Bill Haley
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William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was 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 ...
musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group
Bill Haley & 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 ...
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 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 ...
.


Early life and career

Haley was born July 6, 1925, in Highland Park,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. 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
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
on the
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area, his father moved the family to Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, when Bill was seven years old. Haley's father William Albert Haley (1900–1956) was from
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
and played the
banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...
and
mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
, and his mother, Maude Green (1895–1955), who was originally from
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in
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,
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, was a technically accomplished
keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...
with classical training. Haley told the story that when he made a simulated guitar out of cardboard, his parents bought him a real one. One of his first appearances was in 1938 for a Bethel Junior baseball team entertainment event, performing guitar and songs when he was 13 years old. The anonymous sleeve notes accompanying the 1956 Decca album ''Rock Around the Clock'' describe Haley's early life and career: "When Bill Haley was fifteen . 1940he left home with his guitar and very little else and set out on the hard road to fame and fortune. The next few years, continuing this story in a fairy-tale manner, were hard and poverty-stricken, but crammed full of useful experience. Apart from learning how to exist on one meal a day and other artistic exercises, he worked at an open-air park show, sang and yodelled with any band that would have him, and worked with a traveling medicine show. Eventually he got a job with a popular group known as the 'Down Homers' while they were in
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,
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
. Soon after this he decided, as all successful people must decide at some time or another, to be his own boss again – and he has been that ever since." These notes fail to account for his early band, known as the Four Aces of Western Swing. During the 1940s Haley was considered one of the top cowboy yodelers in America as "Silver Yodeling Bill Haley". One source states that Haley started his career as "The Rambling Yodeler" in a country band, The Saddlemen. The sleeve notes conclude: "For six years Bill Haley was a musical director of Radio Station WPWA in
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, Pennsylvania, and led his own band all through this period. It was then known as Bill Haley's Saddlemen, indicating their definite leaning toward the tough Western style. They continued playing in clubs as well as over the radio around
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 ...
, and in 1951 made their first recordings on Ed Wilson's Keystone Records in Philadelphia." The group subsequently signed with Dave Miller's Holiday Records and, on June 14, 1951, the Saddlemen recorded a cover of the Delta Cats " Rocket 88".


Bill Haley and His Comets

During the Labor Day weekend in 1952, the Saddlemen were renamed Bill Haley with Haley's Comets. The name was inspired by the supposedly official pronunciation of
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 ...
and was suggested by Bob Johnson, program director at radio station WPWA where Bill Haley had a live radio program from 12:00noon to 1:00p.m. In 1953, Haley's recording of " Crazy Man, Crazy" (co-written by Haley and his bass player, Marshall Lytle, although Lytle would not receive credit until 2001) hit the American charts, peaking at number 12 on ''Billboard'' and number 11 on ''Cash Box''. Some sources indicate that this was the first
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 ...
record in history, although
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 ...
might be a more appropriate term. By the time this record was released, the group's name had been revised to using the term "Comets" instead of "Saddlemen". In 1954, Haley recorded " Rock Around the Clock". Initially, it was only a moderate success, peaking at number 36 on the ''Cash Box'' pop singles chart and staying on the charts for just two weeks. On re-release, the record reached number one on July 9, 1955. Haley had already had a worldwide hit with " Shake, Rattle and Roll", another
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 ...
cover in this case from
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 ...
, which went on to sell a million copies and was the first rock 'n' roll song to enter the UK Singles Chart in December 1954, becoming a gold record. He retained elements of the original (which was slow blues), but sped it up with some country music aspects into the song (specifically, Western swing) and changed up the lyrics. Haley and his band were important in launching the music known as "Rock and Roll" to a wider audience after a period of it being considered an underground genre. When "Rock Around the Clock" appeared as the theme song of the 1955 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 ...
'' starring
Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006), known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-born American actor. He was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of th ...
, it soared to the top of the American ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' chart for eight weeks. The single is commonly used as a convenient line of demarcation between the "rock era" and the music industry that preceded it. ''Billboard'' separated its statistical tabulations into 1890–1954 and 1955–present. After the record rose to number one, Haley became widely popular with those who had come to embrace the new style of music. With the song's success, the age of rock music began overnight and ended the dominance of the jazz and pop standards performed by
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
,
Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...
,
Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...
,
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
, Eddie Fisher, and
Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...
. "Rock Around the Clock" was also the first record to sell over one million copies in both
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and
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. Danny Cedrone, not a member of The Comets, played the guitar solo on the record, though did not live long enough to see the song's success as he died shortly after the recording following a fall down stairs at his home, aged 33. Bill Haley and the Comets performed "Rock Around the Clock" on the ''
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 on May 31, 1955, on
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in an'' a cappella'' and lip-synched version. Berle predicted that the song would go number one: "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 with a much wider audience. Bill Haley and the Comets were the first rock and roll act to appear on American musical variety series 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 ...
'' on August 7, 1955, on CBS in a broadcast that originated from the Shakespeare Festival Theater in
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. They performed a live version of "Rock Around the Clock" with Franny Beecher on lead guitar and Dick Richards on drums. The band made their second appearance on the show on Sunday, April 28, 1957, performing the songs " Rudy's Rock" and "Forty Cups of Coffee". Later on in 1957, Haley became the first major American rock singer to tour Europe. Haley continued to score hits throughout the 1950s such as " See You Later, Alligator" and he starred in the first rock and roll musical films '' Rock Around the Clock'' and '' Don't Knock the Rock'', both in 1956. Haley was already 30 years old, and his popularity was soon eclipsed in the United States by the younger
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 ...
, but continued to enjoy great popularity in Latin America, Europe, and Australia during the 1960s. 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), ...
on ABC twice in 1957, on the prime time show October 28, 1957, and on the regular daytime show on November 27, 1957. The band also appeared on Dick Clark's ''Saturday Night Beechnut Show'', also known as '' The Dick Clark Show'', a primetime TV series from New York on March 22, 1958, during the first season and on February 20, 1960, performing "Rock Around the Clock"; "Shake, Rattle and Roll"; and "Tamiami".


