on radio from 1938 to 1949 and telecast from 1948 to 1956. It was one of the first successful examples of American television broadcasting, remembered as the show that gave M ...

'' hosted by

Milton Berle Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over eight decades, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and ...

on May 31, 1955. Berle predicted that the song would go to Number 1, calling the band "A group of entertainers who are going right to the top." Berle also sang and danced to the song, which was performed by the entire cast of the show. This was one of the earliest nationally televised performances by a rock and roll band and provided the new musical genre a much wider audience. Bill Haley and the Comets were the first rock and roll performers to appear on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television musical variety program ''The

Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Nig ...

, or Toast of the Town'' on Sunday, August 7, 1955, in a broadcast from the Shakespeare Festival Theater in

Stratford, Connecticut Stratford is a New England town, town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, Connecticut, Greater Bri ...

. They performed a live version of "Rock Around the Clock" featuring Franny Beecher on lead guitar and Dick Richards on drums. The group made a second and final appearance on the ''Ed Sullivan Show'' on Sunday, April 28, 1957, performing "

Rudy's Rock "Rudy'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 Columbia Pictures movie ''Rock Around the Clock''. The single peaked at #34 on ''Billboard'' and #26 in the ...

" and "Forty Cups of Coffee". Bill Haley and the Comets appeared on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' hosted by

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television twice in 1957, on the prime-time show on October 28 and on the regular daytime show on November 27. The band also appeared on Dick Clark's ''Saturday Night Beechnut Show'' (also known as ''

The Dick Clark Show ''The Dick Clark Show'' (also known as ''Dick Clark's Saturday Night Beechnut Show'') was an American musical variety show broadcast weekly in the United States on the ABC television network 7:30-8 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Saturdays from February ...

''), a prime-time TV series from New York on March 22, 1958, during the first season (performing "Rock Around the Clock" and "Ooh, Look-a There, Ain't She Pretty") and on February 20, 1960 (performing "Rock Around the Clock" and "Tamiami"). In 1956, the group appeared in two of the earliest full-length rock and roll movies with

: ''

'' and ''

.'' The Platters were co-stars in the first movie, and

appeared in the second. ''Rock Around the Clock'' was produced by Sam Katzman (who would produce several Elvis Presley films in the 1960s) and directed by Fred F. Sears.

Decline in popularity

The band's popularity in the United States began to wane in 1956–57 as sexier, wilder acts such as

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

and

began to dominate the record charts (although Haley's cover version of Little Richard's " Rip It Up", released in direct competition with Little Richard's original recording, outsold the original). After "Skinny Minnie" hit the charts in 1958, Haley had little further success in the United States, although a spin-off group made up of Comets musicians dubbed The Kingsmen (no relation to the later group of " Louie, Louie" fame) had a hit with an instrumental, "Weekend", that same year. Overseas, however, Haley and his band continued to be popular, touring the United Kingdom in February 1957, when 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 Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

". 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 military duty in Germany, visited them backstage at some shows. On a free day in Berlin they performed two songs in the

Caterina Valente Caterina Germaine Maria Valente (14 January 1931 – 9 September 2024) was an Italian-French multilingual singer, guitarist, and dancer. She spoke six languages and sang in 13. While she was best known as a performer in Europe, Valente spent pa ...

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, notably Sally Starr (the hostess of a Philadelphia television children's program) 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 members of the Comets. The Clymax experiment only lasted about a year. In 1959, Haley's relationship with Decca collapsed; after a final set of instrumental-only recordings in the fall, Haley announced he was leaving Decca for the new

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

label, which released two more albums in 1960, which were moderately successful. In 1960 Franny Beecher and Rudi Pompilli left the Comets to start their own record label. Replacing Beecher was a 20-year-old guitarist, Johnny Kay, from Chester, Pennsylvania. Beecher later returned briefly to play with the Comets, when his record label failed to take off, sharing guitar duties with Kay. Kay left the band in 1966 but returned in the early 1970s for an aborted world tour. He appeared in the Wembley show, which was filmed and released as the London Rock and Roll Show.

