Bill Haley & His Comets
American rock and roll band / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bill Haley & His Comets was 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 recorded 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.[1]
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (October 2018) |
Bill Haley & His Comets | |
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Background information | |
Also known as |
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Origin | Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Genres | |
Discography | Bill Haley & His Comets discography |
Years active | 1947–1981[lower-alpha 1] |
Labels | London (UK) |
Past members | Bill Haley Johnny Grande Billy Williamson Rudy Pompilli Al Rex Franny Beecher Marshall Lytle Fredrick "Fritz" Riddell Danny Cedrone Dick Richards Joey Ambrose Ralph Jones Nick Nastos John "Bam-Bam" Lane Louis Torres Joey Welz Sheikh Mahim Edward Dave "Chico" Ryan and more than 100 others |
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. They went on to record hit versions of "Crazy Man, Crazy", "Shake, Rattle & Roll", the aforementioned "Rock Around the Clock", "Dim, Dim the Lights", "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie", "Razzle-Dazzle", "See You Later, Alligator", "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: Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock.
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. Haley would remain popular in Europe 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.