Personal life


Marriages

Haley was married at least three times: * Dorothy Crowe (December 11, 1946 – November 14, 1952) (divorced, two children) * Barbara Joan Cupchak (November 18, 1952 – 1960) (divorced, five children) * Martha Valaesco (1963 – February 9, 1981)


Children

Haley had at least ten children. John W. Haley, his eldest son, wrote ''Sound and Glory'', a biography of Haley. His youngest daughter, Gina Haley, is a professional musician based in
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. Scott Haley is an athlete. His youngest son Pedro is also a musician. He also had a daughter, Martha Maria, from his marriage with Martha Velasco. Bill Haley Jr., Haley's second son and first with Joan Barbara "Cuppy" Haley-Hahn, publishes a regional business magazine. In 2011, he formed a tribute band, performing his father's music and telling the stories behind the songs.


Last years and death

Haley failed to achieve the level of success enjoyed by contemporaries such as
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 ...
and
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 ...
. 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. Nonetheless, he and his band continued to be a popular touring act, benefiting from a 1950s nostalgia movement that began in the late 1960s and the signing of a lucrative record deal with the European Sonet label. After performing 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. ...
at the
Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...
on November 26, 1979, 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." At the same 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 at his home in Harlingen on February9, 1981, aged 55. 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 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 ...
" as being the cause. Following a small funeral service attended by 75 people, Haley was cremated in
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.


Tributes and legacy

Haley received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
at 6350
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on February8, 1960, for his contributions to the music industry. In 1982, Haley's "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 special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings at least 25 years old and with "qualitative or historical significance". Haley was posthumously 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 ...
in 1987. His son Pedro represented him at the ceremony. The Comets were separately inducted into the Hall of Fame as a group in 2012, after a rule change allowed the induction of backing groups. Songwriters Tom Russell and Dave Alvin addressed Haley's demise in musical terms with "Haley's Comet" on Alvin's 1991 album ''Blue Blvd.'' Dwight Yoakam sang backup on the tribute. Surviving members of the 1954–55 contingent of Haley's Comets reunited in the late 1980s and continued to perform for many years around the world. They released a concert DVD in 2004 on Hydra Records, played the Viper Room in West Hollywood in 2005, and performed at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in
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, beginning in 2006–07. As of 2014, only two members of this particular contingent were still alive (Joey Ambrose and Dick Richards), but they continued to perform in Branson and Europe. In 2019, Dick Richards, the drummer of the Comets, died at the age of 95. As of 2014, at least two other groups continue to perform in North America under the Comets name. In February 2006, the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
announced the naming of asteroid 79896 Billhaley to mark the 25th anniversary of Haley's death. In March 2007, the Original Comets opened the Bill Haley Museum in Munich, Germany. On October 27, 2007, ex-Comets guitar player Bill Turner opened the Bill Haley Museum for the public. In December 2017, Haley was inducted into the
National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founde ...
.


Published biographies

* Bill Haley Jr. and Peter Benjaminson, ''Crazy Man, Crazy: The Bill Haley Story'' ,(2019) * John Swenson, ''Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll'' (),(1982) * John W. Haley with John von Hoëlle, ''Sound and Glory: The Incredible Story of Bill Haley, the Father of Rock 'N' Roll and the Music That Shook the World'' (), (1992) * Jim Dawson, ''Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution!'' (), (2005) * Otto Fuchs, ''Bill Haley: The Father of Rock 'n' Roll'', (), (2011)