Mexico and the late 1960s

In 1961–1962, Bill Haley y sus Cometas (as the band was known in Hispanic America) signed with the Orfeón label of Mexico and scored an unexpected hit with "Twist Español", a Spanish-language recording based on the twist dance craze, which was sweeping America at the time. Haley followed up with "Florida Twist" (#3 MEX, according to Billboard Hits Of The World 04.21.62), which was for a time the biggest-selling single in Mexican history. Although

Chubby Checker Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including the Twist, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnighters' R&B song " The Twis ...

and

Hank Ballard Hank Ballard (born John Henry Kendricks; November 18, 1927 – March 2, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter, the lead vocalist of the Midnighters and one of the first rock and roll artists to emerge in the early 1950s. He played an inte ...

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 of "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 Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more a ...

audience over studio recordings) on the Orfeon label and its subsidiary, Dimsa. They hosted a television series, ''Orfeon a Go-Go'', and made

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s in several movies, lip-synching some of their old hits. Haley, who was fluent in Spanish, recorded a number of songs in the language, but most of the band's output during these years was 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 is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

, 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 in that 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 ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

: a country-western song, "

Jealous Heart "Jealous Heart" is a classic C&W song written by American country music singer-songwriter Jenny Lou Carson. In the mid 1940s it spent nearly six months on the Country & Western charts. It was subsequently recorded by several pop singers. ...

", on which he was backed by a local

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music dating back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two ...

band (similar in style to the earlier "Jimmy Martinez"), and a late-60s-style rocker, "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 (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

label, a version of

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "The Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 number-one hit songs, with 26 more ...

'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. The group signed a lucrative deal with

Sonet Records Sonet Records was a jazz, pop and rock 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 1980 ...

of Sweden in 1968 and recorded a new version of "Rock Around the Clock", which hit the European charts that year. The band recorded 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 The 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. History As the Sixties ended, several early rock and rollers like ...

concert tours featuring artists of the 1950s and 1960s. At one of the first of these shows, held at the

Felt Forum The Theater at Madison Square Garden is a Theater (structure), theater located in New York City's Madison Square Garden (MSG). It seats between 2,000 and 5,600 people and is used for concerts, shows, sports, meetings, and other events. It is situ ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City, Haley received 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 Scrapbook'', which was recorded a few weeks later at the Bitter End club in New York. The band appeared in several concert films in the early 1970s, including ''

The London Rock and Roll Show The London Rock and Roll Show was a concert held at Wembley Stadium in Wembley Park, London, England, on 5 August 1972. It is often said to have been the first ever concert held at the stadium, but a rock concert featuring the bands Status Quo an ...

'' (for which Haley's 1960–66 lead guitarist, John Kay, briefly rejoined the band) 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 Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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 the film ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat ...

'' and for two years, on the television program ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

''.

Late career

In February 1976, Haley's saxophone player and best friend,

, died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

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 in the music media, such as ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

''. That year, the group also recorded an album, ''R-O-C-K'' at

Muscle Shoals Sound Studio Muscle Shoals Sound Studio is an American recording studio in Sheffield, Alabama, formed in 1969 by four session musicians known as The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. They had left nearby FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals to create their own record ...

for Sonet Records. According to one source, "he had conflicted feelings about fame, was extremely private, suffered chronic alcoholism, and troubled relationships". Having admitted to an alcohol problem in a 1974 radio interview for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, Haley continued to battle alcoholism into the 1970s. 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 saxophonist Pete Thomas, were assembled to perform as the Comets. Haley appeared on numerous television shows and 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 ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

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 for Sonet, completing the work that summer in Muscle Shoals; the album, ''Everyone Can Rock & Roll'', issued later in 1979, was the last release of new recordings by Haley before his death. On November 26, 1979, Haley and the Comets performed for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, 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". Haley made his final performances in South Africa in May and June 1980. Just before the South African tour commenced, Haley's health was reportedly failing, and he was reportedly diagnosed with a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

; a planned tour of Germany in the autumn of 1980 was subsequently cancelled. The tour was critically lambasted, but surviving recordings of a performance in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

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. Despite his illness, Haley started compiling notes for possible use as a basis for either a biographical film based on his life, or a published autobiography (accounts differ), and there were plans for him to record an album in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, when the brain tumor began affecting his behavior and he returned to his home in

Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley (Texas), Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city co ...

. The October 25, 1980, issue of German tabloid ''

Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...

