-- NEWS --
FIRST POSTED: August 21, 2009;
REVISED AND UPDATED: August 31, 2009
Marshall Lytle publishes autobiography
Marshall Lytle, a founding member of Bill
Haley & His Comets in 1952 and a driving force behind the reunion
of the 1954-55 Comets since the late 1980s, was there at the birth of
rock and roll. And now, he's telling his story
about those early days.
Still Rockin' Around the Clock: My Life
in Rock 'n' Roll's First Supergroup,
was published at the end of August. It tells Lytle's story of how he
was there when
Bill Haley and the
Comets made
musical history, and his musical career since those storied early days.
Although several books have been published
telling the story of Bill
Haley, this
is the first time a book has been published from the point of view of
one of the Comets.
Lytle reports there may be some talk show
appearances scheduled in late September to promote the book; no dates
or venues have been confirmed as yet. (Update: any appearances are now
likely to occur later in the year.)
Lytle joined Bill Haley and His Saddlemen
in 1951. Although a guitarist by trade, he was taught to play slap bass
by Bill Haley
himself and was brought in to replace Al Rex, who had left the band.
Lytle's earliest known recording with Haley is believed to have been
"Green Tree Boogie" recorded for Holiday Records in 1951. Lytle stayed
with the group as it changed names to the Comets in the fall of 1952,
co-writing (but not receiving credit on) the group's
first national hit, "Crazy Man, Crazy" in 1953, and playing
bass on the iconic "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll"
in 1954.
In September 1955
he, along with Ambrose and Richards, quit the Comets in a salary
dispute and formed
their own group, the Jodimars, which scored several minor hits for the
Capitol Records label, most notably "Well Now Dig This". By 1958 the
Jodimars had split up, with Lytle
attempting
to revive the brand on a couple of occasions in the late 50s before
moving into other business endeavours.
In 1987, the original 1954-55
members of the
Comets, including Lytle, were reunited for a special show in
Philadelphia, and began touring regularly in the early 1990s. The
reunited Comets also recorded
several CDs in both Europe and the US, and also put out several DVDs.
Since about 2002 Lytle has been the lead singer for the band, taking on
most of the
vocals on the Haley classics, and he also contributed several original
songs to the group, including "Viagra Rock" which gained some radio
play in the
early 2000s.
UPDATE: As of August 31, the book
is currently available via Amazon.com here.
Lytle's coauthor, Michael
Jordan Rush, reports efforts are underway to have the book available
through other international branches of
Amazon soon.
See below for
a review.
POSTED: May 5, 2009
Ten years of Extra
It's hard to believe, but more than a decade
has now
passed since I began writing this column for the Rockabilly Hall of
Fame.
This column began at the kind invitation
of webmaster Bob Timmers, after I had written a review of a performance
by the
Original Comets in Edmonton, Canada during the summer of 1997. At
first, I wasn't sure if a column would work. For one thing, although I
had been lucky
enough to meet Marshall Lytle, Joey Ambrose, Dick Richards, Franny
Beecher and Johnny Grande in Edmonton, and was corresponding regularly
with
Marshall via e-mail (as I still do today), I did wonder if I'd be able
to dig up enough stuff to keep a column going. After all, Bill Haley
himself
had been dead many years.
I needn't have worried!
Before long, I have lots to write about,
from exciting new releases of brand-new recordings by the Comets, to
archival
releases to die for from the likes of Hydra and Bear Family, to the
50th anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock", which led me to write a
spin-off page
on the history of the song which has been used as source material by at
least one book, several documentaries, and also led me to meet Peter
Ford, the son
of Glenn Ford of Blackboard Jungle, and with whom I helped set
the record straight regarding the discovery of the record that helped
kick off the
rock and roll era.
Things reached a climax in 2005 when I was
invited to attend the Rock is Fifty celebrations in Los Angeles.
Organized by
Martin Lewis, co-founder of the influential Secret Policeman's Balls
charity concerts for Amnesty International (the films from which,
incidentally, were relaesed
to DVD here in North America earlier this year - check them out!), the
event brought the Original Comets and Bill Haley international
attention, and gave me the chance to meet Haley's second wife, Cuppy,
and his daughter, Gina Haley, a rising musical star in her own right.
Other rewarding moments have included my
creation of the Bill Haley Who's Who, which has helped identify the
many musicians who
worked with Haley and the Comets over the years (setting a few records
straight in the process). This in turn has put me in direct contact
with a number
of Comets ranging from Bill Nolte to Johnny Kay to musicians whose
contact with Haley was brief, but no less appreciated such as Bill Faye
and Louis Torres.
There have been some sad moments along the
way, too, such as the deaths of long-time Comets Johnny Grande and John
"Bam-Bam" Lane, but
their music lives on! And so, hopefully, will Extra for some time to
come.
Ironically, considering this is the
anniversary year for Extra, I haven't had the chance to update this
column over the past year, for
a number of reasons. But it's been a busy one for some of the musicians
who once shared the stage with Bill Haley, and those who appreciate the
music.
The Original Comets continued strong
through 2008 and into 2009, alternating performances in Branson, Mo.
with tours of Europe and
elsewhere. Dick Richards, now the elder statesman of the band, can
still knock out a drum solo like no one else, and Marshall Lytle and
Joey Ambrose haven't
missed a beat. Newcomers David Byrd and Jackson Haney, who succeeded
the late Johnny Grande and the
very-much-still-alive-and-still-rockin-in-Pennsylvania Franny Beecher,
have become popular members of the group, with Haney stepping into the
shoes of Comets musicians past like Nick Nastos and Johnny Kay as a
featured singer.
- Speaking of Johnny Kay, the former Comet
has joined the ranks of the Original Comets, Bill Turner, and others by
not letting the clock
stop him from rocking. In the past year he's recorded and released no
less than two albums of new recordings, the second of which, Songs
from the Cradle of Rock 'n'
Roll, was just released, and I've written a review below.
And if you're in Germany, be sure to keep
an eye out for the Bill Haley Orchestra, a big-band-style tribute to
Haley's music led by
one of the best Haley tribute artists around, Jo "Bill" Clifton. You
can download the "BHO's" latest album, Let the Good Times Roll
through Amazon here.
I'd like to take a moment to thank Bob
Timmers, the curator of this online museum all these years, for the
endless hours of hard
work he's put into this site, and in particular for putting up with my
periodic updates!
POSTED: May 15, 2008
South Texas Music Walk of Fame to induct Bill Haley
Bill Haley will be one of six performers to
be inducted into the South Texas Music Walk of Fame in Corpus Christi,
Texas
next month.
Presented as part of that city's
WaterStreet Market Music, Art & Surf Fest, the inductions
honor musicians who have "enriched the lives of those of us in South
Texas," say organizers. The Walk of Fame was established
in 2004 and past inductees have included Selena, Kris Kristofferson,
Michael Nesmith, and Christopher Cross.
Haley spent the last few years of his life
as a resident of Harlingen, Texas, on the Texas-Mexico border, and
was honored by that city several years ago.
Other inductees this year include
Grammy-winner Joe Gallardo, "Queen of the Bolero" Chelo Silva,
musicians
Pat Grogan and Max Stalling, and rocker Reverend Horton Heat -- who
several years back not only recorded a blazing version of Haley's
1952 version of "Rock the Joint" but managed to incorporate a
near-perfect replication of Danny Cedrone's immortal guitar solo at
nearly
double the speed Cedrone played it!
The induction ceremony is scheduled for
June 7 at 10 a.m. (the Walk is located in the 300 block of North Water
Street), as part of a weekend of live music and other festivities. At
"press
time" details were still being worked out, but it is hoped that the
induction will include a special performance in recognition of Haley's
induction.
POSTED: Feb. 4, 2008; UPDATED:
Mar. 7, 2008
Haley, Comets featured in new DVD documentary
A new documentary released on DVD this month
turns the spotlight on the birth of
rock and roll, and those who were there at the beginning.
Rock 'n' Roll is Born: The Story of
'Rock Around the Clock' and the Dawn of
the Rock 'n' Roll Era was more than two years in the making for
writer/producer/director Barry Barnes,
who tracked down members of The Comets, people involved in the
production of Blackboard Jungle, and
other early rockers to discuss how rock and roll, and "Rock Around the
Clock", erupted on the world
scene in 1954-1955.
Running 80 minutes, the documentary features
the last known
interview with Johnny Grande of The Comets before his passing. Also
featured are interviews
with Comet Marshall Lytle, Cleve Duncan of the Penguins, Pat Boone, and
Blackboard
Jungle co-star Jamie Farr (later of M*A*S*H fame). Peter
Ford, son of Glenn
Ford, is also on hand to tell about his research into how "Rock Around
the Clock" was
chosen as the theme song to his father's groundbreaking film.
The documentary also includes original
recordings by Bill Haley & His Comets
and other contemporaries, and also incorporates footage from the band's
rarely seen 1954 short film, Round-Up of Rhythm which adds to
Haley's list of firsts as the
first rock-and-roll movie
(predating feature-length productions of the genre by a year).
What is significant about this release is
that Universal Home Video is
publishing the DVD; Universal is the company that currently owns the
Haley Decca Records song catalogue.
Barnes tells Extra that the DVD is
currently scheduled to be available for sale in the
UK and Europe as of Feb. 27 (date subject to change), and as a
Universal release will be widely available
through online retailers and, presumably, well-stocked retail outlets.
A North American release is planned
for later in the year, he says.
UPDATE: Barnes reports that the DVD
is now expected to be released in Europe in mid-March with a North
American
release still expected in the second half of 2008. Scroll down for a
review of the documentary.
POSTED: Feb. 4, 2008
German fan publishes new Haley biography
A German Bill Haley fan has written the
first full biography of the Father of Rock and Roll in nearly 20 years.
Entitled Bill Haley: Vater des Rock
'n' Roll (which translates to Father of
Rock 'n' Roll, the book is the result of several years worth of
research and writing by
Otto Fuchs, a music writer and Internet radio host.
The book is being published by Wagner
Verlag, and will initially be available only
in German, with hopefully an English-language edition appearing in the
near future. An exact publication date
was not available, but Fuchs reports that the book went to press in
late January, and it is expected to be
available in stores and via online sources such as the German version
of Amazon, within the month.
While there are literally hundreds of
books chronicling and re-chronicling the lives of
Elvis Presley and The Beatles, there have only been a handful of books
on the life of Bill Haley, such as Bill
Haley, a 1982 work by John Swenson and Sound and Glory by
Haley's son, John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, which was published
in 1990 and until the release of Fuchs' book was the most recent
professionally published biography of Bill Haley. In 2005,
Jim Dawson published Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started
the Rock Revolution which, while featuring substantial
biographical information about Haley, was not strictly speaking a
biography of the musician.
Watch Extra for future updates
regarding an English-language publication of this latest work.
POSTED: Jan. 21, 2008;
CORRECTED: Feb. 4, 2008; UPDATED: Mar. 20, 2008
New CD and tribute concert celebrate Danny Cedrone
Back in April 1954, Danny Cedrone
recorded the greatest rock and roll guitar solo of all time, but
relatively few people know his Danny Cedrone's
guitar work beyond his era-defining role on Bill Haley & His
Comets' "Rock Around the Clock."
A new CD release, however, aims to
shed new light on the work of Danny Cedrone, whose life and career were
tragically cut short in the
summer of 1954.
The new CD is entitled Danny
Cedrone, Guitar Virtuoso and features a dozen examples of Cedrone's
guitar work both as
a solo artist and as a member of The Esquire Boys, a group he fronted
in the early 1950s.
To mark the CD's release,
Cedrone's
grandson, Dan Varone, himself a musician, has organized a tribute
concert for Jan. 25, 2008 at Jack's Twin Bar
in Gloucester City, N.J., where back in 1950-51, Bill Haley and The
Saddlemen gave some of their earliest performances, and it's believed
that it was here that Haley first
performed his country-fied version of the rhythm and blues song, "Rock
the Joint", considered one of the first true rock and roll records.
Cedrone's own group, the Esquire
Boys, were also regular performers at the Twin Bar. Cedrone was never
an official member of the Saddlemen or Comets, but was a valued session
musician for Bill Haley,
performing on a number of his classic recordings between 1951 and 1954,
including "Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", "Rock Around the Clock",
"Thirteen Women", and "Shake Rattle and Roll". His accidential death in
July 1954 occurred only days after the
recording session that produced "Shake Rattle and Roll" and a year
before "Clock" became a worldwide hit.
Scheduled guest performers at
the
Jan. 25 celebration include Dan Vanore with members past and present of
his band, The Business, along with the
Billy D. Light Trio, and other surprise guests, as well as other
members of the Cedrone family.
The event starts at 9 p.m. at
Jack's
Twin Bar, 200 S. Broadway, Gloucester City, NJ. It will also be
broadcast live on
WNJC 1360 AM radio (which can be heard over the Internet at www.wnjc1360.com).
The CD includes a number of
tracks
Cedrone recorded with the Esquire Boys, including two versions of
Haley's composition, "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", that
predate Haley's own 1955 recording of the song (the story goes that
Haley
wrote the song in 1952 specifically for Cedrone); both performances
make their CD debut here. A rare interview excerpt featuring Bill Haley
is also included on the CD. The CD also includes an enhanced component,
with four bonus tracks, including one by The Business, and a gallery of
approximately
80 photos.
Courtesy of Dan Varone, here
is the
track listing for the new CD: 1. Guitar Boogie Shuffle; 2. Caravan; 3.
Taboo; 4. St. Louis Blues;
5. Bill Haley interview; 6 Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie (version 1); 7.
Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie (version 2); 8. Oh Babe (with the Cedrone
Sisters); 9. Nickelodeon Jamboree (with
the Cedrone Sisters); 10. Forgetting You (live); 11. China Boy (live);
12. Fingers on Fire (live); 13. Tico Tico (live). Bonus tracks:
Forgetting You, We Drifted Apart,
Let's Play Ball, Hip Hop-a-Billy (by The Business); plus photo gallery.
The CD will be available on the Cedrone
family's own label, DJC Records and will officially be
released on Feb. 21, says Varone. Point-of-sale and availability have
yet to be determined. (Details will be added here when they become
available.) Varone has also created a MySpace page dedicated to the
work
of his
grandfather here.
Update: Scroll down to the Reviews section
for a review of the CD, plus more information on where you can
get your own copy of this release.
POSTED: Oct. 26, 2007
Bill Haley museum opens in Germany
A museum dedicated to celebrating the
history of the founding father of Rock and Roll, and his band,
celebrates its grand
opening in Munich, Germany this weekend.
Museum co-founders Klaus Kettner, owner
of the Hydra Records label, and Dr. Winfried Grundel, spent several
years traveling the world and collecting artifacts from Haley's career.
The museum features original instruments, documents, records, movie
posters, gold records, and other memorabilia. Also included are
displays focusing on Haley's contemporaries.
Kettner says opening a museum is "a
logical step forward" for his company, which for more than a decade has
issued a number of previously unissued or rare Haley recordings. The
label also released two albums by the reunited 1954-55 Comets in the
early 1990s,
plus a DVD of the band a few years ago. Kettner continues to work
closely with the group on their European tours, the next planned for
February 2008.
Kettner says the museum celebrates the
legacy of Bill Haley and the many musicians who performed as The Comets.
"With the song, "Rock Around the
Clock," Bill and his Comets not only launched a musical revolution but
changed youth culture
forever," he writes. "It is not exaggerating to state that they are one
of the most important bands in musical history.
"This is a breathtaking, in-depth
overview of one of the leading figures of rock 'n' roll. It
has all been carefully set up to entertain and be of interest to anyone
who has an interest in music, both past and present."
The Original 1954-55 Comets attended a
special pre-opening ceremony for the museum during their March 2007
tour of Germany.
On Oct. 27, 2007, the official grand opening was celebrated with a
special concert featuring Bill Turner, Haley's guitarist in the
mid-1970s, along with Mike Berry, Paul Wurges, 45 RPM, and Marty &
The Rocking Comets.
The Bill Haley Museum is located at
Schleissheimerstr. 321 in Munchen (Munich), Germany. Hours of operation
are
Tuesday-Friday, noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
POSTED: Oct. 16, 2007
20 Years of the Original Comets
October 26, 2007 marks the 20th anniversary
of one of the longest-lasting reunions in rock and roll history.
On that date in 1987, the Philadelphia
Music Awards were being held, and as an added attraction it was decided
to reunite the
original members of The Comets who worked alongside Bill Haley in 1954
and 1955. Spearheaded by 1970s-era Comet Bill Turner and
1953-55 Comets drummer Dick Richards, the reunion brought together
Richards, Marshall Lytle (bass), Joey Ambrose
(sax), Johnny Grande (piano) and Franny Beecher (lead guitar) --
musicians who had not worked together
for some 32 years at that time. (Lytle, Richards, and Ambrose left the
Comets in September 1955 to form The Jodimars, while Grande and Beecher
parted company with
Haley in the early 1960s.)