Film portrayals

Unlike his contemporaries, Haley has rarely been portrayed on screen. Following the success of '' The Buddy Holly Story'' in 1978, Haley expressed interest in having his life story committed to film, but this never came to fruition. In the 1980s and early 1990s, numerous media reports emerged stating that plans were underway to do a biopic based upon Haley's life, with
Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor. He is a three-time Emmy Award, Emmy, two-time Golden Globe Award, Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nomine ...
,
Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...
and
John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American comedian and actor. He was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason Ritter, Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is best known for ...
all at one point being mentioned as actors in line to play Haley (according to '' Goldmine Magazine'', Ritter attempted to buy the film rights to ''Sound and Glory''). Haley has been portrayed by: * John Paramor in '' Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe'' (1985) * Michael Daingerfield in ''Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story'' (1999) * Dicky Barrett in '' Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story'' (1999)


Discography

Before the formation of Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, which later became the Comets, Haley released several singles with other groups. Dates are approximate due to lack of documentation. As Bill Haley and the Four Aces of Western Swing: 1948 * '' Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals'' (vocal by Tex King)/''Four Leaf Clover Blues'' (
Cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...
CR1201) August 1948 1949 * ''Tennessee Border/ Candy Kisses'' (Cowboy CR1202) March 1949 As Johnny Clifton and His String Band: 1950 * ''Stand Up and Be Counted/Loveless Blues'' ( Center C102) Many Haley discographies list two 1946 recordings by the Down Homers released on the Vogue Records label as featuring Haley. Haley historian Chris Gardner, as well as surviving members of the group, have confirmed that the two singles: "Out Where the West Winds Blow"/"Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone" (Vogue R736) and "Boogie Woogie Yodel"/"Baby I Found Out All About You" (Vogue R786) do not feature Haley. However, the tracks were nonetheless included in the compilation box set ''Rock 'n' Roll Arrives'' released by
Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging primarily in country music but varying in everything from 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History T ...
in 2006.


Compositions

Haley's compositions included "Four Leaf Clover Blues" in 1948; "Rose of My Heart"; "Yodel Your Blues Away"; " Crazy Man, Crazy"; "What'Cha Gonna Do"; " Fractured"; " Live It Up"; "Farewell, So Long, Goodbye"; " Real Rock Drive"; "Rocking Chair on the Moon"; "Sundown Boogie"; "Green Tree Boogie"; "Tearstains on My Heart"; "Down Deep in My Heart"; "Straight Jacket"; " Birth of the Boogie"; " Two Hound Dogs"; "
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 ...
"; "
Hot Dog Buddy Buddy "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" is a 1956 rock and roll song composed by Bill Haley (musician), Bill Haley and released as a Decca single and also on Brunswick. The song appeared in the 1956 Columbia Pictures movie ''Don't Knock the Rock''. The single peak ...
"; " R-O-C-K"; " Rudy's Rock"; "Calling All Comets"; "Tonight's the Night"; "Hook, Line and Sinker"; "Sway with Me"; "Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)"; " Skinny Minnie"; "B.B. Betty"; "Eloise"; "Whoa Mabel!"; "Vive le Rock and Roll"; "I've Got News For You"; "So Right Tonight"; "Jamaica D.J."; "Ana Maria"; "Yucatán Twist"; "Football Rock and Roll"; "Let the Good Times Roll Again" in 1979; and "Chick Safari" in 1960. He also wrote or co-wrote songs for other artists such as "I've Got News for You" for Penny Smith in 1955 on Kahill, "Calypso Rock" for Dave Day and The Red Coats on Kapp in 1956, "Half Your Heart" with Robert J. Hayes for Kitty Nation in 1956 on Wing, "I Oughta" and "Everything But You" for Dotti Malone in 1956 also on Wing, "A.B.C. Rock" and "Rocky the Rockin' Rabbit" (among others) for Sally Starr for an album she released on Haley's own label, Clymax Records, "A Sweet Bunch of Roses" for Country and Western singer Lou Graham, "Toodle-Oo-Bamboo" for Ray Coleman and His Skyrockets on Skyrocket Records in 1959, "Always Together" for the Cook Brothers on Arcade in 1960, "Crazy Street" for The Matys Brothers on
Coral Records Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer. Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head ...
, "The Cat" for Cappy Bianco, and "(Ya Gotta) Sing For the Ladies" and "Butterfly Love" for Ginger Shannon and Johnny Montana in 1960 on Arcade as well as "I'm Shook" and "Broke Down Baby", both of which were recorded by The Tyrones in 1958–59.


References


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


External links


Bill Haley's new Comets web site

Google Map
*
Bill Haley Jr. and the Comets site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haley, Bill 1925 births 1981 deaths People from Highland Park, Michigan Bill Haley & His Comets members American people of English descent American radio personalities American rock singers American rockabilly guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from Delaware County, Pennsylvania People from Harlingen, Texas Rock and roll musicians Decca Records artists Songwriters from Michigan Songwriters from Pennsylvania Western swing performers American yodelers 20th-century American singers American rock guitarists Singers from Pennsylvania Guitarists from Michigan Guitarists from Philadelphia 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers Essex Records artists