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Saddlemen
Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band founded in 1947 that continued 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 nine Top 20 singles, one of which was number one and three that were Top Ten. The single "Rock Around the Clock" was the best-selling rock single in the history of the genre and maintained that position for several years. Band leader Bill Haley had previously been a Western swing performer; after recording a rockabilly version of Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm's "Rocket 88", one of the first rock and roll recordings, Haley changed his band's musical direction to rock music. 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 and Little Richard by 1956 led the more clean-cut Haley and his Comets to decline in popularity. Hale ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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-selling hits such as "Rock Around the Clock", " See You Later, Alligator", " Shake, Rattle and Roll", " Rocket 88", " Skinny Minnie", and "Razzle Dazzle". Haley has sold over 60 million records worldwide. In 1987, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Biography Early life and career Haley was born July 6, 1925 in Highland Park, Michigan. In 1929, the four-year-old Haley underwent an inner-ear mastoid operation which accidentally severed an optic nerve, leaving him blind in his left eye for the rest of his life. It is said that he adopted his trademark kiss curl over his right eye to draw attention from his left, but it also became his "gimmick", and added to his popularity. As a result of the effects of the Grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Haley & His Comets, from 1949 to 1962-63. One of his jobs was to keep track of musical arrangements for the group as he was one of the few members who could read sheet music. Grande and steel guitarist Billy Williamson were both members of the country band, Southern Swingsters before convincing Bill Haley to start a new group, the Saddlemen in 1949. Grande was one of the original business partners who formed the Saddlemen (the other partners being Bill Haley himself (d. 1981) and steel guitarist Billy Williamson (d. 1995)). During the Labor Day weekend of 1952, the Saddlemen, realizing that their musical style was moving away from country and western decided to change their name to The Comets. Although primarily a piano player, Grande pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 identified as rock and roll, most notably "Rocket 88" by Bill Haley and His Saddlemen (later known as The Comets) in 1951. History Dave Miller owned a radio station based in Chester, Pennsylvania in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He also owned the record labels, Holiday and Essex Records. In 1947, he hired a young musician named Bill Haley to work at his radio station. Haley had a band called the Four Aces of Western Swing which disbanded in 1949-1950 to form the Saddlemen. The group acted as the radio station house band, playing country music live on air. According to Miller, in a 1980 interview with Stuart Colman for BBC Radio, he took a business trip to the Southern United States in 1951, and obtained a copy of Rocket 88, a rhythm and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 musical styles such as country music, country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass music, bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" (from "rock 'n' roll") and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music (often called "Hillbilly#Music, hillbilly music" in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues. Defining features of the rockabilly sound included strong rhythms, boogie woogie piano riffs, vocal twangs, doo-wop acapella singing, and common use of the tape echo; bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 1949 and became noted for "wild antics" on stage. He formed his own band, Al Rex and the Regaleers in 1960. He left the music industry soon after, although he continued to perform on occasion. He later had a wife and fathered eight children. On May 24, 2020, he died in his Norristown, Pennsylvania home from pneumonia. He was the last surviving of the Comets. Film appearances He appeared as a member of the band in the 1950s films ''Rock Around the Clock'' (1956) 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, Little Richard, The Treniers, and Dave Appell and the App ...'' (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Williamson (guitarist)