"It started out just as a simple reunion
to do one show in Philadelphia in 1987, and to see if we could still
play like we did 32 years earlier," Lytle writes in a message to fans.
"After a couple of hours in the practice session, we found that the
Comets sound came back."
Between the 1950s and 1987, the musicians
had all followed their own paths. For example, Dick Richards became a
film and stage actor (look for him credited as
Richard or Dick Boccelli in films like My Blue Heaven), Ambrose
had become involved in the Las Vegas casino industry, and Lytle had
become involved in a number
of business ventures. Grande had retired from music by this time, and
Beecher had a few years earlier been involved in a short-lived Comets
reunion spearheaded by one-time Comet Joey Welz. Grande,
in 2005, recalled that the men barely recognized one another.
At the 1987 show, the reunited Comets
performed "Rock Around the Clock", of course, and they also backed
Charlie Gracie on a performance of "Butterfly." The event
was covered by major media and an all-too-short clip of the Comets in
action aired on Entertainment Tonight.
Two years later, David Hirschberg, a New
York lawyer and longtime fan and friend of the Comets, helped organize
the first of many UK performances by the
reunited Comets at Brean Sands. "There we met Jacko Buddin, who sang
like Bill Haley and we had him sing with us for a number of years,"
Lytle writes. Buddin remained a mainstay
of the Comets until the early 2000s. "Also, we met The Stargazers. They
were a great help in teaching the Comets the arrangements to some of
the old hits we had forgotten."
The Comets established a close
relationship with the Stargazers, a popular UK rockabilly group that
included many Haley songs in their own playlist. Peter Davenport
played steel guitar for the band during an early-90s European tour.
Chris Gardner - a Stargazers alumni and one of the world's top Haley
historians - also worked with the band and continues to be the go-to
guy for record companies such as Bear Family whenever they put together
a new Haley and the Comets collection. And Stargazers drummer Ricky Lee
Brawn produced and performed session drumming duties on the Comets'
1997 album, The House is Rockin'. Marshall Lytle also took a
brief side-trip from the Comets in 1993 to record an album backed
by the Stargazers (the group was renamed Marshall and the Shooting
Stars for the occasion) entitled Air Mail Special.
Since 1989, the Comets have toured Europe
and North America extensively, and have also performed on cruise ships.
"In 1989, we first met our friend and close assocate,
Klaus Kettner, who brought us to Europe for the first time in 1990,"
Lytle writes. "We have toured all over Europe with Klaus for the last
18 years and are scheduled for another three-week tour in February
2008." In a 2003 interview, Lytle said he and his bandmates have the
best retirement plan in the world.
In North America, the reunion of the
Original Comets was made complex by the existence of two competing
Comets groups, one run by John "Bam-Bam" Lane, who was Haley's
drummer from 1965-1968, and Al Rappa, Haley's bass player from
1959-1969. Despite issues surrounding the use of the Comets name, the
1954-55 Comets nonetheless have been able to enjoy a number of
high-profile performances, including a Richard Nader-produced "Rock and
Roll Revival" commemorative concert in New York City, a recent
dedication ceremony for the
Twin Bar where Haley and his band gave some of their earliest
performances, and in 2005 the Comets received international attention
when they took part in the Rock is Fifty celebrations
in New York and Los Angeles to mark the 50th anniversary of "Rock
Around the Clock" hitting No. 1. The 2005 events saw the Comets give a
special performance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
in honor of the Deep Impact mission to send a probe to a comet,
appear on CBS and CNN, get inducted into Hollywood's Rock Walk, and
give well-received shows at the Viper Room
club in Hollywood. The JPL performance is mentioned on the official
citation that
named an asteroid in honor of Bill Haley in 2006.
The reunited Comets have also made
numerous visits to the recording studio, to date recording two albums
for
Kettner's
Hydra Records label, one for Rockstar Records in the UK,
and two for Ronnie Weiser's Rollin' Rock Records in Las Vegas. They
also appeared as special guests
on recordings by the likes of Andy Lee Lang and Schurli Weiss, Lytle
took part in a hip-hop version of "Rock
Around the Clock" by Chad Z, and the group also released two DVDs (one
privately, and one
for Hydra Records). These recordings have added new songs to the
classic Comets song-list, such as "You're Never Too
Old To Rock", "We're Gonna Party", "You're the Greatest" and the
topical "Viagra Rock", which garnered the band
international attention. Most recently,
the band has hooked up with Hollywood Argyles founder Gary S. Paxton to
record a new single, "When I Die Just
Bury Me at Wal-Mart (So My Wife Can Come and Visit Me)". (See news
story, below.)
Twenty years after the reunion began, the
Comets continue to rock the joint. Besides still touring Europe, the
band is also in their second year in residence at
Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Mo., with a third
season scheduled to kick off in April 2008. "We have found
the most wonderful place to live and retire and play our music to
people who are R & R fans from all over America and they love what
we do," Lytle writes, adding that Europeans are starting to discover
Branson as a new musical destination. The Comets are also scheduled to
tour Europe again in February 2008, Lytle writes.
Unfortunately, the passage of time does
bring with it changes. Johnny Grande passed away from cancer in 2006,
and remained a part of the reunion right
up to the end. Soon after, Franny Beecher announced his retirement from
touring (it's still hoped that he'll make a future appearance with
the group). He recently celebrated
his 86th birthday and he's still playing in a club near his home. Their
places have been taken by David Byrd and Jackson Haney, respectively.
"The last 20 years has been the most
exciting and unbelievable times in the lives of the Original Comets,"
writes Lytle.
POSTED: Sept. 28, 2007
Comets release new single
The original 1954-55 Comets have teamed up
with an all-star group of vocalists from Branson, Missouri to release a
topical new single.
Boasting what is possibly the longest song
title ever associated with the Comets, "When I Die, Just Bury Me at
Wal-Mart (So My Wife Will Come and Visit Me!)" is a tongue-in-cheek ode
to the American mega-retailer penned and produced by Gary S. Paxton.
Paxton, who also goes by the name Grandpa Rock, is a prolific
songwriter and performer who is perhaps best known as one of the
driving forces behind The Hollywood Argyles, who scored a huge hit back
in 1960 with "Alley Oop".
This is one of those songs where the title
pretty much says it all, and the Comets perform the tune with the same
tongues-in-cheek with which they performed their earlier
ripped-from-the-headlines track, "Viagra Rock," several years back.
This recording marks the first appearance
on record (or, rather, on CD) of the two newest members of the Original
Band: piano player David Byrd, who succeeded the late Johnny Grande,
and Jackson Haney on guitar, who took over when Franny Beecher retired
from the Comets. Both have been with the band since mid-2006 and have
been well-received in Branson and on recent European tours.
Producer Paxton has added some extra star
power to this recording by recruiting a group of celebrity background
vocalists. Included in the roster are Bill Medley of the Righteous
Brothers, Paul Revere of the Raiders, David Somerville of The Diamonds,
country star Ronnie Prophet, gospel singer Jimmy Jack Whitaker, and New
South founder Jimmy Ponder; Paxton himself also contributes vocals.
Several musical actors from the Branson area also participated: Bill
Brooks, Randy Brooks, Gary Koreiba, and Mark McCauley. In addition,
Bill Reeder was recruited to perform additional baritone saxophone work
to compliment that of Comets tenor sax man Joey Ambrose. And, of
course, Marshall Lytle and Dick Richards are ever-present and proper on
bass and drums, respectively.
The single, which was recorded earlier
this year in Branson where the Comets continue their long-term
residence at Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater, is available for
sale online (with a karaoke version of the song included as a bonus) at
garyspaxton.net.
The website also features a preview of the single that you can listen
to online.
No word as yet whether the single will
actually be available at Wal-Mart, however …
POSTED: June 29, 2007
Twin Bar celebrates birthplace of rock and roll
A bar and performance venue in Gloucester
City, New Jersey, is about to take on Memphis, Cleveland, and New York
City for the title of True Birthplace of Rock and Roll.
It was at the Twin Bar in Gloucester,
across the river from Philadelphia and Chester, Penn., where Bill Haley
& His Saddlemen spent 18 months performing and honing their craft
around 1951, and these performances coincided with Haley's changeover
from performing traditional Western Swing to a newly developed melding
of country and western with rhythm and blues which, in time, would come
to be known as Rock and Roll. This was several years before Elvis first
walked into Sun Records in Memphis, and even pre-dated Haley's own
epochial work for Essex Records and Decca Records. "Rock Around the
Clock" wouldn’t arrive until 1954.
On July 14, 2007, the Twin Bar will
commemorate its involvement in musical history with the unveiling of an
historic marker along with free performances by The Original Comets
themselves as well as Tommy Conwell and Charlie Gracie.
Through the efforts of Haley fan Wayne
Young, the celebration will run from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Twin Bar,
which is still going strong 55 years later at the corner of Market and
Broadway. The event will also be broadcast live by King Arthur on WNJC
Radio 1360 AM.
The marker, scheduled to be unveiled at
4:30 p.m., will honor Bill Haley and the Saddlemen (later Comets) who
performed with him during the band’s historic tenure at the Twin Bar:
Billy Williamson, Johnny Grande, and Marshall Lytle, with Lytle himself
on hand to perform with the Original Comets. Also to be honored on the
marker will be Danny Cedrone, Haley's session guitarist and also
frequent Twin Bar performer with his own first-generation rock and roll
group, the Esquire Boys. Cedrone will be represented by The Cedrone
Sisters: Marie, Theresa, and Janet.
POSTED: March 1, 2007
Drummer John “Bam-Bam” Lane passes away
A former drummer for Bill Haley who has
spent the last 20 years helping to keep the music of the Comets alive
has passed away.
John Lane Barrowclough, better known as
John "Bam-Bam" Lane, died on February 18, according to an e-mail
received by a former member of Bill Haley's Comets, the band Lane has
led since the late 1980s. The cause of death is not known, and I'm
awaiting any further details. Lane's exact age was not immediately
available, however an October 2004 article in the Philadelphia
Inquirer gave Lane's age at the time as 58, meaning he was probably
about 60 when he died.
Lane joined Bill Haley & His Comets in
1965 (some sources say 1964 but this hasn't been confirmed), while
Haley's group was in residence with the Orfeon Records label in Mexico.
Among his first recordings for the band were the Orfeon sessions of
early 1966 that not only gave Lane a chance to play on a remake of
"Rock Around the Clock," but also to back Big Joe Turner when Haley
lent his old friend his band for an album's worth of recordings.
In 1968, not long before he left the
group, Lane participated in Haley's first recordings for Sonet Records
of Sweden, including a studio album of remakes of Haley's old hits.
This included another version of "Rock Around the Clock"; as such, Lane
is the only drummer to back Haley on two different studio recordings of
"Rock Around the Clock".
For Comets fans, Lane is best remembered
for his work on Bill Haley On Stage (also released under
different titles), a 2-LP live set Haley and the Comets recorded in
Stockholm for Sonet. Lane delivered an epic five-minute drum solo on
"Caravan" as well as a barnstorming drum break on "The Saint's Rock and
Roll".
Lane moved on to other musical pursuits
after leaving the Comets, with Hugh McCallum's Haley News
reporting in the early 1970s that Lane had recorded a big band album.
He also worked with a group called The Flintstones, capitalizing on his
nickname, which came from a character from the TV series of the same
title.
Lane returned to the world of the Comets
following Bill Haley's death in the mid-1980s, when he and bass player
Al Rappa formed Bill Haley's Comets, picking up from a short-lived
Comets reunion organized by one-time Comets piano player Joey Welz in
the days after Haley's death in 1981 that had involved Rappa and had
existed for about a year until disbanding. The Lane/Rappa Comets
appeared on the American TV series Rock and Roll Palace (this
performance was released on DVD a few years ago) and toured America. In
the late 1980s, Lane and Rappa, in conjunction with booking agent Jolly
Joyce, sued another musician over the use of the Comets name, with a
court decision going in their favor in 1989. Lane and Rappa claimed
trademark rights over the Comets name. Later, issues arose regarding
the use of the Comets name by original members of the band from the
mid-1950s, but these issues were finally resolved by the different
parties in 2005.
At some point after winning the 1989
lawsuit, Lane and Rappa went their separate ways, both forming their
own groups of Bill Haley's Comets and continuing to tour North America
as of early 2007, with Lane's group having a number of performances
scheduled for this spring. In addition, John Lane's group made several
recordings, including a live album (titled Almost Live) and a
Christmas single. Following the 9/11 attacks, Lane's group showed their
patriotism by posting a video performance of "God Bless the U.S.A." to
their website.
In 2005, Vision Metal Records, a
Tennessee-based label, announced that John Lane's Comets would record a
new album. Lenny Longo, the group's lead singer since the late 1990s,
tells Extra that the CD will be released in the near future, coupled
with live tracks, and that the CD will be released in Lane's memory.
Longo says the John Lane edition of Bill
Haley's Comets will continue to perform and tour in Lane's memory. "We
miss John but hope, with your help, his legacy will continue and his
dream, that Bill Haley's Comets will allow the world to see how Rock
and Roll began, will live on," Longo writes.
POSTED: February 3, 2007
German fan pens Haley biography
A longtime German Bill Haley fan will soon
be releasing a new biography of the founder of rock and roll.
Otto Fuchs, who has been an active member
of the Haley fan community for many years, and who is himself a
Rockabilly Hall of Fame columnist, announced that he has signed a
contract with the German publisher Wagner Verlag to publish the book,
which he has been compiling for several years.
An exact publication date has not yet been
announced, but Fuchs says he hopes the as-yet-untitled book will see
print either later this year or in early 2008.
The book will initially be published in
German; it remains to be seen if an English language translation will
be commissioned.
POSTED: December 5, 2006
Rock Around the Clock/Don't Knock the Rock coming to DVD
The two films Bill Haley & His Comets
made in 1956 are finally coming to DVD in North America.
Sony Pictures has announced that it will
be releasing Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the Rock
to Region 1 (North America) DVD on January 23, 2007. The films were
produced by Columbia Pictures, which Sony purchased some years ago, and
will be released together on one disc.
This release marks the first official home
video release of these films, as Columbia/Sony never issued an official
release of the films in the VHS tape or laserdisc format, although
unofficial releases in these and DVD formats have been circulating for
years.
Rock Around the Clock is considered
the first true rock and roll film. When it was released it was a major
hit and was banned in some jurisdictions due to the fact it sparked
rowdy behavior (such as dancing) in theaters. In the UK Queen Elizabeth
II reportedly requested a private showing of the film. Its follow-up, Don't
Knock the Rock was produced almost immediately but was not as
successful and is chiefly remembered as the film that introduced many
to the music of Little Richard.
Co-starring with Haley and the Comets in Rock
Around the Clock are the Platters and Freddie Bell and the
Bellboys, while Alan Dale, the Treniers and the aforementioned Little
Richard appear with Haley in the sequel. DJ Alan Freed appears as
himself in both motion pictures.
In both films, Haley and the Comets
lip-synch to numerous Decca recordings, including "See You Later
Alligator", "Rip it Up", "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy", "Rock-a-Beatin'
Boogie", "Calling All Comets" and, of course, "Rock Around the Clock"
and "Don't Knock the Rock" (although the latter is heard only over the
opening credits of the film; Alan Dale sings the song during the movie
itself). Of note to Haley completeists is the fact that the
performances of the instrumentals "Rudy's Rock" (in Rock Around the
Clock) and "Goofin' Around" (in Don't Knock the Rock) are
unique to these films and were never released on record by Decca or
anyone else. Hydra Records of Germany included off-air recordings of
the two film tracks on its CD On Screen in the late 1990s, but
no in-studio recordings have ever been released. Haley also gets to do
a little bit of acting in the two films.
The listing for the release on Amazon.com
does not indicate if there will be any extra features on the DVD.
Go here for my review of this
release.
POSTED: November 1, 2006
Extra back in business
After a summer-long hiatus, Extra, the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame's column devoted to Bill Haley & His
Comets, is back on the air.
It has been a busy year for fans of Bill
Haley and His Comets, with several exciting new releases on CD and DVD,
and with the continued success of the Original Comets who have spent
much of the year playing to sold-out shows in Branson, Missouri. And of
course, it has been a sad year as we still mourn the loss in June of
Comets founder Johnny Grande.
