![]() Prior to becoming the Comets, slapback was also used by bassist Al Rex, although to a lesser extent, on "Yodel Your Blues Away". Slap-back bass, one identifying characteristic of rockabilly, was used on the Comets' recordings of "Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", "Rock Around the Clock", and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll". It sold well and was followed in 1952 by a cover of a 1940s rhythm and blues song called " Rock the Joint" (this time for Holiday's sister company, Essex Records). Haley began his rock and roll career with what is now recognized as a rockabilly style in a cover of " Rocket 88" recorded for the Philadelphia-based Holiday Records label in 1951. During the group's early years, it recorded under several other names, including Johnny Clifton and His String Band, The Four Aces of Western Swing, and Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos (although Browne, a female matinee idol of the time, did not actually appear on the record). Al Thompson was the group's first bass player, followed by Al Rex and Marshall Lytle. The original members of this group were Haley, pianist and accordion player Johnny Grande and steel guitarist Billy Williamson. Many Saddlemen recordings would not be released until the 1970s and 1980s, and highlights included romantic ballads such as "Rose of My Heart" and western swing tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away". During those years Haley was considered one of the top cowboy yodelers in America. 1949–1952, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel. The band initially formed as Bill Haley and the Saddlemen c. 7 The Comets Įarly history and "Rocket 88".2 National success and "Rock Around the Clock".As of early 2008, three such groups were still performing in the United States and internationally. With his spit curl and the band's matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behaviour, many fans consider them to be as revolutionary in their time as The Beatles or the Rolling Stones were a decade or two later.įollowing Haley's death, no fewer than six different groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming (with varying degrees of authority) to be the official continuation of Haley's group. īandleader Bill Haley had previously been a country music performer after recording a country and western-styled version of " Rocket 88", a rhythm and blues song, he changed musical direction to a new sound which came to be called rock and roll.Īlthough several members of the Comets became famous, Bill Haley remained the star. ![]() From late 1954 to late 1956, the group placed nine singles in the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets (and variations thereof), was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981.
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