'' reported that Haley had a brain tumor. Haley's British manager, Patrick Malynn, was quoted as saying that "Haley had taken a fit nddidn't recognize anyone anymore." In addition, a doctor who examined Haley said that the tumor was inoperable.''Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll''. John Swenson. 1982. Stein and Day. p. 154, Haley's widow Martha, who was with him in these troubling times, denied he had a brain tumor, as did his close friend Hugh McCallum. Martha and friends related that Haley did not want to go on the road anymore and that ticket sales for that planned tour of Germany in the fall of 1980 were slow. McCallum said, "It's my unproven gut feeling that that he brain tumorwas said to curtail talks about the tour and play the sympathy card." Haley returned to his home in

. At this time, Haley's alcoholism appeared to be worsening. According to Martha, by this time, she and Haley fought all the time, and she told him to stop drinking or move out. Eventually, he moved into a room in their pool house. Martha still took care of him and sometimes, he would come in the house to eat, but he ate very little. "There were days we never saw him," said his daughter Martha Maria. In addition to Haley's drinking problems, it was becoming evident that he was also developing serious mental health issues. Martha Maria said, "It was like sometimes he was drunk even when he wasn't drinking." After being picked up by the police in Harlingen several times for alleged intoxication, Martha had a judge put Haley in the hospital, where he was seen by a psychiatrist, who said Haley's brain was overproducing a chemical, like adrenaline. The doctor prescribed a medication to stop the overproduction, but said Haley would have to stop drinking. Martha said, "This is pointless." She took him home, however, fed him and gave him his first dose. As soon as he felt better, he went back out to his room in the pool house, and the downward spiral continued until his death. Media reports immediately following his death indicated that Haley displayed deranged and erratic behavior in the final weeks of his life. According to a biography of Haley by John Swenson, released in 1982,''Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll'', pp. 155-159, John Swenson. (1982. Pub. Stein and Day, 1982), Haley made a succession of bizarre, mostly monologue late-night phone calls to friends and relatives toward the end of his life in which he was semi-coherent. His first wife has been quoted as saying, "He would call you and ramble, dwelling on the past..." The biography also describes Haley painting the windows of his home black, but there is little other information available about his final days. Haley died in his sleep of an apparent

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on February 9, 1981, at the age of 55, at his home in Harlingen, Texas. He was discovered lying motionless on his bed by a friend who had stopped by to visit him. The friend immediately called the police, and Haley was pronounced dead at the scene. Haley's death certificate gave "natural causes, most likely a heart attack" as the cause of death. Following a small funeral service attended by 75 people, Haley was cremated in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

. In April 1981, Bill Haley & His Comets returned to the British musical charts once again when MCA Records (inheritors of the Decca catalogue) 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 was a Dutch novelty pop act that was successful in 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 always known as Starsou ...

" format. The single reached Number 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 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

. At that time, supporting bands were not also named to the Hall of Fame. This policy was subsequently changed, and in 2012 a special committee of the Hall of Fame inducted Joey Ambrose, Fran Beecher, Danny Cedrone, Johnny Grande, Ralph Jones, Marshall Lytle, Billy Pompilli, Al Rex, Dick Richards, and Billy Williamson. Bill Haley and His Comets were also inducted into the

Rockabilly Hall of Fame The original Rockabilly Hall of Fame was an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly. Headquartered in Nashville ...

. In June 2005, Bill Haley And His Comets were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. 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, leaving a space blank for Haley.

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 1970s and 1980s, including one contingent (organized by

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

-based piano player Joey Welz, who played piano for the Comets from 1962 to 1965) that appeared on ''

The Tomorrow Show ''The Tomorrow Show'' (also known as ''Tomorrow with Tom Snyder'' or ''Tomorrow'' and, after 1980, ''Tomorrow Coast to Coast'') is an American late-night television talk show hosted by Tom Snyder that aired on NBC in first-run form from October ...