I haven't had an opportunity to update
Extra much this year, but I hope to be able to make more updates in the
coming months. We begin with a review of the eagerly-awaited third Bear
Family box set devoted to Bill Haley's earliest recordings, as well as
some recent DVD releases of rare footage (see below). I have also been
able to (after a delay of more than a year) fix up the Bill Haley Who's
Who on Page 2, which was knocked for a loop due to some data loss. An
updating of the Rock Around the Clock tribute page is also around the
corner, along with more features being added to Extra.
POSTED: June 4, 2006
"Quiet Maestro" Johnny Grande passes away
Johnny Grande plays accordion with the first Comets line-up in
1952-53.
Johnny Grande, a founding member of Bill
Haley and His Saddlemen and The Comets, has died. He was 76, and was
one of the longest-serving of all the Comets.
Grande passed away in his sleep at his
home in Clarkesville, Tennessee on the evening of June 2. Although the
cause of death has not yet been determined, he had been fighting cancer
for the last few weeks, which had forced him to (it was hoped,
temporarily) step back from performing with the 1954-55 Comets.
In announcing Grande's death, the band's
bass player, Marshall Lytle, said this was "bad news for Comets fans
around the world."
Born in 1930, Grande was working with
steel guitarist Billy Williamson in the country music industry in
Pennsylvania when the two entered into a partnership with Bill Haley,
who was at the time a deejay for a Chester-area radio station and was
in the process of setting up a new musical group, the Saddlemen. The
exact date Grande joined the band is a matter of debate - some say
1949, while others say 1950. In any event this three-way partnership at
the heart of Haley's group would continue as the group was renamed The
Comets in 1952, and continued until both Williamson and Grande left the
band during the winter of 1962-63 (Like his joining, the exact date of
Grande's departure from the band is not known). Williamson died in 1996.
On most of his recordings with Haley,
Grande played piano, although he could also be heard playing the organ
and most notably the accordion; this unlikely instrument for rock and
roll allowed more portability than a piano when the group toured from
town to town. It also allowed Grande to get in on the action during
raucous numbers such as "Rudy's Rock" (see the group's performance of
the song in the 1956 Rock Around the Clock film, for example).
According to some sources, Grande also had the job of keeping track of
the band's arrangements as few of the other members actually read
music. Among recordings in which Grande is spotlighted were "A Rockin'
Little Tune", "The Walkin' Beat", "Tamiami", "Actopan" (a Mexican
version of "The Hucklebuck"), and a 1962 radio performance of "The
Saint's Rock and Roll" in which he is given a piano solo (something he
did not do in the 1955 Decca recording).
In 1987, Grande was one of the original
members of the Comets to be invited to take part in a special reunion
of the band. This led to more engagements for the Original Comets both
in America and overseas, and the group has been performing regularly
ever since, most recently embarking on a summer-long residence at Dick
Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri. The reunited
band has also recorded several CDs over the years, as well as a concert
DVD. On one 1994 recording, "All My Ex's Live in Texas" (from the Hydra
Records album You're Never Too Old to Rock), Grande plays an
accordion solo.
Comets historian Chris Gardner remembers
Johnny Grande as "the glue that held the whole show together."
"I would like to recall the occasion in
1989 when the Comets were preparing for their show in Brean Sands,"
Gardner says. "At the first rehearsal in London where things had great
potential to become (shall we say) a bit chaotic ... in the middle of
it all was Johnny, quietly clocking what was going on, and when it was
necessary (but only when it was necessary), pointing out who was making
a mistake, or was playing too loud.
"He was the quiet maestro of the Comets,
the man who you might notice more when he wasn't playing than when he
was."
Funeral arrangements are pending and more
information regarding this loss to rock and roll fans around the world
will be posted as it becomes available.
POSTED: May 24, 2006
New CD features 60+ versions of Rock Around the Clock
After a delay of nearly two years, a massive
CD tribute to "Rock Around the Clock" has been released.
Bill Haley and Friends Vol. 3: The
Story of Rock Around the Clock is an ambitious 2-CD release by
Hydra Records of Germany that contains no less than 63 versions of the
song that helped launch the Rock and Roll era.
The first disc contains 31 versions of the
song recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets, and later successor groups,
between 1954 and 2000 (a list of exactly which versions are included
was not immediately available). The second disc contains 32 additional
versions by a wide range of artists, ranging from Eddie Cochran and
Carl Perkins to Mae West and the Sex Pistols. Also included is the
rarely-heard first recording of "Rock Around the Clock" by Sonny Dae
and His Knights, which predated Haley's recording by several months.
Originally announced for release in the
summer of 2004, it is perhaps not surprising that a project of this
scope required extra time to arrange.
This is the third in an ongoing series of
"Bill Haley and Friends" releases by Hydra, focusing on not only rare
recordings by Haley, but also recordings by artists associated with
him. The first volume, released in the late 1990s, contained
Christmas-themed recordings, while Volume 2, released a couple of years
ago, focused on recordings made for the Cowboy Records label. Volume 3
breaks the pattern in that Haley's "friends" for the most part have no
direct connection with him, save for their love of one epochial song.
Bill Haley and Friends Vol. 3 is
expected to be available through the Hydra Records website at www.rockithydra.de and other
retailers.
POSTED: March 1, 2006; updated and
image added March 12
Haley receives out-of-this-world tribute
Astronomical image from 1999 showing the location of 79896
Billhaley
(Courtesy Klet Observatory www.klet.org)
An asteroid in deep space has been named in
honor of Bill Haley.
On February 19, the International
Astronomical Union's Committee for Small Body Nomenclature officially
announced that Asteroid 1999 BH5, which had been discovered on January
20, 1999 by the Klet Observatory in the Czech Republic, has been
officially renamed 79896 Billhaley in honor of the founding father of
rock and roll.
The announcement coincides with the 25th
anniversary of Bill Haley's death, which was marked on February 9.
The asteroid is located in the main
Asteroid Belt between Jupiter and Mars and orbits the Sun approximately
every 4.4 years.
As of this writing, more information
regarding the asteroid's location is being gathered. Efforts are also
underway to try and capture an image of the asteroid, if possible.
POSTED: December 9, 2005; updated:
December 11, 2005
Third Bear Family box set focuses on Haley's country roots
The Bear Family label of Germany continues
to chronicle the career of Bill Haley by delving into his earliest
recordings for a new box set scheduled for release in early 2006.
Entitled Rock and Roll Arrives: The
Real Birth of Rock and Roll 1946-1954, this five-CD set will
feature many previously unreleased recordings dating back to Haley's
earliest turns in the recording studio. The set is scheduled for
release on January 23, 2006.
Among the highlights in the set will be
several recordings Haley made with the Down Homers for a radio program
in 1946. These are the earliest known recordings by Bill Haley and this
is their first commercial release. The set will include the various
small label recordings Haley made with his groups the Four Aces of
Western Swing and the Saddlemen (as well as assorted aliases) between
1947 and 1951 and end with the recordings Haley made with Essex Records
in 1952-54, just prior to his moving on to Decca Records and recording
"Rock Around the Clock."
Included as bonus tracks are another set
of Down Homers recordings, this time from the Vogue Records label in
January 1946. These recordings have long been rumored to have also
included Haley, though it is now known that Haley was not a member of
the band when they were made. Still, they remain of historical interest
and can perhaps be seen as a taster of what might be a great box set of
Down Homers recordings if Bear Family decides to do one.
Rounding out the set is a 100-page
booklet, profusely illustrated and detailed that covers the Haley story
during his earliest years.
As with most Bear Family sets,
availability outside Europe will vary, though Bear Family product does
show up in major retailers such as Virgin and HMV. It will also be
available on line at Bear Family's website.
This is the third extensive box set of
recordings issued by Bear Family Records since the 1980s. The first
set, issued in the 1980s, was entitled Rockin' Rollin' and
featured Haley's Decca recordings. It was reissued in 1991 on CD in an
expanded edition called The Decca Years and More. In 1999, a
second set, The Warner Brothers Years and More, focused on
Haley's work for numerous American labels in the 1960s. In 2003, Hydra
Records issued Bill Haley and Friends Vol. 2 : The Legendary Cowboy
Recordings which also looked at this era of Haley's career.
Here is the track listing for the new set.
Tracks marked with ** have never been released before.
CD 1: Too Many Parties, Too Many
Pals, Four Leaf Clover Blues, Candy Kisses, Tennessee Border, The
Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along, Yodel Your Blues Away, Behind the
Eight Ball, Foolish Questions, Loveless Blues, Stand Up and Be Counted,
Deal Me a Hand, Ten Gallon Stetson, Susan Van Dusan, I'm Not to Blame,
I'm Gonna Dry Every Tear With a Kiss, Why Do I Cry Over You?, Teardrops
From My Eyes (alternate take)**, Loveless Blues (alternate take)**, My
Sweet Little Girl from Nevada, My Palomino and I.
CD 2: Rocket 88, Tearstains on My
Heart, Green Tree Boogie, Down Deep in My Heart, I'm Crying, Pretty
Baby, A Year Ago This Christmas, I Don't Want to Be Alone This
Christmas, Jukebox Cannonball, Sundown Boogie, Barnyard Special (Curly
Herdman and the Saddlemen), Rose of My Heart (Herdman), Two Timin'
Blues (Lou Graham and the Saddlemen), Long Gone Daddy (Graham), I'm
Lonesome (Graham), A Sweet Bunch of Roses (Graham), Please Make Up Your
Fickle Mind (Graham), My Heart Tells Me (Graham), I'm Lonesome (Graham
alt. take), A Sweet Bunch of Roses (Graham alt. take), Please Make Up
Your Fickle Mind (Graham alt. take), My Heart Tells Me (Graham alt.
take), Out Where the West Wind Blows (Down Homers without Haley), Who's
Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone (Down Homers without Haley), Boogie Woogie
Yodel (Down Homers without Haley), Baby I Found Out All About You (Down
Homers without Haley).
CD 3: Rock the Joint, Icy Heart,
Dance with a Dolly, Rockin' Chair on the Moon, Stop Beatin' Around the
Mulberry Bush, Real Rock Drive, Crazy Man Crazy, What'cha Gonna Do,
Pat-a-Cake, Fractured, Live it Up, Farewell So Long Goodbye, I'll Be
True, Ten Little Indians, Yes Indeed, Yes Indeed (alt. take),
Chattanooga Choo Choo, Straight Jacket.
CD 4: Rovin' Eyes, Candy and Women,
My Mom Heart Me Cry Over You, Cotton Haired Girl, Wreck on the Highway,
A Yodeler's Lullaby, All I Need is Some More Lovin', Candy and Women
(alt. take), Yodel Your Blues Away, Red River Valley, Behind the Eight
Ball**, Foolish Questions**, Easy Rocking Chair**, I Wasted a Nickel**,
My Bucket's Got a Hole in It**, Sunday Down in Tennessee**, Behind the
Eight Ball (alt. take)**, Rose of My Heart, Within This Broken Heart of
Mine**, Down Home (Down Homers with Haley)**, Following the Sun All Day
(Down Homers with Haley)**, She Taught Me How to Yodel (Down Homers
with Haley)**, Cool Water (Down Homers with Haley)**, Baby I Found Out
All About You (Down Homers with Haley)**, Open Up Them Pearly Gates
(Down Homers with Haley)**, Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone (Down
Homers with Haley)**, Arizona Cowboy radio advertisement**,
Westinghouse and Twin Bars radio advertisement.
CD 5: (All tracks on this CD
unissued). Rose of My Heart, Rose of My Heart, Cherry Tree Lane, Cute
Little Brown-Eyed Girl, A Sweet Bunch of Roses, Yodel Your Blues Away,
Candy and Women, Behind the Eight Ball, Ages and Ages Ago, Honestly, I
Dreamed of an Old Love Affair, Whispering, I Love You So Much It Hurts,
Little Rock Arkansas, A Bundle of Kisses, Are You Teasing Me?, I Want
You, Gotta Have My Baby Back, Take Me in Your Arms, Candy and Women,
Teardrops from My Eyes.
POSTED: December 9, 2005
New Comet sighted
The original Comets are adding another
player to their all-star line-up for 2006.
Bass player Marshall Lytle has announced
that guitarist Andrew Norblin will join the Comets as a guest star
beginning in January 2006, and will be a featured player during the
band's upcoming stint at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theatre in
Branson, Mo. which begins in March. The Comets will be in residence at
the American Bandstand Theatre for much of 2006.
Norblin is a longtime fan of The Comets
and lists Franny Beecher as among his idols. A few years ago, he
recorded a version of Beecher's "Goofin' Around" as a tribute to the
84-year-old guitar legend.
Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theatre is
scheduled to open on March 17, and The Comets will be one of the
headlining acts.
POSTED: December 9, 2005
Clockathon rocks Hollywood, NASA
Gina Haley meets The Comets at Hollywood's Rockwalk
(Alex Frazer-Harrison photo)
In July, The Comets rocked Hollywood for the
second time in less than six months, during a celebration that
stretched from one of the trendiest nightclubs in town to the fringes
of outer space.
As reported back in June, the Rock Around
the Clock-a-Thon was a follow-up to a successful set of events earlier
in the year in New York and L.A., continuing the 50th anniversary
celebrations of the official start of the Rock and Roll Era. The July
events marked a double anniversary: the 50th anniversary of "Rock
Around the Clock" reaching No. 1 on the American charts, and what would
have been the 80th birthday of Bill Haley (the 25th anniversary of
Haley's death is coming up in February 2006).
Organized by producer Martin Lewis (whose
credits include promoting Billy Connolly, co-founding the Secret
Policeman's Ball fundraisers for Amnesty International, and discovering
comic Alexei Sayle), the event was designed to elevate awareness of not
only Bill Haley's contribution to rock and roll (a fact often
overlooked by historians blinded by the light of Elvis Presley) but
also that of his Comets, particularly the surviving members of the band
from 1954-55, including three members (Johnny Grande, Marshall Lytle,
and Joey Ambrose) who actually participated in the original recording
of "Rock Around the Clock".
The first major event of the Clock-a-Thon
took place less than two hours after The Comets arrived at Bob Hope
Airport in Burbank following a successful Fourth of July show in
Monterrey the day before. Martin Lewis had cut a deal with NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena: if NASA's Deep Impact space probe
was successful in its quest to crash into a comet on July 4, The Comets
would perform a free outdoor concert for JPL staff on July 5. And
that's what happened!
At a private get-together prior to the
show, a special music video was unveiled that had been created in less
than 24 hours after the successful impact - footage of Haley and the
Comets from 1955 performing "Rock Around the Clock" was interspersed
with black-and-white CGI footage of Deep Impact en route to the comet;
at the moment of impact, the video bursts into color as images of the
actual impact are shown to the music of The Comets performing "RATC" at
a March 2005 appearance. The video was posted on NASA's website for
several weeks afterward and scored thousands of hits.
The concert itself had NASA employees
jiving under the noon hour sun, and the event was covered by media
worldwide. And the Clock-a-Thon had barely even started.
The Comets rock the joint at the JPL in Pasadena
(Alex Frazer-Harrison photo)
Another major event saw The Comets joining the
Hollywood's Rockwalk hall of fame. Hosted by the world-famous Guitar
Center on Sunset Blvd., the event saw the band immortalizing their
handprints in concrete (a space was left blank for Haley). Afterwards,
the band performed a three-song set that had top L.A. Jim Ladd and
others watching flabbergasted as these 70-and-80-somethings rocked
harder than many performers a quarter of their age.
The Clock-a-Thon was very much a family
affair for many people involved. Cuppy Haley, Bill's second wife,
attended many of the events, as did Peter Ford, the son of Glenn Ford
of Blackboard Jungle fame (Peter, whose mother was MGM dancing
legend Eleanor Powell, is now credited by many as being indirectly
responsible for "RATC" being chosen for the film's soundtrack). Joey
Ambrose brought his wife and daughter along. And Gina Haley, the
youngest daughter of Bill Haley and a noted singer-songwriter in her
own right, was a pleasant surprise to all when she attended the
Rockwalk dedication.
Fans of the two movies Haley and The
Comets made in the 1950s were able to watch them on the majestic
Egyptian Theatre screen as the American Cinematheque hosted a special
screening that opened with a Q&A session with The Comets as well as
Jim Dawson, the author of a new book on the history of "Rock Around the
Clock". Also, The Comets were interviewed by CBS News for a special
feature that aired on the CBS Early News in August.
