John Andrew Grande (January 14, 1930 – June 3, 2006) was a member of

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 ...

's backing band,

The Comets 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 ...

Life and career

Born in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

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 Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend of 1952, the Saddlemen, realizing that their musical style was moving away from

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

decided to change their name to The Comets. Although primarily a piano player, Grande performed on accordion during most live shows as it was easier to transport than a piano, plus the hand-held instrument allowed him to participate more directly in the band's acrobatic instrumentals, such as "Rudy's Rock". Grande was one of the musicians involved in the classic 1954 recording of "

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 record ...

". He also appeared with the band in most of their motion picture appearances, including ''

'' 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 ...

''. He left the group in either late 1962 or early 1963 (accounts differ), following a tour of Germany. In 1987, he reunited with several other members of the 1954-55 Comets and he continued to tour the world, perform and record with the group for the next twenty years.

Death

In the spring of 2006 the onset of ill health forced Grande to temporarily take a hiatus from the Comets, who at the time were engaged in a long-term gig at

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

Theater in

Branson, Missouri Branson is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is situated in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Reuben Branson, postma ...

. He died in his sleep in

Clarksville, Tennessee Clarksville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States. It is the fifth-largest city in the state behind Nashville, Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga. The city had a population of 166,722 as of the 202 ...

of cancer-related causes a few weeks later, on June 3, 2006.

Legacy

In 2012, he was inducted into

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes 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 an ...

as a member of the Comets by a special committee aimed at correcting the mistake of not inducting the group with Bill Haley in 1987.

Compositions

His compositions included " Birth Of The Boogie", "A Rockin' Little Tune", "Goofin' Around" with Franny Beecher, "Lean Jean", "Better Believe It", "China Twist", "Happy Twist", "Twist del Dia", "Tampico Twist", and "Two Shadows".

References

General references

* * John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, Sound and Glory (Wilmington, DE: Dyne-American, 1990) * John Swenson, Bill Haley (London: W.H. Allen, 1982)

External links

*
Obituary from ''Independent''

Obituary from ''The New York Sun''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grande, Johnny 1930 births 2006 deaths American accordionists American rock pianists American male pianists American people of Italian descent Musicians from Philadelphia Bill Haley & His Comets members Deaths from cancer in Tennessee 20th-century accordionists 20th-century American male musicians