'', and another run by an

impersonator, Joey Rand (this group later lost a legal action over the right to use the Comets name). Only one group was sent out to perform by Haley himself and his management and production company, consisting of musicians who had played with Haley throughout the 1960s and 1970s—lead guitarist "Nick Masters" (Mathias Nicholas Nastos), bassist Ray Cawley, singer Ray "Pudge" Parsons, and drummer Buddy Dee—and who had continued to perform as the Comets between gigs and during Haley's retirement. This group rerecorded "Rock Around the Clock" for the television series ''Happy Days''. 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 in which the use of the Comets name is in dispute, A Tribute to Bill Haley and The Original Band. The basic lineup of this group from 1987 to May 2006 was 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 and 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 and have appeared on dozens of television shows. In March 2007 they 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 led by 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. (The 1959 album "Strictly Instrumental" on Decca was Rappa's first recording session with Bill Haley & His Comets. Haley had used Rappa as a fill-in player on live gigs for several years prior to that.) Both these musicians claim

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

ownership of the name "Bill Haley's Comets"; 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's and Lane's bands have, from time to time, recruited other former Comets for their lineups (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 connection with Bill Haley. Rappa incorporated numerous professional musicians from the southern Indiana area (Guitarist Warren Batts, Joe Esarey, Dave Matthews, Joe Denton, saxophonist John Urbina, bassist Jody Hamilton Miley (previous bassist with the George Jones Show), and others) to make a full band. Rappa performed his Upright Bass show before thousands in audiences all over the country. Members of Rappa's "Comets" went on to form the LocoMotion Showband and continued touring the United States without Rappa adding Galen Deig (Drums) and Jimmy Baze (Bass) before eventually disbanding. Esarey went on to graduate from Cedarville University and Luther Rice Theological Seminary. He has since pastored churches and produced his own saxophone instrumental albums. Several of the members are now active in a very popular Southern Indiana 50's / 60's band called The Duke Boys. 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 concert at the

Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established under that name on August 14, 1993, co-owned by actors and ''21 Jump Street'' co-stars Johnny Depp a ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

on July 6, 2005, 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. The 1954–55 Comets were also joined on stage by Bill Haley Jr. during several appearances in 2005 at Bubba Mac's in Somers Point, New Jersey, and at a 2005 concert recognizing the tenure of Bill Haley and the Saddlemen at the Twin Bars in Gloucester City, New Jersey. In 2006, the 1954–55 Comets spent much of the year in residence at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, Missouri, Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County, Missouri, Stone County. Branson is in the Ozarks, Ozark Mountain ...

. Meanwhile, the John Lane edition of Bill Haley's Comets recorded an 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 a founding member of the band, died after a short illness. The following month, 85-year-old guitarist

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) continued to perform in Branson with new musicians taking over the keyboard and lead guitar positions. During September 2006,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

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 lineup, including Grande. Lytle died in 2013, Beecher in 2014. The last remaining members of the 1954–55 Comets, Dick Richards and Joey Ambrose, continued to perform as the Comets as of mid-2018, sometimes augmented by 1970s-era Comet Bill Turner on lead guitar. 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 aforementioned Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany. He will also join the New Comets during their Remember Bill Haley Tour 2011 with 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. In 2011, Haley's son Bill Jr. formed the band Bill Haley Jr. and the Comets, and created a Rock 'n' Roll History Show. On July 12, 2019, drummer Dick Richards died at age 95 in

Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City is a City (New Jersey), city in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County, and is ...

. He was born Richard Marley Boccelli on February 12, 1924, in

Yeadon, Pennsylvania Yeadon is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders the city of Philadelphia. The population was 11,443 at the 2010 census. Geography Yeadon is located in eastern Delaware County at (39.932862, -75.251540). It is bor ...

. On May 24, 2020, ex-Comet bassist, Albert "Al Rex" Piccirilli, died. Al Rappa died on July 25, 2021, aged 94. Original saxophone player Joseph Frank D'Ambrosio (stage name Joey Ambrose; March 23, 1934 – August 9, 2021), played on the hit recording of "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954 but from September 1955 was replaced long-term by Rudy Pompilli until Rudy's death 20 years later. Joey Ambrose remained a musician and was the last Comet to pass away, at 87, on August 9, 2021.