The Clock-a-Thon came to a close with a
performance at the Viper Room on the Sunset Strip. Formerly owned by
Johnny Depp, the club was filled to capacity with audience members
ranging from local politicians and NASA officials to Jane Wiedlin of
Go-Gos fame. Gina Haley also attended and thrilled everyone when she
agreed to get on stage to perform "Rock the Joint" with The Comets. For
the first time in 25 years, if only for a few minutes, "Haley and the
Comets" were a band again! In the luxurious Gibson Guitars-sponsored
tour bus after the show, Gina met Cuppy Haley for the first time ever,
and everyone took a few moments to sing "Happy Birthday" in memory of
Bill Haley.
It's impossible to write everything that
happened during the Clock-a-Thon in such a short space. I hope to write
a more detailed account in the near future. Suffice it to say that, for
an old Haley fan, it was a thrill seeing Haley's music and The Comets
get the type of spotlight that, truth be told, has been more common in
Europe than in North America in recent years.
POSTED: June 13, 2005; updated June
15, 2005
Celebrations to mark Clock hitting No. 1, Haley's 80th birthday,
RockWalk induction
The
organizers of this spring's successful
Rock is Fifty celebrations are gearing up for yet another set of
anniversary celebrations in Los Angeles at the beginning of July which
will see Bill Haley .
Dubbed the "Rock-Around-The-Clock-Athon",
by producer Martin Lewis, a solid 32 hours of special events are
scheduled, featuring appearances by the 1954-55 Comets, Haley's second
wife Cuppy Haley, and other surprises, starting at 6 p.m. on July 5 and
running until 2 a.m. on July 7 at venues throughout Hollywood.
The celebrations mark the 50th anniversary
of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting the No. 1 spot on the American
record charts on July 5, 1955, becoming the first rock and roll record
to do so. July 6, meanwhile, would have been Bill Haley's 80th birthday.
Here is a quick rundown of scheduled
events (subject to change):
1. The events kick off at the music club
The Knitting Factory at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. July 5 at 6 p.m. with a
Double Happy Hour get-together with a deejay playing 50s music and The
Comets in attendence.
2. At 8 p.m. everyone heads down the
street to Grauman's Egyptian Theatre at 6712 Hollywood Blvd. (two
blocks east of Hollywood & Highland and the Chinese Theatre) for
the grand opening night of the Mods & Rockers Film Festival. Hosted
by the American Cinematheque, the event will feature special showings
of the 1956 films Rock Around the Clock and Don't Knock the
Rock, followed by a Q&A session with The Comets and Cuppy Haley.
3. After the showings, drop by The Pig
& Whistle pub, right next door to the Egyptian Theatre, for a
late-night toast to "Rock Around the Clock"'s 50th anniversary and Bill
Haley's 80th birthday.
4. Day 2 of the festivities kick off at 8
a.m. July 6 at Duke's Coffee Shop at 8909 Sunset Blvd. in West
Hollywood which will host an early-morning salute to "Rock Around the
Clock" with no less than 50 versions of the song being played,
including versions by Mae West, the Sex Pistols, and even a version on
accordion!
5. At 1 p.m., Bill Haley and The Comets
will be inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk alongside other famous
musicians and producers. The RockWalk is located at 7425 Sunset Blvd.
in West Hollywood.
6. At 4 p.m., the Comets and Cuppy head
over to the Museum of Television and Radio at 465 N. Beverly Dr. in
Beverly Hills to "relaunch" the Rock is Fifty exhibit at the museum
which is being held over due to popular demand.
7. At 9 p.m., The Comets will return to
the Viper Room club at 8852 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood for a return
engagement dubbed the Comets Jubilee Ball. Known as the club owned by
Johnny Depp, the Viper Room is one of LA's hottest nightspots and The
Comets have broken the record for the oldest band to play the venue
(beating The Rolling Stones).
For more information about these events,
as well as how you can get tickets to the Cinematheque and Viper Room
events, visit RockIsFifty.com.
For fans of the music of Bill Haley and
His Comets, this is a golden opportunity to come out and show your
support. Unlike Haley's induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
back in 1986, the Comets' induction into the RockWalk will be a public
event. Plans are for media to be invited to the event, and this is a
chance to promote not only Bill Haley's music, but rockabilly in
general. Let Joe Public know that there is more to rock and roll (and
rockabilly) than Elvis!
Coinciding with the event is the official
release of Jim Dawson's book Rock Around the Clock: The Record That
Started the Rock Revolution. Watch for a review of this landmark
book soon.
POSTED: March 16, 2005
Major 50th anniversary of Rock celebrations planned
The release 50 years ago of Blackboard
Jungle and the skyrocketing popularity of "Rock Around the Clock",
which kicked off the Rock n' Roll era, is being celebrated this month
with two major celebrations in New York City and Los Angeles.
Dubbed "Rock is Fifty!" the
cross-continent party will see special events and even a concert by The
Original Comets at the legendary Viper Room club in West Hollywood,
which promoters say will make them the oldest band to ever play the
famous club owned by Johnny Depp.
Planning for the event began last
December, and has come together with lightning speed. Scheduled events
as of March 16 include:
 1. Special screening of Blackboard
Jungle, March 20 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
2. Rock is Fifty! Anniversary Party hosted
in New York by Gibson Guitars, March 21. This VIP-only event will
include a performance by the Original Comets.
3. Premiere of a special video Rock is
Fifty featuring rare performances from The Ed Sullivan Show,
March 22 at New York's Musuem of Television and Radio, including a
seminar with the Original Comets. The video will be shown at the museum
starting March 23 and continuing for a month, along with other displays
on the early years of rock.
4. Special screenings of Blackboard
Jungle and Rock Around the Clock, March 27 at the American
Cinematheque in Los Angeles.
5. Live performance by the Original Comets
at the legendary Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
6. Premiere of the video Rock is Fifty,
March 29 at Los Angeles's Musuem of Television and Radio, including
another seminar with the Original Comets. The video makes its public
debut there on March 30 and runs for a month, along with other displays
on the early years of rock.
7. Opening March 30 at the Museum of
Television and Radio in L.A.: a three-month exhibition on early rock
and roll, created by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a second
exhibition created by Gibson Guitars.
In addition, organizer Martin Lewis has
also announced a new music video has been produced for "Rock Around the
Clock", using footage from Blackboard Jungle and The Ed
Sullivan Show. Steven Van Zandt is also launching a new satellite
radio channel, Underground Garage, in conjunction with these events and
is planning a special show focusing on "Rock Around the Clock".
POSTED: March 16, 2005
New book tells the story of Rock Around the Clock
On the heels of the official announcement of
the Rock is Fifty! celebrations comes word that a new book on the
history of "Rock Around the Clock" will be released in May.
Rock Around the Clock: The Record That
Started the Rock Revolution by Jim Dawson is scheduled for release
on May 10, the same day Blackboard Jungle receives its
long-awaited DVD release (see below). The result of extensive research
and interviews, Dawson's 200-page book chronicles the making of this
most important of rock and roll recordings.
 The book is published by Backbeat Books
and is currently available for preorder
from Amazon.com. In-store retail availability is not known at the
present time.
 See below for a review of this new book.
Update June 2005: Release of this
book has been delayed until early July to coincide with the 50th
anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock" topping the charts, although it
is already available through Internet retailers such as Amazon (see
link, above).
POSTED: March 16, 2005
Blackboard Jungle DVD announced
Warner Home Video has announced the
long-awaited DVD release of Blackboard Jungle, the 1955 film
starring Glenn Ford which is credited with sparking the rock and roll
era by featuring Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" in the opening credits.
The film is being released in North
America (Region 1) on May 10 (with release in other parts of the world
expected to follow) as part of Warner's "Controversial Classics" series
of reissues.
Warner has yet to confirm extras and
special features that will be included on the DVD, however Peter Ford,
son of Glenn Ford, has recorded some interviews for the release, along
with several actors from the film including Jamie Farr and Paul
Mazursky.
The DVD is currently available for preorder
from Amazon.com, but will likely be widely available from other
retailers as well.
POSTED: August 26, 2004
Happy Days season one released on DVD
The first season of the American sitcom
classic Happy Days has now been released in a controversial DVD
package in North America.
For 10 seasons, the show chronicled the
trails and tribulations of Ritchie Cunningham, The Fonz, and other
memorable characters in a series that initially took place in the
carefree 1950s, but eventually progressed through the years until it
ended with the spectre of Vietnam around the corner.
For Bill Haley fans, the show is
significant as "Rock Around the Clock" was used as the theme song for
the first couple of years, until Pratt and McClain's "Happy Days"
became a huge hit and replaced the venerable oldie. For this series,
Bill Haley and His Comets actually re-recorded the song, along with a
few other Decca classics. Personnel on this recording included Nick
Nastos on lead guitar, Freddie Moore on drums, Ray Cawley on bass, and
the ever-present Rudy Pompilli on sax. This recording has never been
officially released, so for now the DVD is the only place to hear it,
albeit in edited down form. Reportedly, the audio mix used for the DVD
eliminates a number of distracting sound effects during the original
opening credits. This rare recording of RATC has never sounded better.
(Fortunately, the set does not include the alternate version of the
credits used for syndicated reruns as Happy Days Again which
made use of a terribly edited copy of Haley's 1954 Decca original.)
The set is taking a critical drubbing by
fans upset that it contains no extra material, not even episode
commentaries or a behind-the-scenes documentary. It is widely available
in North America.
POSTED: June 30, 2004
Rock Around the Clock named 50th most important movie song
The American Film Institute bestowed a
timely honor on the 50-year-old recording of "Rock Around the Clock"
last week, naming it the 50th most important song in the history of
American film.
AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Songs was
the organization's most recent listing of superlatives in its ongoing
celebration of both the millennium and the centennial of the American
film industry. AFI members were given a ballot with 400 song titles and
were asked to choose the 100 songs they felt were the most important.
"Rock Around the Clock" was named for its use as the theme for the
epochial 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, which many credit for
kickstarting the Rock and Roll era.
The AFI's list was unveiled during a
three-hour special on CBS Television in the USA. The "Clock" segment
included comments by rocker and lifelong Haley fan Graham Nash and
actor Keith Carradine (whose own song, "I'm Easy" from Nashville,
ranked at No. 81), and received an affectionate introduction by the
special's host, John Travolta, who acknowledged the song's 50th
anniversary.
The only other 1950s rock classic to make
the top 50 was Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock," which scored at No.
21. The No. 1 song was "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz.
For a complete list of the top 100 songs,
visit this
site.
POSTED: May 26, 2004; UPDATED: August
26, 2004
60-track Rock Around the Clock CD set planned
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the
recording of "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets,
Hydra Records of Germany is planning to release the largest collection
of "Rock Around the Clock" versions ever attempted.
Hydra owner Klaus Kettner reports that Bill
Haley and Friends Vol. 3: 50 Years of Rock Around the Clock will be
a 2-CD set containing 30 different recordings of the song by Bill Haley
and the Comets -- many of which have never before been released -- and
another 30 recordings of the song by artists from around the world.
The CD is scheduled for release in June or
July of this year, Kettner says. Update: release of this
set has since been pushed back to sometime in August.
This is the third volume in Hydra's
eclectic Bill Haley and Friends series of CDs combining rare
Haley recordings with recordings related to Haley and his organization.
The first CD, released in 1998, consisted of rare Christmas-themed
country recordings. The second volume, released in 2003, spotlighted
the recordings of the Cowboy label.
POSTED: May 22, 2004
Rare 1940s/1970s Haley recordings released
Two new privately-issued CD feature rare
recordings from both the very beginning of Bill Haley's career, and
from the very end.
"She Taught Me to Yodel" and "Following
the Sun," the two earliest known recordings by Bill Haley, have been
issued on Rusty Rogers Remembers the Downhomers, a CD compiled
on behalf of Kenny Roberts by Ronnie Chase. Roberts was a member of the
Downhomers, a popular East Coast country swing group which Bill Haley
joined briefly in 1946 -- Rogers was also a member of this venerable
group. Until about a year or so ago, it was thought that Haley had made
no recordings with the group -- a pair of Vogue label singles long
believed to feature him have now been disproven -- until a set of radio
recordings from 1946 surfaced. "She Taught Me to Yodel" is a solo vocal
by Haley, while "Following the Sun" features him as part of the
ensemble.
Not long after these recordings were made,
Haley struck out on his own, leading and recording with several groups
over the next few years including the Four Aces of Western Swing and
the Saddlemen, which later morphed into The Comets in 1952.
The 2-CD set features 35 tracks by the
Downhomers and those who have heard it have called it an excellent
collection of the band's work.
Ronnie Chase, who has worked as Kenny
Roberts' piano player for many years, is offering the CD for US$19.95
plus postage via e-mail at vutek@metrocast.net
or by traditional mail from: Ronnie Chase, 731 Laconia Rd., Belmont,
NH, USA 03220.
Meanwhile, Kenny Denton, who produced Bill
Haley's final recording sessions in London and Alabama in 1979, will be
releasing a collection of outtakes and rare recordings entitled The
Journey to Fame in late June.
The CD features behind-the-scenes
recordings made at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as Haley and
a group of session musicians (who became honorary Comets for the
occasion) hammer out arrangements for several songs that would be
included in his final Sonet Records release, Everyone Can Rock and
Roll. Although no previously unreleased songs are included, the set
includes Haley working out chords on "Tweedle Dee," chatting about the
1979 remake of his 1952 single, "Jukebox Cannonball" (which Haley
refers to several times as the intended title track of the album), and
recording overdubs on "Everyone Can Rock and Roll" and the
autobiographical "God Bless Rock and Roll."
The album also includes the first CD
release of the remixed versions of "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "Rock
Around the Clock" and "See You Later Alligator" which had been released
on a Sonet EP in the late 1980s, along with two previously-unissued
"swamp rock" remixes of "Shake Rattle and Roll." These unusual
recordings made use of 1968 vocals by Haley which were stripped of
their original backing and given a more contemporary (for the late
1980s) feel. Denton oversaw these remixes, which he said reflected
Haley's never-realized plans to rerecord his old hits in a modern
style. The previously unreleased "swamp rock" remixes have been
particularly sought after by Haley collectors over the years.
A highlight of the CD is a 20-minute
interview with Dave Miller, who was Haley's producer at Essex Records
in the early 1950s and who became infamous for not allowing Haley to
record "Rock Around the Clock" (though Miller, of course, tells a
different story). Miller and Haley reportedly met for the first time in
more than 25 years during the Everyone Can Rock and Roll
sessions in London.
The Journey to Fame will be
available through Kenny Denton's Web site at dentonmedia.net.
POSTED: April 6, 2004
Celebrations mark 50th Anniversary of Rock Around the Clock
April 12, 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of
Bill Haley and the Comets' original recording of "Rock Around the
Clock," and a number of celebrations are planned to mark the milestone.
Two branches of BBC Radio in Great Britain
have scheduled major retrospectives on the history of the famous
recording.
On April 12 itself, BBC Hereford and
Worcester have scheduled a midday tribute to "Rock Around the Clock,"
featuring an interview with Haley historian Paul Bye, and the
broadcaster is also launching a listeners' contest, with an autographed
Original Comets photo as a prize.
Then, on April 17, BBC2 Radio will air a
one-hour documentary hosted by Suzi Quatro dedicated to the history of
the song. The feature includes interviews with members of the Comets,
children of Bill Haley and RATC guitarist Danny Cedrone, as well as
Peter Ford, the son of Glenn Ford and the man indirectly responsible
for getting "Rock Around the Clock" chosen as the theme music for Blackboard
Jungle.
Bill Turner, who was the Comets' guitarist
in the mid-1970s, has recorded an interview for WDVR Radio in
Sergeantsville, N.J., for broadcast in early-mid April.
Also this month, Now Dig This
magazine has published a major tribute to Haley and "Rock Around the
Clock" featuring an article on the song by Stuart Colman. Numerous
newspapers are also planning to run articles on or around the date,
including the Wall Street Journal, while an article on the
anniversary and featuring a rare interview with longtime Haley Fan Club
president Hugh McCallum reportedly appeared in an recent issue of Music
Week.
Meanwhile, Haley's final hometown of
Harlingen, Texas, will host its second Bill Haley Day on April 18.
Although details were sketchy at press time, what we know is the event
will be held in conjunction with the city's Riofest arts festival, will
include a Bill Haley exhibit, and the guest of honor will be Haley's
youngest son, Pedro.
This is the city's second Bill Haley Day;
the first, on Oct. 11, 2003, saw the unveiling of a mural in his honor.
Haley lived in Harlingen in the 1970s and died there on Feb. 9, 1981.
For more information on Bill Haley Day, check out the Riofest http://www.riofest.com" Web site.
Lastly, I have revised my own "Rock Around
the Clock" tribute Web page here at the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The
page, at www.rockabillyhall.com/RockClockTribute.html
is an extensive look at the history of the recording.