William Famous Williamson (February 9, 1925 – March 22, 1996) was the American steel guitar player for Bill Haley and His Saddlemen, and its successor group Bill Haley & His Comets, from 1949 to 1963. Life and career A founding member of both the Saddlemen and the Comets, Williamson often acted as the band's emcee and comic relief during live concerts; he also played lead guitar on occasion. He was with the band when they recorded "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954 and appeared with the band when they performed the song on the Milton Berle Show and the Ed Sullivan Show in 1955. Williamson had the distinction of being the only Comet allowed to record lead vocal tracks during Haley's tenure at Decca Records (such as the song "Hide and Seek" on their 1956 album, '' Rock and Roll Stage Show'' and "B.B. Betty" on the 1958 '' Bill Haley's Chicks'' album. He also shared a number of songwriting credits with Haley. His wife, Catherine Cafra, was also credited as co-writer of a number of son ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Jamesville, New York. Cedrone's musical career began in the 1940s, but he came into his own in the early 1950s, first as a session guitarist hired by what was then a country and western musical group based out of Chester, Pennsylvania called Bill Haley and His Saddlemen. In 1951, Cedrone played lead on their recording of " Rocket 88" which is considered one of the first acknowledged rock and roll recordings. At around this time, Cedrone formed his own group, The Esquire Boys and this is believed to be one of the reasons he never joined Haley's group as a full-time member. In 1952, Cedrone played lead guitar on Haley's version of "Rock the Joint", and his swift guitar solo, which combined a jazz-influenced first half followed by a lightning-fast d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshall Lytle
Marshall Edward Lytle (September 1, 1933 – May 25, 2013) was an American rock and roll 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 iconic 1950s rock and roll records "Crazy Man, Crazy", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", and "Rock Around the Clock". Career Born in Old Fort, North Carolina, Lytle was a guitar player before joining Bill Haley's country music group, The Saddlemen, in 1951. But Lytle was hired to play double bass for the group, replacing departing musician Al Rex, so Haley taught Lytle the basics of slap bass playing. Lytle, who was only a teenager at the time, grew a moustache in order to look a little older, and became a full-time member of The Saddlemen and, in September 1952, he was with the group when they changed their name to Bill Haley & His Comets. Soon after, Lytle co-wrote with Haley the band's first national hit, "Crazy Man, Crazy" although he did not receive co-autho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 1980s. Dag Haeggqvist, the owner of Gazell Records, became an executive of the label in 1960, and Sonet eventually acquired Gazell's catalogue. It was distributed by Pickwick Records in North America in the 1960s, where it was involved in releasing some of Bill Haley's latter-day material. The label set up offices throughout Europe, including the United Kingdom. It also expanded into film, video, and other visual arts in addition to music. The label released both new material and reissues, many by Scandinavian artists in addition to albums by American jazz musicians as well as non-jazz material such as pop and rock music. It acquired the Danish label Storyville Records at some point. Sonet Records was acquired by PolyGram in 1991. Artists who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, United Artists released ''Forest of the Amazons,'' a cantata by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos adapted from the music he composed for MGM's ''Green Mansions'', with the composer conducting the Symphony of the Air. Brazilian soprano Bidu Sayão was the featured soloist on the unusual recording, which was released on both LP and reel-to-reel tape. United Artists releases included soundtracks and cover versions from the James Bond movies, ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' (1963), '' A Hard Day's Night'' starring the Beatles (1964), ''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965), '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' (1966), '' Fiddler on the Roof'' (1971), and '' Man of La Mancha'' (1972). The soundtrack album of United Art ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roulette Records
Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed director. The label had known ties to New York City mobsters. Levy ran the label with an iron fist. In 1958 Roost Records was purchased. Goldner subsequently bowed out of his partnership interest in Roulette and, to cover his gambling debts, sold his record labels Tico, Rama, Gee and—years later—End and Gone to Levy, who grouped them into Roulette. Peretti and Creatore later left Roulette and worked as freelance producers for RCA Records throughout the 1960s. They co-founded Avco Records in 1969. In 1971 Roulette took over the catalog of Jubilee Records. History During the late 1950s, Roulette scored hits by Buddy Knox, Jimmy Bowen, The Playmates, Jimmie Rodgers, Ronnie Hawkins and The Delicates as well as releasing albums by Pearl Bailey, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Rudy Pell. Biography Pompilli was born in Chester, Pennsylvania. Occasional sources spell his first name as "Rudi", although Pompilli himself never used this form. Pompilli was skilled at playing both saxophone and clarinet, and spent the beginning of his career playing in jazz bands. In 1953, he was with the Ralph Marterie Orchestra. That orchestra coincidentally scored a hit with a cover version of Haley's "Crazy Man, Crazy", though research by Haley historian Chris Gardner found no evidence that Pompilli performed on that recording. Pompilli was invited to join the Comets in September 1955, after Haley's previous sax player, Joey Ambrose, quit along with two other Comets to form The Jodimars. According to Haley, the young horn playe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