Confirmed members

Original Comets tenure, 1952–1979

Guitarists

- vocals, rhythm guitar (September 1952–1977, 1979); occasional lead guitar (September 1952–1955; died 1981) *

- lead guitar (August 1955–1960, 1961–1962) (part-time from August 1954; died 2014) * Johnny Kay - lead guitar (1960–1966, 1972–July 1974; died 2022) * Bill Turner - lead guitar (July 1974–December 1976) * Nick Masters - lead guitar (1970s)

Steel guitarists

* Billy Williamson - steel (Hawaiian) guitar (1952–1963; died 1996) *Nick Nastos - pedal steel guitar (1964–1965, 1968–1974) *Fritz Riddell - pedal steel guitar (1966–1968)

Pianists

- piano, accordion (September 1952 – early 1963; died 2006) * Joey Welz - piano (early 1963–1966)

Bassists

- bass (1952–September 1955; died 2014) *

- bass (September 1955–1958; died 2020) *Al Pompilli - bass (1958) *Al Rappa - bass (1959–1966; died 2021) *Louis Torres - bass (1967–1968) *Ray Cawley - bass (1969–1974) *

Dave "Chico" Ryan David "Chico" Ryan (born David-Allen Ryan; April 9, 1948 – July 26, 1998), also called Chico Bo-Wico, was an American bass guitarist and singer. He was a member of The Happenings and Sha Na Na. Career Ryan was born in Arlington, Massachusett ...

- bass (1979; died 1998)

Drummers

*Earl Famous - drums (September 1952 – March 1954) *Dick Richards - drums (March 1954 – September 1955; died 2019) *Don Raymond - drums (September 1955 – November 1955) *

Ralph Jones Ralph Robert "Curley" Jones (September 22, 1880 – July 26, 1951) was an American football and basketball coach. He also served as the head coach for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) from 1930 to 1932, leading them to the ...

- drums (November 1955–1960; died 2000) *John Lane - drums (1965–1968; died 2007) *Buddy Dee - drums (1970–July 1974)

Saxophonists

* Joey Ambrose - tenor saxophone (early 1954 – September 1955; died 2021) *

- tenor saxophone (September 1955–1960, 1962–1976; died 1976) *Al Dean - tenor saxophone (1960–1961) * Pete Thomas - saxophone (1979)

Discography

Studio albums

* 1954 – '' Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets'' (compilation) * 1955 – ''

Shake, Rattle And Roll "Shake, Rattle and Roll" is a song written in 1954 by Jesse Stone (usually credited as "''Charles Calhoun''", his songwriting name) and first recorded that year by Big Joe Turner, whose version ranked No. 127 on the ''Rolling Stone'' magazine li ...

'' (compilation) * 1955 – ''

Rock Around The Clock "Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers (the latter being under the pseudonym "Jimmy De Knight") in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was reco ...

'' (compilation) * 1956 – ''

Rock 'n' Roll Stage Show ''Rock 'n Roll Stage Show'' is the first studio album and fourth overall album by rock and roll band 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 rel ...

'' (Decca 1945) * 1957 – '' Rockin' the Oldies'' (Decca 1969) * 1958 – '' Rockin' Around the World'' (Decca 1992) * 1959 – '' Bill Haley's Chicks'' (Decca 1921) * 1959 – '' Strictly Instrumental'' (Decca 1964) * 1960 – ''

Bill Haley and His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

'' (Warner Bros. 1978) * 1960 – '' Haley's Juke Box'' (Warner Bros. 1991) * 1961 – ''Twist'' ( Dimsa 1955) * 1961 – ''Bikini Twist'' (Dimsa 8259) * 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'' (re-recordings) (Dimsa 8381) * 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) * 1979 – ''Everyone Can Rock and Roll'' (Sonet 808)

Grammy Hall of Fame

"Rock Around the Clock" was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

, a Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."

References

Bibliography

* 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, Delaware: Dyne-American, 1990) * John Swenson, ''Bill Haley'' (London: W.H. Allen, 1982) * Discography information fro
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?'' (paper) * Charlie Gillette and SImon Frith, eds., ''Rock File 4'' (Panther Books, 1976) * ''Billboard'' magazine * ''Cash Box'' magazine

Notes

External links

* *

Bill Haley Central Web Portal
– dead link * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haley and His Comets, Bill Atlantic Records artists Bill Haley Brunswick Records artists Charly Records artists Decca Records artists London Records artists Musical groups established in 1947 Musical groups disestablished in 1981 1947 establishments in Pennsylvania 1981 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia Rock music groups from Pennsylvania American rockabilly music groups Roulette Records artists American rock and roll music groups Warner Records artists Spanish-language musical groups of the United States