POSTED: April 6, 2004
Original Comets release concert DVD
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Rock
Around the Clock," Bill Haley's 1954-55 Comets have released a new DVD
on the Hydra Records label.
The DVD, entitled The Fathers of Rock
& Roll -- Live in Concert, features a complete concert by the
band, filmed in Europe, an hour of interviews, and a photo gallery.
This is actually the second DVD release by
the Original Band; in 2003 they released a limited edition DVD titled Bill
Haley's Original Comets that included interviews, CD-ROM content
including video of the band performing in Florida, and several audio
tracks.
Klaus Kettner of Hydra Records says the
new DVD, despite being a European release, is being made in NTSC format
so that it can be viewed in North America, "but about 95 per cent of
European DVD players can play that format, too," he says.
The show features performances of many of
the Comets' best-known classics, as well as less familiar material such
as "When You're Smiling" featuring sax man Joey Ambrose, and the
Marshall Lytle ballad "You're the Greatest."
North American release information is not
yet available, however it will hopefully be for sale at some online
merchants such as D4Haley.com.
For more information, you can contact Hydra Records directly at
RockItHydra@t-online.de. Watch for a review on this site soon.
POSTED: February 18, 2004
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame petition launched
Nearly two decades after Bill Haley was
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, efforts are now under way
to see the same honor accorded to his famous band.
An online petition has been launched to collect
signatures in support of the idea of the Hall of Fame (which is not
affiliated with the Rockabilly Hall of Fame) inducting The Comets.
Although the honor is specifically aimed at the original members of the
group, especially those who recorded "Rock Around the Clock" and the
group's other classic hits a half-century ago, it would also reflect on
the many other musicians who worked in the famous group over the years.
Originally, the Hall of Fame only honored
individual artists or groups, but not backing groups. The rules changed
some time ago, making the Comets eligible for a separate honor. An
attempt to lobby the Hall to induct Danny Cedrone, the session
guitarist who played the famous guitar riff on Haley's "Rock Around the
Clock," was unsuccessful a few years ago.
Many Haley fans were upset when the Father
of Rock and Roll was passed over in the first round of Hall of Fame
nominations in 1985; he received the belated honor the next year.
The petition has been organized by Haley
fan and collector Denise Gregoire, and can be accessed at this
www.PetitionOnline.com Web Site. As of February 16, only a few days
after being launched, the petition had already collected more than 160
signatures from fans around the world.
POSTED: February 1, 2004
Hydra to release 1954-55 Comets DVD
Hydra Records of Germany has announced it
will be releasing a special DVD featuring a complete concert by the
1954-55 Comets in time for the upcoming 50th anniversary of the
recording of "Rock Around the Clock."
Hydra owner Klaus Kettner, who made the
announcement to the Bill Haley e-mail discussion group, said the DVD,
entitled The Fathers of Rock & Roll - Live in Concert will
feature not only the live show, but also band member interviews and
rare photos.
The DVD is set for release during the
Original Band's upcoming European tour in March.
Kettner says the DVD will be viewable on
both European PAL and North American NTSC video formats.
This is the second 1954-55 Comets DVD. In
2003, the group released a DVD/CD/CD-ROM hybrid featuring interviews in
the DVD portion of the 2-disc set, video of two song performances on
the CD-ROM, and recordings of 3 live tracks for the CD.
POSTED: February 1, 2004
Bill Haley Central relocates
A major Bill Haley Web site has survived a
brush with cyber-squatters.
Bill Haley Central, created by longtime
Haley historian Chris Gardner, was started several years ago as a
portal linking together all the major Haley-related Web sites on the
Internet, including Extra, billhaley.com, d4haley.com, and Gardner's
own extensive online Haley database.
Originally located at
billhaley-central.com, Gardner's ownership of the site temporarily (and
unintentionally) lapsed before Christmas. When Gardner went to renew
his ownership of the URL, he found that a "holding company" had laid
claim to the Web site and was willing to sell it back to him ... for a
fee.
Fortunately, all Gardner had to do was
drop the hyphen in the
URL, to www.billhaleycentral.com,
register that name, and before long Bill Haley Central was back in
business. Gardner is presently rebuilding the site, but most links to
the world's major Bill Haley Web sites have been restored.
POSTED: November 1, 2003 
1980s Comets featured on new DVD
A new DVD release features a pair of rare
performances by one of the 1980s versions of Bill Haley's Comets.
Back in 1988, the John Lane/Al Rappa
edition of Bill Haley's Comets appeared on the American music TV series
Rock 'n' Roll Palace which was aired on the TNN network (then
known as The Nashville Network). Recorded at a club called Little
Darlin's, the series was hosted by the late Wolfman Jack, and featured
an array of 1950s and 1960s stars performing their greatest hits. A
number of episodes from this show have been released by the Quality
Special Products label under the banner The Best of Rock 'n' Roll
Palace.
Billed as simply The Comets, the version
of the band featured on the show and DVD consisted of bassist Al Rappa,
who worked with Haley off and on between 1959 and 1969, drummer John
"Bam-Bam" Lane, who was with the Comets from 1965 to 1968, and an
unidentifed bass guitar player/singer, saxophone player/singer, and
lead guitarist. (I have been unable to identify these musicians for my
Haley's Who's Who; any help would be appreciated). Both Lane and Rappa
today tour the US with their own separate versions of Bill Haley's
Comets, and a tug-of-war exists between their groups and the members of
the 1954-55 Original Comets over the rights to the Comets name. At the
time of this performance, however, the 1954-55 Comets had not yet
resumed touring, and Lane and Rappa were in the midst of, or had
recently resolved, a court battle against yet another group using the
name Bill Haley's Comets, this one operated by Joey Rand.
The two songs performed by The Comets on
the DVD are "Rock Around the Clock" and "See You Later Alligator." Most
of the episode is devoted to guest star Freddy Cannon. A second
episode, featuring The Diamonds and The Shirelles, rounds off the DVD.
The Best of Rock 'n' Roll Palace is
a North American Region 1 release; the two Comets tracks from this
series have reportedly been released on European CD, but I do not have
any information about that.
POSTED: September 28, 2003
Texas city honors Haley
The city where Bill Haley lived during his
last years has officially proclaimed October 11 "Bill Haley Day."
Harlingen, Texas, located close to the
Mexican border, considers Bill Haley its most famous resident. Mayor
Connie de la Garza announced the special day this past week, and the
event will coincide with the unveiling of a mural by John Aretakis.
This is the first time Haley's memory has
been celebrated with a civic day named in his honor.
Haley's youngest son, Pedro, will help
unveil the 20-by-12-foot mural, which has been installed at the corner
of Jackson and A streets.
Although Haley's primary residence was in
Mexico from the 1960s onward, he maintained a home in Harlingen
beginning in the 1970s. It was there that he was found dead on Feb. 9,
1981, of an apparent heart attack (his son, John Haley, contends that
his death was related to a brain tumor).
At the moment, no members of the Comets
are scheduled to attend due to the short notice of the event; the
members of the 1954-55 Comets who recorded "Rock Around the Clock" with
Haley in 1954 are scheduled to be touring Canada that week. However,
the hope is that Bill Haley Day in Harlingen will become an annual
celebration of the Father of Rock and Roll.
For more information on Bill Haley Day,
log-on to www.harlingen.com.
Note: I hope to have an image of the mural
posted here soon. Please check back.
POSTED: September 28, 2003 
CD pays tribute to Franny Beecher
Guitarist Andrew Norblin pays tribute to one
of the most famous rock and roll guitarists of all time on a new CD.
The privately pressed CD, Andrew
Norblin and Friends, features the talented guitarist burning up the
frets with a number of big band, country swing, and rhythm and blues
instrumentals, including a sizzling cover of Louis Prima's "Jump, Jive
and Wail," the instrumental classic "Sleepwalk," and "The Fred and
Ginger Swing," a tribute to the movie dancing legends.
The album closes with a four-minute
rendition of the classic Bill Haley and the Comets instrumental
"Goofin' Around" which has been renamed "Goofin' Around 2001 (A Tribute
to Franny)" for the occasion. The original version was recorded by the
Comets in 1956 and was featured in the 1957 film Don't Knock the
Rock; the Original 1954-55 Comets -- with Beecher -- still perform
the song in concert and it was included in their recent album Still
Rockin' Around the Clock.
Norblin's version stays true to the spirit
of the original, while adding a number of flourishes that would do
Beecher proud. (Franny has heard the tribute and was reportedly very
pleased with Norblin's work.) As a final nod to the Haley guitarist,
Norblin incorporates Beecher's famous solo from 1955's "The Saint's
Rock and Roll" into the mix as well.
Several other songs on Norblin's album
have Haley connections, with "Spanish Eyes," "Caravan," and "Malaguena"
all having been recorded by the Comets at one point. "Jump, Jive and
Wail" is also featured on a live album released last year by the John
"Bam-Bam" Lane edition of Bill Haley's Comets.
The CD is available at d4haley.com.
POSTED: June 23, 2003
Rare 1957 Australia radio recordings released
A pair of previously unissued radio
recordings by Bill Haley and the Comets have been released.
Rock and Roll Radio Australia 1957
is a new release on the Rockstar label. The CD contains 30 live tracks
featuring not only Bill Haley, but also Gene Vincent, Freddy Bell and
the Bellboys, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard, The Platters, and other
classic rock n' rollers who travelled Down Under in the late 1950s.
The two Haley tracks -- "Razzle-Dazzle"
and "Rock Around the Clock" -- were recorded during their first
Australian tour, and the sequence also includes a brief interview with
Haley. These recordings have been in the hands of private collectors
for some time, but this is the first time they have been made available
to the public.
Since the mid-1990s, Rockstar has released
two other Haley-related CDs: Let's All Rock Together, which
featured many previously unreleased recordings by The Jodimars as well
as rare 1968 tracks by Haley, and The House is Rockin', a 1998
album by the 1954-55 Comets.
Release information for this new release
was not immediately available, however Rockstar releases tend to show
up in mainstream music stores, as well as businesses that specialize in
rockabilly music such as Hepcat Records.
-- REVIEWS --
POSTED:
April 12, 2010
Bill Haley & Friends Vol. 4: Johnny Kay - Tale of a Comet
(Hydra Records BCK 27139)
For its fourth installment of the
long-running Bill Haley & Friends compilations, Hydra
Records has turned the spotlight on one
long-standing member of Bill Haley's Comets.
Johnny Kay, a.k.a. John Kaciuban, was
Haley's lead guitarist from 1960 to 1967, returned for some session
work in 1968, and returned to the Comets again for some live shows in
1972. He was
initially hired as a replacement for Franny Beecher,
and shared lead duties with Beecher for a time when the elder musician
returned to the Comets in 1961-62, but after Beecher left for good it
was
Kay who served as lead for much of the
1960s. Kay recently returned to recording rock and roll,
and this German release is a companion
to last year's Songs from the Cradle of Rock 'n' Roll, recorded
by Kay with his pre-Comets 1950s group, the Rockets.
Tale of a Comet is divided into
three parts. The first part consists of a selection of mostly
instrumental work featuring Kay that the Comets recorded
in the 1960s, and leads off with a previously unreleased live
recording of "Guitar Boogie". Longtime Haley fans will know of Nick
Nastos' versions of this crowd-pleaser, but here's
a chance to hear how Johnny Kay handles the guitar acrobatics. The
track rocks. The liner notes erroneously identify it as having been
recorded at the Star Club in Hamburg in 1962. In fact,
this particular version was recorded at an American military base in
Germany in 1966. That doesn't take away the fact it's a great Comets
performance and a nice bonus for fans who think
they "have everything". (Just to split hairs for a moment, the track
has been circulated privately, but this is "Guitar Boogie's" first
official, label release.)
The next nine tracks come from the
prolific Mexican Orfeon/Dimsa sessions of 1961-1966, during which time
the
Comets recorded far more instrumentals than they did vocal
performances. The tracks included here have been released elsewhere,
but are included because they were either written by Johnny Kay, or
focus on his guitar or vocal work. Anyone not sure
who Johnny Kay is will no doubt recognize his youthful vocals on "The
Seventh Son" (El Septimo Hijo) and "Mohair Sam" (El Traje de Sam). The
best tracks in this selection are the Kay/Beecher composition "Tampico
Twist", though for some reason a remastered version with modern drum
overdubs has been used rather than the original version, and "Feelin'
Happy", a sampling from a
groundbreaking recording session the Comets did with Big Joe Turner in
1966. I'm still amazed no one thought to do a version of "Shake Rattle
and Roll", but the rockin' version of "Feelin' Happy"
shows the Comets and Turner in top form.
Part one concludes with two tracks
featuring Kay on lead vocals recorded during the German AFN Network
radio broadcasts of 1962 (previously released by Hydra on On the Air),
an instrumental called "White Parakeet" recorded
during the Comets' obscure sojourn with Newtown Records in 1963, and
"You Changed", a single recorded by Joey Welz in 1965
and backed by members of the Comets. Kay takes credit for writing this
when he was first starting out in the music business.
The second section of the CD consists of
recent recordings by Kay and his J.K. Rockets band (which includes his
brother - and onetime Comet - Stan Kay). After a heartfelt
tribute to Haley, "Rockabilly Bill", Kay presents nine re-recordings of
Comets classics, ranging from "Crazy Man Crazy" to Haley's unexpected
1968 country classic "That's How I Got to Memphis."
I don't really consider these "remakes". They
come off more as "reimaginings". A few of the tracks, such as "Farewell
- So Long - Goodbye" and "Live it Up" stick fairly
close to the original arrangements, but "Skinny Minnie" and "Crazy Man
Crazy" are virtually unrecognizable. It does take a little getting used
to at first, and some of the tracks are
more successful than others. But the Rockets' enthusiasm for the source
material shines through, and several tracks remind me of some of Bill
Haley's later country-rock recordings for Sonet
Records.
The best tracks in this section are the
reimaginings of "That's How I Got to Memphis" (with Johnny Kay on
vocal) and "How Many" (with Stan Kay singing). These are timeless
country songs, and they stand the test of time well. Also excellent is
a new recording of "Crime Doesn't Pay", a tongue in cheek song that Kay
had originally recorded with the Rockets
back in the 1950s.
Speaking of which, the final four tracks
in this diverse collection are true rarities -- unreleased acetates
from Kay's 1958 band, the Rockets, including the original version
of "Crime Doesn't Pay". For those interested in rare early rock and
roll (so rare it's never been released until now), it's a real bonus.
The CD booklet is packed with rare photos
and document reproductions (including Kay's performance contract with
the Comets!), and Kay's personal thoughts about each song on the CD.
Like most Hydra releases, this CD is for a
specific Bill Haley fan -- one who is not just interested in the music,
but also in the people who made the music. Although there are
a few tracks I wouldn't have minded seeing included (besides that
"Guitar Boogie" there are also excellent live recordings of Kay
performing a medley of calypso songs, as well as the comedy song
"Greenback Dollar Bill", plus the Newtown sessions that begat "White
Parakeet" also begat a fine vocal performance by Kay on
"Cottonfields"), but the CD is worth checking out for fans of Kay who
want
to learn more about the musician, then and now. If Hydra does a Bill
Haley & Friends Vol. 5, I wouldn't mind seeing other Comets
given the spotlight as has been done here with Johnny Kay.
Tracks: (# indicate first known
release; * means first known CD release). Tracks 1-12; 14 by Bill Haley
and His Comets - 1. #Guitar Boogie (inst.); 2. Yucatan Twist (inst.);
3. Pure de Papas (inst. with Johnny Kay interjections); 4. Oaxaca Twist
(inst.); 5. Tampico Twist (inst.); 6. El Trajo de Sam (Mohair Sam) (Kay
vocal); 7. Twist Del Dia (inst.); 8. El Septimo Hijo (The Seventh Son)
(Kay vocal); 9. Viajando Con El Madison (inst.); 10. *Feelin' Happy
(Big Joe Turner vocal); 11. The Peppermint Twist (Kay vocal); 12.
Wolverton Mountain (Kay vocal); 13. *You Changed (Joey Welz with Comets
backing);
14. White Parakeet (inst.). Tracks 15-25 by J.K. Rockets (all Johnny
Kay vocal except where noted) - 15. #Rockabilly Bill; 16. #Watcha Gonna
Do; 17. #Skinny Minnie; 18. #That's How I Got to Memphis;
19. #Crime Doesn't Pay 2007; 20. #Live it Up; 21. #How Many (Stan Kay
vocal); 22. #Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie; 23. #ABC Boogie; 24. #Crazy Man
Crazy; 25. #Farewell - So Long - Goodbye. Tracks
26-29 by Johnny Kay's Rockets, 1958 - 26. #Catalina Kitten; 27. #Crime
Doesn't Pay; 28. #Angel; 29. #Teenage Man.
POSTED:
September 21, 2009
Book review: Still Rockin' Around the Clock - Marshall
Lytle with
Michael Jordan Rush
(Michael Jordan Rush, ISBN 978-1-4414-7780-2)
Marshall Lytle was there at the birth of
rock and roll, and in a new book, he tells his story of those
hectic early days.
For those who have had the pleasure of
meeting and interviewing Marshall over the years, much of Still
Rockin' Around the
Clock will be familiar. That's not a bad thing, by any means, as
this is a chance to have many of Lytle's stories and reminiscences
preserved in a single volume. And even for diehards, there's a lot of
new
information in this privately published book.
Still Rockin' isn't one of those
super-polished star bios that litter the bookstores. It's a more
intimate affair,
and probably the closest thing you could come to spending an evening
with the veteran bass man, just shooting the breeze about his history.
Lytle spends the first part of the book
relating his early history. I usually find this is where most
autobiographies
drag, even though it's a necessary evil - showing how one built up his
or her life before stardom arrived. Lytle early years were fascinating
to read
about, and provided the first surprises of the book as we learn how the
man who pioneered bass-throwing was born with a foot defect that could
have forever altered his life. And we learn how his family first met a
yodelling cowboy/radio deejay named Bill Haley, as well as how Lytle
began to make
a name for himself in show business several years before signing up to
replace Al Rex as Bill Haley's bass player in 1951.
Although Lytle and his Original Comets
colleagues have spent the last 20 years keeping Bill Haley's name and
his music alive,
that doesn't mean Haley is above criticism. For example, Lytle recalls
composing "Crazy Man, Crazy" alongside Bill Haley, only to have
Haley take sole writing credit for writing the song, which would
become
the band's first national hit. Later, Lytle describes his memories
regarding how he and his fellow salaried band-mates
grew more and more frustrated over their place in the Haley
organization, culminating in their decision to bolt from the Comets in
late
summer 1955 and form their own group. Despite the hard feelings towards
Haley still evident
more than 50 years after Lytle, along with fellow Comets Joey Ambrose
and Dick Richards formed the Jodimars, I felt Lytle was
pretty even-handed in his treatment of the subject; he could have taken
more of a muck-raking approach to a fairly touchy subject, but to his
credit he mostly sticks to
relaying the
facts as he recalls them.
When you're writing about events of more
than half a century ago, there's always going to be differing
recollections, and there's
a bit of this in Lytle's book. He gives his own recollection of how
Alan Freed is said to have coined the phrase "rock and roll", and
also
gives a slightly different timeline regarding when he and his fellow
Comets first started playing a new song called "Rock Around the Clock"
then that offered in other books. But he shines in his
behind-the-scenes recollections, such as meeting movie stars while the
Comets were in Hollywood to film the Round-Up of Rhythm short
film, and when the Jodimars, during one of their first gigs in New
York, were given a movie legend's old dressing room.
For me, as someone familiar with different
sides of the Haley story, the book becomes even more interesting once
we get into the
Jodimars and post-Jodimars
eras, which have not been well documented. We hear Lytle's take on why
the group wasn't as successful as it could have been, we find out why
Lytle thinks an iconic TV star might have been responsible for
scuttling a
set of 1958 Jodimars recordings, and we learn
about how and why
Marshall Lytle reinvented himself as Tommy Page in the 1960s, forming a
musical act that would not only outlast the Jodimars, but also connect
him with a future wife.
Lytle also spends time reminiscing about
his life in the 1970s, including his final, cordial meeting with Bill
Haley, and leads up to his reunion with Richards, Ambrose, as well as
Johnny Grande and Franny Beecher, in the late 1980s which has led to
a 20 year-plus association with the Original Comets that Lytle has
called the greatest retirement plan in the world.
Lytle follows his life all the way up to
early 2009, with the Comets still knocking them dead in Branson.
The book features a number of rare photos
of the Comets and the Jodimars, and also includes a foreword by Jimmy
Jay. A second foreword has been provided by Peter Ford by way of his
mini-memoir
"Rock Around the Clock and Me", in which the son of Glenn Ford
describes the role he played in "Rock Around the Clock" ending up in
his dad's film, Blackboard Jungle. This story has been printed
in a few magazines and published online, but it was good
thinking of Lytle and Rush to also preserve it in this book.
Still Rockin' Around the Clock is a
fun read, and a fascinating look at the birth of rock
and roll - and it's aftermath - from the perspective of one of the guys
who was there at the beginning. The book doesn't pretend to be anything
more than what it is, one man's memories of his life and his role in
being part of the group that changed the world of music forever, and
who, despite challenges along the way, refuses to stop rocking around
the clock.
As of late September 2009, Still
Rockin' Around the Clock was available via the American Amazon.com
website,
though plans call for it to be made available through other
international branches of Amazon.
POSTED:
May 5, 2009
Songs from the Cradle of Rock 'n' Roll - JK Rockets
(SCJ Corp)
From 1960 to 1967 (and off and on into the
1970s), Johnny Kay rocked the house as Bill Haley's lead guitarist.
When he was hired to replace the immortal
Franny Beecher in 1960, I bet he must have felt the way George Lazenby
felt when he
took over from Sean Connery. But before long the firey guitarist
established himself, holding his own during a brief period when both he
and Beecher
shared lead duties, and he became a major presence in the many
recordings Haley made for Orfeon during the mid-60s. Kay helped the
band appeal to younger
audiences, and when Haley began incorporating Beatles songs into his
sets, it was Kay who was often given the job of singing them. He also
took lead vocal duties
on a number of Comets recordings, including "Mohair Sam" and "The
Seventh Son" for Orfeon, not to mention an alternate take of "Tenor
Man" and another song
called "Cottonfields", both of which were unearthed by Bear Family
records in the 1990s for the Warner Brothers Years and More box
set.
After leaving the Comets, Kay became a
guitar teacher and later got into video production. This past year saw
Johnny Kay fire up his own group, JK Rockets -- the name comes from
Johnny Kay's Rockets, a band he fronted in the
1950s -- and record two CDs of new recordings, one for Hydra Records in
Germany, and a new American release, Songs from the Cradle of Rock
'n' Roll. While the first CD consisted mainly
of new versions of Haley classics, this new CD contains all-original
songs composed either by Kay or award-winning songwriter Bill Rapp.
The key to this record is that the three
musicians featured - Johnny Kay, Stan Kay (making this a family
affair), and Rapp, are based
around Chester, Pennsylvania. This was Haley's headquarters in the
1950s, and it was here that "Rock Around the Clock" was truly born,
making this the true "cradle" of the
music.
Cradle is an interesting album in
that it combines old-school rock and roll/rockabilly with more modern
sounds. I always found Kay's
guitar playing to be somewhat harder-edged than Beecher's on the Orfeon
recordings, and so it takes on a very modern sound here, too. And the
songs themselves include surprises
such as "Text Me Baby", which leads one to wonder how an artist in the
1950s might have handled the latest communication crazes ("Rockin'
Robin" might have sounded a lot differently with
"Twitter-Twitter-dee..." at the beginning!).
Other highlights include the title track,
which pays tribute to Haley, and several defiant "never too old to
rock"-style tracks, including "Never 2 Late 2
Rock" which makes a nice companionpiece to the Comets' "We Ain't Dead
Yet" track of a few years back, and the nostalgic "Cradle of Ol' Rock
'n' Roll."
Top-to-bottom this is a great-sounding
set, covering old-style blues ("Ol' Man Blues" is fun), to "Sudden Soul
Full of Rock 'n'
Roll" which is something KISS might have recorded had they worked for
Decca back in the 60s, and Bill Rapp channels Johnny Cash on "Good Good
Thing". Johnny Kay sounds like he's back in
the 60s with Haley on the closing track, "Too Much Rock 'n' Roll in 'em
Bones". There are also a couple of good 50s-style ballads, including
the standout, "Brand New Me."
Worth checking out for fans of old-school
Pennsylvania-style rock and roll
The CD is available through the CD Baby
website here.
Tracks: 1. Text Me Baby; 2. Brand
New Me; 3. You Don't Know You Love Me Yet; 4. I Miss Those Rock 'n'
Roll Nites;
5. Ol' Man Blues; 6. Rain Rain; 7. Sudden Soul Full of Rock 'n' Roll;
8. Good Good Thing; 9. Never 2 Late 2 Rock; 10. Cradle of Ol' Rock
'n' Roll;
11. I'll Be There for You; 13. Too Much Rock 'n' Roll in 'em Bones.
POSTED:
March 20, 2008
Guitar Virtuoso - Danny Cedrone
(DJC Records E-00821)
Before Scotty Moore picked up a guitar to
back Elvis, and even before the legendary Franny Beecher brought his
expertise to Bill Haley's
Comets, Danny Cedrone was already a rock-and-roll veteran. This new CD
casta a long-overdue spotlight on one of rock and roll's most
overlooked pioneers.
Danny Cedrone died accidentally in the
summer of 1954, not long after working on the Bill Haley & His
Comets recording of "Shake Rattle and Roll."
As such, he never got a chance to experience any of the success of that
song, or the recording from April 12, 1954 that carried his
never-to-be-equalled guitar solo,
"Rock Around the Clock". (Cedrone was never an official member of The
Comets, but instead was a favored session player who first worked with
Haley on the groundbreaking
"Rocket 88" in 1951.)
You won't find either of those
world-famous recordings on this CD. And that is a good thing, because
they're everywhere. Much harder to find are the recordings Cedrone made
on his own and as the leader of The Esquire Boys, and it is this side
of his career that Cedrone's family spotlights with this CD.
The first half of the CD features
primarily instrumental recordings by the Esquire Boys, including a
rollicking "Guitar Boogie Shuffle," an exotic "Caravan", and
great versions of "St. Louis Blues" and "Taboo.". A brief excerpt from
Haley's 1967 interview with Vancouver, B.C. deejay Red Robinson
introduces two versions of
Haley's composition "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", which Haley wrote for
Cedrone (it would also be recorded by the Treniers and the breakaway
Jodimars before Haley himself
recorded it in the fall of 1955). Receiving their first release on CD
(as is the case with all the other musical tracks here), the two
"Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie" recordings
are quite different in style, with the first featuring Cedrone on lead
vocals, and the second featuring a female supporting vocal by Kay
Karol. Most importantly, though, both recordings include the building
blocks for the later "Rock Around the Clock"; RATC's second
instrumental break makes an early appearance in one recording, while
Cedrone dances around his famous guitar solo in the second take.
(Incidentally, one of the Esquire Boys
heard on these recordings is Bob Scaltrito, who is believed to have
been the lead guitar player
on Bill Haley's 1951 recording of "Green Tree Boogie".)
The second half of the CD takes us into
the Cedrone family archives, with six ultra-rare performances
(I don't believe any have been
released before), starting with two charming recordings of proud Papa
Cedrone performing Louis Prima's "Oh Babe" and a medley of standards
dubbed "Nickelodeon Jamboree"
with his daughters Marie, Theresa and Lorraine. This is followed up by
four live recordings. I'm not sure if these are solo performances or
with the Esquire Boys, and I
have to take the label's word for the fact they're live because you
can't hear any audience sounds. But live recordings from the early
1950s are almost unheard of, and that makes these recordings
particularly valuable - and they don't sound too bad, either! It's
interesting to compare Cedrone's performance of "Fingers on Fire" with
the much-later version by Bill Haley's late-60s guitar player, Nick
Nastos.
The Cedrone family pull out all the stops
with this disc, adding an Enhanced CD component to the mix. Put this in
your computer and you're treated
to several slideshows of rare family photographs and several more
Cedrone and Esquire Boys recordings, including the amusing "Let's Play
Ball". I found the slideshow
to be very interesting because I finally got a chance to learn more
about Cedrone, whose story was - for many - shrouded in mystery until
fairly recently.
Rounding out the set is "Hip-Hop-a-Billy",
a track by The Business, a group led by Cedrone's grandson (and one of
the people behind the
CD), Dan Vanore. This is an up-to-date tribute to both Cedrone and Bill
Haley, and while the sudden appearance of more-modern music is a little
jarring at first, it's a
vivid illustration of how Danny Cedrone's musical legacy has been
carried on by his offspring.
Considering the fact many of these
recordings have sat unissued for more than 50 years, I was quite
impressed by the sound quality. I wouldn't
call this a rock and roll collection per se. Cedrone and the Esquire
Boys were very versatile performers, so this collection goes all over
the map, from country to
pop to rhythm & blues to, yes, rock and roll.
There's actually very little to criticize
about this CD. I would have liked it if the songs included on the
enhanced portion of the CD were
also available as regular music tracks, but that's about it. As a Mac
user, I was very pleased to discover that the application used on the
enhanced portion actually worked -
and worked well - on my computer (I'm used to such features being
PC-only).
This release, coming at the same time as
the Rock n' Roll is Born documentary, which also provides
never-before-heard
insight into Danny Cedrone's life and legacy, is a must-have
acquisition for serious fans of rock and roll and for fans of Bill
Haley & His Comets, as it vividly illustrates
the range and talent of a musician who deserves more attention.
As of March 20, 2008, this CD is available
for US$20 (domestic) or US$25 (overseas), cheque or money order, from
DJC Records, 511 Queen St., Philadelphia, Pa.,
USA, 19147.
Tracks: (Those marked with + are,
to my knowledge, being released for the first time. All tracks (except
for the Haley interview) are making
their CD debut.) 1. Guitar Boogie Shuffle; 2. Caravan; 3. Taboo; 4. St.
Louis Blues; 5. Bill Haley Interview excerpt; 6. Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie
(version 1); 7. Rock-a-Beatin'
Boogie (version 2, with Kay Karol); 8. +Oh Babe; 9. +Nickelodeon
Jamboree; 10. +Forgetting You (live); 11. +China Boy (live); 12.
+Fingers on Fire (live); 13. +Tico Tico (live).
The enhanced CD includes the following songs: 1. Forgetting You; 2. We
Drifted Apart; 3. Let's Play Ball; 4. Hip-Hop-a-Billy (by The Business).
POSTED:
March 7, 2008; REVISED: March 31, 2008
DVD review: Rock n' Roll is Born: The Story of 'Rock Around
the Clock' and
the Dawn of the Rock 'n' Roll Era
(Universal International Music Group)
For decades, fans of Bill Haley and the
Comets have been patiently waiting for a major documentary to be made
about the band and its place in Rock and Roll history, and a new DVD
release by Universal International Music finally gives the band and
their most famous
song a chance at the spotlight.
Written and directed by Barry Barnes, the
UK-produced Rock
n' Roll is Born takes an in-depth look at how Bill Haley and the
Comets came
to record "Rock Around the Clock" way back in April 1954, and the
immediate impact this song had on the music world in those stormy
months before Elvis Presley arrived and kicked Rock and Roll into
overdrive.
Through interviews with members of the
Comets, several film luminaries, and other rock pioneers, the
documentary paints a fair and,
generally, positive picture of Bill Haley and his band. It was
refreshing to see Haley not discussed - and ultimately dismissed - the
way so many other
historians appear predisposed to do, cutting and pasting phrases like
"too old," "too gentile", "too fat" and "not sexy enough" as they try
to get past him
quickly in order to get to their real interest, Elvis.
Not so with Barnes. Instead, he sticks
with Haley and provides an eye-opening view of how the former country
band came to record
"Rock Around the Clock", propelling them to the same levels of stardom
currently enjoyed by the likes of Miley Ray Cyrus and Nickelback today.
If I had one complaint, it is that no one
from Haley's family appears on camera to be interviewed, although John
Haley's biography of
his father, Sound and Glory, was a prime source for Barnes'
research. However, he still managed to assemble an impressive array of
people to talk about
Haley, the Comets, and the song. First and foremost are Comets Marshall
Lytle and Johnny Grande, both of whom played on the original recording
and who talk
about how it came to be, how the name "rock and roll" came to be (with
Lytle acknowledging that there are many versions of that story), and
the origin of the breakaway
group, The Jodimars. Grande died not long after his interview was
recorded, but he looks and sounds well here and it's nice that Barnes
was able to include
him in the documentary.
To discuss Blackboard Jungle and
the introduction of "Rock Around the Clock" to the world, Barnes turns
his cameras toward Peter Ford,
son of the film's star, Glenn Ford, and who is now credited with
indirectly
getting the song into the film thanks to it being part of his eclectic
record collection. One
of the surviving actors from the film, Jamie Farr (who is best
remembered as Corp. Klinger on M*A*S*H) recounts the experience
of first hearing the song
blaring from movie-theatre speakers.
We also get some perspective from other
musicians active at the time, including Pat Boone who was, perhaps
unfairly, vilified by critics and music historians for his
popularity in recording "cover versions" of black recordings (even
though Presley's practice of same is generally accepted). His
discussion of cover records might
well be an eye-opener in its own right; it certainly made me look at
his early work with a new perspective.
The documentary takes an unexpected turn
midway through when it provides a glimpse at the life and times of
Danny Cedrone, the brilliant
guitarist who immortalized the "Rock Around the Clock" solo, but died
in a freak accident before he'd experience any of its success. His
daughter's emotional
recollection of her father -- the pain of his death nearly 54 years ago
still evident -- provides the documentary with an emotional lynchpin.
Barnes has also assembled an impressive
array of rare footage, much of it brand new even to longtime Haley
fanatics like me. There are two
beautifully restored performances from the Comets' ultra-rare short
film Round Up of Rhythm, and a selection of terrific home movie
footage taken by Comets
drummer Ralph Jones -- including the only known color footage of the
set of the Rock Around the Clock movie. Barnes does a
remarkable bit of editing by
combining the Decca recording of "See You Later Alligator" with Jones'
footage to give us an idea of what the "Alligator" scene from the RATC
movie might have
looked like had it been filmed in color. There is also a snippet of
tantalizing footage showing Haley and producer Milt Gabler at work in
the recording studio.
Aside from the lack of any Haley family
interviews, the only other shortcoming I can think of is that, like
most other articles and
biographical articles on Haley, the story pretty much ends at the end
of the 1950s, with little reference to Haley's later resurgence of
popularity in the 1960s and 70s,
or the 20-year success story of the Original Comets' reunion. But
otherwise, this is a fantastic document about a time in musical history
that too many music
historians are trying to revise into oblivion. Elvis may have kicked
Rock and Roll into high gear, but it took Bill Haley and His Comets to
put gas in the car and
turn the ignition key. And this documentary makes the strongest case
for the band's rightful place in musical history that I have seen in
many years. Keep this one in pride of place next to Jim Dawson's
history of "Rock Around
the Clock" and John Haley and John Von Hoelle's Sound and Glory.
Rock n' Roll is Born is expected to
be released in Europe in March 2008, with a
North American release coming later this year. Universal Music, the
company distributing the DVD, is the same
company that inherited Bill Haley's catalog of Decca recordings, and
its CD arm has issued several compilations of
Haley recordings on both sides of the Atlantic over the last few years.
Additional: My review above was
based upon a preliminary review copy of the DVD. I've since seen a
final version
of the DVD, and was pleased to discover that it also includes several
extra features, including additional interview footage of Lytle and
Grande and other participants, and
the two Round Up of Rhythm performances presented on their own
(sadly, "Straight Jacket" is still omitted, with its ultra-rare
footage of
Haley playing lead guitar). Also included (and these are getting to be
increasingly rare these days) is a beautifully illustrated booklet
featuring information
about the participants in the documentary, along with some very rare
photographs of Haley in action.
(DVD cover art courtesy Barry Barnes.)
POSTED:
June 29, 2007; REVISED: Sept.
28, 2007
Bill Haley & Friends Vol. 3: The Story of Rock Around the
Clock
(Hydra Records BCK 27128-1.5)
At first thought, the idea of a CD with no
less than 63 of the same song might seem like overkill – even when it
comes down to that all-time classic Bill Haley & His Comets
recording, "Rock Around the Clock."
Yet the third volume in Hydra Records' Bill
Haley & Friends series manages to turn repetition into
something approaching an art form. Not to mention a fascinating
document chronicling the evolution and influence of the most important
rock and roll song ever recorded.
Originally scheduled for release back in
2004 to mark the 50th anniversary of Bill Haley's first recording of
the song, release of The Story of Rock Around the Clock was
delayed for nearly two years until 2006, presumably to allow more time
for Hydra to access and license the many tracks heard here. The first
CD features 31 versions of the song as recorded by Bill Haley & The
Comets between 1954 and 1979, plus a few more recent versions by the
various post-Haley incarnations of the Comets.
The second disc features 32 wildly
different interpretations of the song by artists ranging from Carl
Perkins and Chubby Checker to Mae West and Tenpole Tudor with the Sex
Pistols.
Perhaps it's because I'm so familiar with
the Haley versions (there's only one version on Disc 1 that I'd never
heard before) I actually found myself enjoying Disc 2 more because of
how it demonstrates the versatility of the song. There are some
fascinating renditions here, some based upon the original sheet music
arrangement from 1953 (which honestly sounded like a cross-breeding of
a Hungarian funeral dirge and "Syncopated Clock"), a number that
adapted Haley's arrangement, and a few that have a unique voice of
their own.
Some of my favorites include a version
credited to Jimmy DeKnight himself, James Myers. The ultra-rare "Rock
Around the Clock Cha Cha" is a terrific instrumental version that tries
to meld "RATC" with "Istanbul Not Constantinople" – and it works! Other
highlights include comedic versions such as Mae West's double
entendre-filled take, a ersatz-Yiddish version by Mickey Katz who
sounds so much like Danny Kaye I had to check to make sure it wasn't
actually Kaye working under another name, a waltz version by Bubblerock
is Here to Stay (don't ask), and an unintentionally funny version by
the usually reliable Platters. (Not every version of the song is a
gem.) For some reason I also found that a number of performers seemed
to have misheard the original lyrics; as a result you have a number of
singers inviting their listeners to "rock rock rock to the Broadway
lights."
There are also some pleasant surprises.
I'd always been told the Nilsson/John Lennon version was awful, but
hearing it for the first time in this collection, it isn't that bad
(makes me wish a recording of the Beatles doing it would surface). On
the other hand, the version by Tenpole Tudor and the Sex Pistols gets
more awful every time I hear it – perhaps that's why I love that
version so much; it's the musical equivalent of an Ed Wood movie. But
for me the best cover version is the RnB rendition by the Deep River
Boys, and Hydra kindly includes it here. Hydra has done a very good job
of collecting different arrangements rather than simply include a bunch
of people parroting Haley, though they could have done a better job of
editing the version by Adriano Celentano which begins as another song
entirely before finally medley-ing into "Clock."
For rockabilly and rock and roll fans, the
most significant recording on this disc is the one by Sonny Dae and His
Knights – the version recorded for Arcade Records only weeks before
Haley recorded his version for Decca; I'm not aware of this track being
made available on CD before. There is also a rare instrumental jam
session version by the great Eddie Cochran. Track 30 on the disc also
shows how RATC continued to make history in a mid-70s rendition by
Telex – a very early example of what we'd now call electronica.
With the possible exception of the Isley
Brothers version and the version by Pat Boone, I'm pretty certain a
good 90 per cent of these cover versions here have never been released
to CD before now.
As for the Haley disc, it's a mixed bag.
Although it's great to have all of Haley's studio versions together in
one collection for the first time – including a never-before-released
version from the Happy Days soundtrack – a sense of repetition
does set in after awhile. While Haley did experiment with some of his
hits as time went on (not always effectively, witness the horrendous
remakes of "Shake Rattle and Roll" and "See You Later Alligator" from
the 1966 Orfeon sessions), it's clear he saw "Clock" as untouchable and
save for some minor variations heard in the 1960 Warner Bros. remake
(mostly due to Franny Beecher altering the guitar solo) one version
pretty much sounds like the next. Until the 1970s, that is, when Haley
developed the annoying tendency to drop one of the verses and the
second instrumental break, leaving audiences feeling decidedly
short-changed.
Still, there are some great performances
to be heard here, from the never-to-be-equaled 1954 recording for Decca
to the last known recording of Haley performing the song for Queen
Elizabeth in 1979 (released here commercially for the very first time,
this was one of the only occasions in the late 1970s that Haley
actually performed a complete rendition of "Clock"; it is also the
first-ever commercial release of any recording featuring the line-up of
Comets that toured with Haley in the fall of 1979).
Sound quality leaves a little to be
desired on a few tracks, although this can be forgiven on a number of
examples since they come from tapes that are decades old. It is ironic
that the two 1955 performances recorded in Cleveland (previously
released on Hydra's Rock and Roll Show a decade ago) sound
better than the versions from the 1970s. The Happy Days version
could sound much better, though; with the show having been released to
DVD surely a better quality copy could have been located.
Rounding out the first disc is an
assortment of versions by the various incarnations of the Comets that
have existed since Haley died in 1981. These include a rare version by
the Comets contingent led by Joey Rand in the mid-80s, and an equally
rare version by John Lane and Al Rappa from around 1989. We also get a
live recording and two studio versions by the 1954-55 Comets with Jacko
Buddin on vocals. (Recorded in 1999 and 2000, the studio takes
originate from the two long out-of-print and rare CDs the Original
Comets did for Ronny Weiser's Rollin Rock Records a few years back and
it's terrific to see them available again; they're the final studio
recordings of the song featuring the late Johnny Grande.)
For the more diehard Haley fans, many of
the recordings here will be nothing new, with the exception of real
rarities such as the Command Performance and Happy Days
versions and a snippet of a 1970s performance. There are some
additional live performances from the 1960s that exist on tape – some
are even listed in the booklet – that are omitted from the collection.
It would have also been nice to include one of the more recent (as of
the CD's compilation in 2004, that is) Original Comets performances
featuring Marshall Lytle on vocals. But I imagine an 80-track
collection would have truly been overkill!
If "Rock Around the Clock" is not your
cup of tea – and there are some Haley fans who don't consider it their
favorite song, believe it or not - this set is probably going to be the
equivalent of Chinese water torture. But if you appreciate the
historical significance of the song, and enjoy the opportunity to have
every commercially available Bill Haley version of the song in one
spot, as well as a collection of diverse and fascinating
interpretations of the tune, then this CD is a must.
Tracks: Disc 1 (all by Bill
Haley & His Comets unless noted; # indicates first known release; *
indicates first known CD release) – 1. Decca 1954; 2. Cleveland 1955
(first performance, introduced by Billy Williamson); 3. Cleveland 1955
(second performance); 4. Toast of the Town 1955 (introduced by
Ed Sullivan); 5. Alan Freed radio show 1956; 6. Washington Square
1956 (introduced by Ray Bolger); 7. Australian radio 1957; 8. Paris
Olympia 1958; 9. Warner Bros. Records 1960; 10. Armed Forces Network
radio 1962; 11. Orfeon Records Mexico 1966; 12. *Paris 1966; 13.
Stockholm live version for Sonet Records, 1968; 14. Sonet Records
studio version 1968; 15. New York Bitter End 1969 (first performance);
16. New York Bitter End 1969 (second performance); 17. *Detroit 1973 (Let
the Good Times Roll soundtrack); 18. London Wembley Stadium 1972 (London
Rock and Roll Show soundtrack); 19. #Happy Days opening
credits 1973; 20. London Hammersmith Palais 1974; 21. *Paris, December
1974; 22. *London, March 1979 (Blue Suede Shoes soundtrack); 23.
#Royal Command Performance, November 1979; 24. #Netherlands TV
performance, October 1979 (fragment); 25. The Comets (John Lane/Al
Rappa contingent), Rock and Roll Palace c.1988 (incomplete);
26. *Joey Rand version of the Comets, 1980s; 27. Bill Haley – Kenny
Denton remix for Sonet Records c.1989 (Haley’s 1968 vocals spliced with
a new backing); 28. Original Comets, England 1993 (from Hydra CD We're
Gonna Party); 29. Original Comets Las Vegas 1999 (Still Rockin’
Around the Clock- Rollin Rock Records); 30. Original Comets Las
Vegas 2000 (Aged to Perfection- Rollin Rock); 31. Swing Cats
Remix (Haley’s 1966 Orfeon vocals with new backing; produced by Danny
Harvey).
Disc 2: 1. Dick Clark introduction;
2. Sven Assmussen; 3. Pat Boone; 4. Bubblerock is Here to Stay; 5.
Freddy Cannon; 6. Adriano Celentano (in medley with another song); 7.
Chubby Checker; 8. Eddie Cochran and Gary Lambert; 9. Sonny Dae and His
Knights (pre-Haley recording; possibly first CD release); 10. Deep
River Boys; 11. Phil Flowers; 12. Nilsson and John Lennon; 13. Gary’s
Gang; 14. Ted Herold; 15. Lee Jackson (Bill Haley is credited as
producer on this 1976 version); 16. Goran Odner and Matti Viljasen
Septetti; 17. Mickey Katz; 18. Jimmy DeKnight ("Rock Around the Clock
Cha Cha"); 19. Buddy Knox; 20. Dinah Lee (only female vocal in this
collection); 21. Tenpole Tudor and the Sex Pistols; 22. Los Hispanos;
23. Renato Carosone; 24. Sandy Nelson; 25. Die Optimisten; 26. Carl
Perkins; 27. Pirron & Knapp; 28. The Platters; 29. Gene Simmons;
30. Telex; 31. Isley Brothers; 32. Mae West; 33. Paul Wurges.
POSTED: February 3, 2007; updated June
26, 2007
DVD review: Don't Knock the Rock/Rock Around the Clock
(Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Ever since the VHS tape was introduced back
in the late 1970s, North American fans of Bill Haley & His Comets
have been patiently waiting for the official home video release of the
two films the band made in 1956. At last, it's here as a two-DVD set.
But it's a mixed blessing.
It's difficult to be too harsh on a
release like this, which Sony Pictures had no obligation to do. And as
I say above, some of us have been waiting neigh on three decades for
this to finally arrive. But, as a fan of Bill Haley, I must start out
by criticizing the incredibly shoddy packaging being used for the
release. Yes, I know the movie and the music are the important thing,
but one of the purposes of releasing this film to DVD - and this was
something promoter Martin Lewis had in mind when he first suggested to
Sony that they release the films to DVD back in 2005 at the height of
the Rock is Fifty celebrations (though the current release appears
unconnected to his efforts) - is to introduce Haley and his music to
new audiences.
If that's the case, why on earth would
Sony use an absolutely ludicrously cut-and-pasted image of Haley for
the illustration representing Rock Around the Clock? They took
his head and placed it over another man's body - I'm convinced it's a
photo of Elvis from one of his movie posters. It looks stupid. And for
the Don't Knock the Rock film, there is not a single image of
Haley to be found anywhere on the packaging, and he was the top-billed
star! Instead it promotes Little Richard as the star, even though he's
only on screen for about two minutes.
In some respects, it's a minor thing -
what picture is used for the cover - but I found it rather
disrespectful.
Now, onto the contents of the DVD. The
lack of any extra features - including a Scene Selection screen - is
very annoying, indicating, to me, that this was a rush job. But once
the films start, things pick up considerably.
Despite my complaints above, Sony has done
a wonderful job in remastering the two films. They look and sound
great. The fact they're presented in widescreen may come as a surprise.
I believe the two films were released in this format initially -
certainly there appears to be little indication of cropping in the
image - and this makes these films well-suited for the next-generation
widescreen sets and HD.
As for the films themselves, well, they
are what they are: two quickies made to capitalize on what was, at the
time, expected to be a passing fad. The first of the two films, Rock
Around the Clock, (billed for some reason as the second release in
this set) provides the best showcase for Haley and the Comets, from
their classic performance of "See You Later Alligator" to a
barnstorming "Rudy's Rock" which is a different performance than the
one released on record.
Haley is supported by dancer Lisa Gaye,
who is the female romantic lead of the picture, wooing promoter Johnny
Johnston. Gaye is one of the 1950s most underrated sex symbols, and she
definitely livens up the moments when the Comets aren't onscreen.
Also highlighted in classic performances
are the Treniers-inspired Freddy Bell and the Bellboys, and the
Platters. And Alan Freed also makes his first film appearance.
The most amazing thing is the song "Rock
Around the Clock" is never performed on screen in its entirety.
Instead, we hear part of it over the opening credits, we see Haley and
the boys sing the intro during a montage, and then at the end, when
you'd logically expect the whole song to be performed, you hear it
faintly in the background while Johnston and cougar Alix Talton (the
"villain" of the film) resolve the plot with a lengthy bit of dialogue!
No wonder the film caused riots back in 1956 - people came to hear the
song, not listen to romantic banter.
The sequel, Don't Knock the Rock
was made and released as Haley's star was already on the decline in
America. Although top billed, he is only on screen for a scant few
minutes and the band is never really given a chance to shine like they
do in the first film. Performance highlights include the "Rudy's Rock"
sequel, "Calling All Comets," and a unique performance of the Franny
Beecher instrumental "Goofin' Around" which is different from the
record release, but sadly the complete version is not heard in the
film. Haley's big numbers, "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" and "Rip it Up" show
him on screen fairly briefly, the camera instead deciding to focus on
dancers for most of the two numbers. And the only time the band gets to
do the theme song is over the opening credits.
Musical cameos include the Treniers and
Little Richard, and you can tell the filmmakers put more stock in them
than in Haley - they get full performances.
The film also shows that the producers
still weren't sure what to make of rock and roll. Alan Dale plays the
lead role and gets several musical numbers. He's supposed to be a
bigtime rock and roll star, but his songs are more of the Mel Torme
variety, and his version of Haley's "Don't Knock the Rock" that closes
the film is awful.
There are a few good moments in the film,
such as when Alan Freed (back again) presides over a play about the
history of music, which Haley fans will immediately recognize as an
adaptation of Haley's song "Teenager's Mother" (but without the music).
The lack of extras is disappointing. When
Martin Lewis first proposed the films be released, there was talk of
recording commentary with the surviving Comets and others who knew
Haley, and this might have also been a great opportunity to make
available the rare short film Round Up of Rhythm in which Haley
and the Comets appeared in 1954. Unfortunately this didn't happen and
the loss last year of Johnny Grande leaves only Al Rex and Franny
Beecher as the sole surviving Comets who appeared in Don't Knock
the Rock and the Rock Around the Clock film.
In summary, I have major issues with how
these two films have been packaged by Sony, and I will admit that they
aren't the best musicals ever made, but for Bill Haley fans, rock and
roll historians, and people interested in having a good time at the
movies, the release of these two films to DVD is long overdue and,
concerns aside, still very welcome.
Update: After writing the above
review I learned that contrary to my earlier statements the two films
were not issued in widescreen, and therefore were altered for
the DVD release. For the record I oppose such altering of films.
There’s no need for this to be done and while I will admit it seems to
have been well-executed for these two releases, the fact their aspect
ratio has been altered has left me with a sour taste in my mouth
regarding this release, above and beyond the concerns stated above.
Hopefully some company like Criterion or Kino will issue these films in
their proper screen ratio in the future.
POSTED:
November 1, 2006
Rock 'n' Roll Arrives ... The REAL Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
1946-1954
(Bear Family Records BCD 16509)
Over the last two decades, the German label
Bear Family has been slowly but surely chronicling the career of Bill
Haley, and earlier this year they released the third and, perhaps, most
unique set of Haley recordings ever released.
First, a word of warning. Despite the
title, there is very little actual rock and roll in this 5-CD set. As
any Haley fans worth their salt can tell you, Haley began as a
country-western singer and yodeller, and it is this side of the
musician's career that is spotlighted above all else in this set. Bear
Family, in my opinion, made an error in billing this set as being by
"Bill Haley and His Comets". In truth of fact, the Comets per se only
appear on about a dozen of the recordings, while the group's
precedessor, The Saddlemen, are also outnumbered by recordings either
by Haley himself or with other groups.
This is also not an album for audiophiles.
Many of these recordings are only available on the crudest of recording
materials -- half-century old acetates, worn tapes, and other sources
that hardly add up to pristine sound quality. Listeners have to balance
this off with the knowledge that these are truly historic recordings.
Many have never been released until now -- including the first known
recordings Haley ever made 60 years ago -- and of those that have been
released before, the original 78rpm singles are each fetching prices on
eBay far greater than the sticker price of this set.
That said, I did find a few recordings had
poorer sound quality then I was used to hearing on previous releases.
This is particularly the case with "Rocket 88" and "Rock the Joint",
two widely-available recordings that for some reason had
greater-than-expected surface noise and hiss in this set. Ironically,
some of the previously-unreleased recordings that have been sitting in
personal collections for more than 50 years sound better.
Chris Gardner and Bear Family have done a
terrific job of compiling tracks from a wide variety of sources, with
perhaps the greatest coup being the discovery of a 1946 radio show by
the Down Homers recorded when Bill Haley was a member. This 15-minute
set includes the first known recorded Haley solo performance, "She
Taught Me How to Yodel" and if you're a diehard Haley fan, is worth the
price of admission. However I do question the decision to also include
the four songs the Down Homers recorded for Vogue Records earlier that
year. Although long rumored to have included Bill Haley, this rumor was
debunked years ago. Perhaps Bear Family felt that Haley collectors who
had heard about these recordings for decades deserved to finally hear
them -- and they are terrific western swing songs, and it's clear to
see where Haley got his yodelling aspirations from.
A true highlight is the deluxe hardbound
book included with the set. Written by Gardner, it is an exhaustive and
fascinating look at Haley's early career -- there were things even I
didn't know -- and as usual he has done his usual bang-up job with the
discography. This book deserves to be published on its own.
For listeners who think Bill Haley began
and ended with "Rock Around the Clock", this set is sure to be a
revelation. And anyone who is serious about studying the roots of rock
'n' roll -- the building blocks and stepping stones that led ultimately
to "Rock Around the Clock" -- will also find the experience worthwhile.
Here's a disc-by-disc summary of this set:
Disc 1: Bill Haley was hardly the
big star he would later become at the time the first tracks on this
disc were recorded. In fact, the first A-side single released by Bill
Haley and the Four Aces of Western Swing, the mini-morality play "Too
Many Parties, Too Many Pals" didn't even feature Haley on vocals, but
rather Tex King, and the B-side, the fast-moving "Four Leaf Clover
Blues" (an ode to gambling) was a duet between Haley and Barney
Barnard. Yet these two tracks lead off the first set of recordings,
which were recorded circa 1948-49 for the Cowboy Records label. Anyone
who purchased Hydra's Bill Haley and Friends Vol. 2, which
focused on the Cowboy label's output, will have heard these already but
they're always worth a listen. The remainder of the disc contains
ultra-rare recordings from 1949 and 1950 that were leased out to labels
such as Atlantic and Center Records. These original discs fetch
hundreds of dollars on the collector's market. "Loveless Blues" and
"Teardrop From My Eyes" are terrific examples of the proto-rock and
roll Haley was recording in the years before "Rocket 88". The disc also
includes the single that was bizarrely released under the name Reno
Browne and Her Buckaroos (Gardner's book tells the story), plus a pair
of previously unreleased alternate takes.
Disc 2: This disc looks at the work
Haley did in 1951-52 for Holiday Records, and also showcases the work
of the Saddlemen as session musicians during this same period. "Rocket
88" leads off the set, and while the Sun Records public relations
machine would have you believe Jackie Brentson's original recording was
the first rock and roll song, in fact it was this version by Haley that
combined rhythm and blues and country western music to create true rock
and roll. Compared to the stuff on Disc 1, the change is truly jarring.
As noted above the sound quality on "Rocket 88" is less than I've heard
elsewhere, but otherwise the other tracks sound great. For the first
time on CD we get to hear the two duets Haley recorded with Loretta
Glendenning, and Bear Family has located better-quality copies of the
two Christmas songs that had previously been issued by Hydra Records
for their Merry Christmas Bill Haley and Friends collection.
Rounding out the set are tracks by Lou Graham and Curly Herdman backed
by the Saddlemen (Herdman performs a version of Haley's "Rose of My
Heart"), including some alternate takes by Graham. The disc ends back
in 1946 with the controversial Vogue Records recordings by the Down
Homers. Do they belong here? Not really, but they're worth listening to.
Disc 3: This disc, which runs less
than 45 minutes, contains the obligatory (but no less appreciated)
Essex Records sessions from 1952-1954. Nothing new here for most
listeners, except perhaps an alternate take of "Yes, Indeed". "Rock the
Joint" for some reason is of lesser sound quality than previous
releases by Rollercoaster and Alshire.
Disc 4: Many recordings made by
Haley in the late 1940s were never released until the late 1970s. This
disc contains most of these recordings, which had previously appeared
in LP form on releases such as Hillbilly Haley by Rollercoaster
and Golden Country Origins by Grassroots. Why these excellent
recordings never saw the light of day for 30 years is a great mystery,
and you can definitely hear elements of rock and roll in these tracks
-- check out the introduction to "Candy and Women", a Haley original
that was never released by him but instead became a national hit when
Andy Reynolds recorded it. "Rose of My Heart" is a wonderful cowboy
ballad that deserved greater exposure. A number of
never-before-released recordings appear here, including some fantastic
country work on "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" and "Sunday Down in
Tennessee" -- recordings of a type Haley would never do again. This
disc includes the Down Homers radio show from 1946 -- the earliest
known confirmed recordings involving Bill Haley, and it's a fun listen.
The disc ends with a couple of archived recordings reflecting Haley's
second career as a radio announcer: here he promotes a Rex Allen
western film alongside his manager, Jack Howard, and records an
advertisement for refrigerators which segues into a promotion for an
upcoming Saddlemen concert with Billy Williamson (a truncated version
of this recording was released by Rollercoaster Records but now the
complete version is released for the first time so all can enjoy Haley
espousing the virtues of refrigerator technology).
Disc 5: Audiophiles beware: there
is no such thing as high-end digital sound quality on these recordings.
But considering these are the only known copies of some of the rarest
recordings in the Haley archive, we can live with hisses, pops and
fades because it's unlikely better quality copies of any of these rare
recordings exist, and Bear Family has done their best to make them
sound as good as possible. This remarkable set of recordings show Haley
trying out a number of different country western recordings, including
false starts and demo recordings of songs such as "Rose of My Heart"
and "Yodel Your Blues Away", and an album's worth of previously
unreleased recordings with the Four Aces of Western Swing, including
"Little Rock, Arkansas" and an early instrumental, "Whispering" that
could have easily fit into the Comets' repertoire. The set ends with a
previously unreleased (but, sadly, degraded) Saddlemen recording of
"Teardrops From My Eyes" that, had it been released back in 1950-51,
would have probably been remembered as a Haley classic alongside
"Rocket 88" and "Rock the Joint".
Track listing (* indicates tracks never before released; #
are tracks making their first appearance on CD):
Disc 1: Four Aces of Western Swing - 1. Too Many
Parties, Too Many Pals (Tex King vocal); 2. Four Leaf Clover Blues
(with Barney Barnard); 3. Candy Kisses; 4. Tennessee Border (with
Barney Barnard); 5. The Covered Wagon Rolled Right Along; 6. Yodel Your
Blues Away; 7. Behind the Eight Ball (with Barney Barnard); 8. Foolish
Questions. Johnny Clifton and His String Band - 9. #Loveless
Blues; 10. #Stand Up and Be Counted. Saddlemen - 11. #Deal Me a
Hand; 12. #Ten Gallon Stetson; 13. #Susan Van Dusen; 14. #I'm Not to
Blame; 15. #I'm Gonna Dry Every Tear With a Kiss; 16. #Why Do I Cry
Over You?; 17. *Teardrops From My Eyes; 18. *Loveless Blues. Reno
Browne and Her Buckaroos - 19. My Sweet Little Girl from Nevada;
20. My Palomino and I.
Disc 2: Saddlemen - 1. Rocket 88; 2. Tearstains on
My Heart; 3. Green Tree Boogie; 4. Down Deep in My Heart; 5. #I'm
Crying (with Loretta Glendenning); 6. #Pretty Baby (with Loretta
Glendenning); 7. A Year Ago This Christmas; 8. I Don't Want to Be Alone
for Christmas; 9. Jukebox Cannoball; 10. Sundown Boogie. Curly
Herdman - 11. #Barnyard Special; 12. #Rose of My Heart. Lou
Graham - 13. Two-Timin' Blues; 14. Long Gone Daddy; 15. #I'm
Lonesome; 16. #A Sweet Bunch of Roses; 17. #Please Make Up Your Fickle
Mind; 18. #My Heart Tells Me; 19. I'm Lonesome (alt. take); 20. A Sweet
Bunch of Roses (alt. take); 21. Please Make Up Your Fickle Mind (alt.
take); 22. My Heart Tells Me (alt. take); Down Homers (without
Haley) - 23. Out Where the West Winds Blow; 24. Who's Gonna Kiss
You When I'm Gone? 25. Boogie Woogie Yodel; 26. Baby I Found Out All
About You.
Disc 3: Saddlemen - 1. Rock the Joint; 2. Icy
Heart; 3. Dance with a Dolly; 4. Rocking Chair on the Moon. Comets
- 5. Stop Beatin' Around the Mulberry Bush; 6. Real Rock Drive; 7.
Crazy Man Crazy; 8. What'cha Gonna Do? 9. Pat-a-Cake; 10. Fractured;
11. Live it Up; 12. Farewell, So Long, Goodbye; 13. I'll Be True; 14.
Ten Little Indians; 15. Yes Indeed; 16. Yes Indeed (alt. take); 17.
Chattanooga Choo Choo; 18. Straight Jacket (instrumental).
Disc 4: Four Aces of Western Swing - 1. #Rovin'
Eyes; 2. #Candy and Women; 3. #My Mom Heard Me Cry Over You; 4. #Cotton
Haired Gal; 5. #Wreck on the Highway; 6. #A Yodeller's Lullaby; 7. #All
I Need is Some More Lovin'; 8. #Candy and Women (alt. take); 9. #Yodel
Your Blues Away; 10. #Red River Valley (Tex King vocal); 11. #Behind
the Eight Ball (with Barney Barnard); 12. *Foolish Questions; 13. *Easy
Rocking Chair; 14. *I Wasted a Nickel; 15. *My Bucket's Got a Hole in
It; 16. *Sunday Down in Tennessee; 17. *Behind the Eight Ball. Saddlemen
- 18 #Rose of My Heart; 19. #Within This Broken Heart of Mine. Down
Homers Radio Show - 20. *Down Home; 21. *Following the Sun; 22.
*She Taught Me How to Yodel (Haley solo vocal); 23. *Cool Water; 24.
*Baby I Found Out All About You; 25. *Open Up Those Pearly Gates for
Me; 26. *Who's Gonna Kiss You When I'm Gone? Bill Haley airshots
- 27. *Arizona Cowboy Advert (with Jack Howard); 28. *Westinghouse and
Twin Bars Advert (complete, with Billy Williamson).
Disc 5: Bill Haley solo - 1. *Rose of My Heart
(false start); 2. *Rose of My Heart (incomplete); 3. *Cherry Tree Lane;
4. *Cute Little Brown-Eyed Gal; 5. *A Sweet Bunch of Roses; 6. *Yodel
Your Blues Away. Four Aces of Western Swing - 7. *Candy and
Women; 8. *Behind the Eight Ball; 9. *Ages and Ages Ago; 10. *Honestly;
11. *I Dreamed of An Old Love Affair; 12. *Whispering (instrumental);
13. *I Love You So Much it Hurts; 14. *Little Rock, Arkansas; 15. *A
Bundle of Kisses; 16. *Are You Teasing Me? 17. *I Want You; 18. *Gotta
Have My Baby Back; 19. *Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me; 20. *Candy
and Women. Saddlemen - 21. *Teardrops From my Eyes.
POSTED:
November 1, 2006
DVD reviews:
Bill Haley and His Comets Live! and One for the Money: The
Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
Two editions of the same DVD release: left, St. Clair
Entertainment Encore Series; right, Legacy Entertainment.
Over the past year, some rare footage of
Bill Haley and His Comets has quietly made its way onto the budget-line
home video market here in North America.
At least two DVD editions have been
released featuring excerpts from a live show Bill Haley gave in March
1979 at the Odeon in Birmingham, England. This show was videotaped by
Thames Television for broadcast that same evening as part of "The
Father of Rock and Roll", an episode of the documentary series Format
V. Only a few songs from that performance were actually broadcast,
and the more-or-less complete tape has circulated among private
collectors for years.
The two DVDs I have located have been
released by the American/Canadian company St. Clair Entertainment
(under the title Bill Haley and His Comets) and the British
company Legacy Entertainment (as Bill Haley and His Comets Live!).
Both discs appear to originate from the same slightly deteriorated
25-year-old videotape source. As such sound and video quality is
variable -- there appears to have been little done in terms of
restoration, though whether much could actually be done to
upgrade the video and sound is certainly the question to ask. Both DVDs
are being sold through the "budget-line" market; I paid only $6 Cdn.
for the Legacy DVD where I found it among assorted DVDs of public
domain films at a local drug store. The St. Clair edition I paid less
than $10 Cdn. for through Amazon. (So if you see these being sold for
$20, buyer beware.)
The performance itself is better than one
would expect. A lot of music journalists have suggested that by 1979
Haley was over the hill and unable to put in a good performance. In
fact, this was far from the case. Rested from a two-year sabbatical
(sparked, Haley claimed, by the death of longtime sax player Rudy
Pompilli in 1976), Haley is in good voice. And while the group of
Comets assembled for the March 1979 British tour were mostly UK
musicians with no prior Haley connection, they do a pretty good job of
backing Haley in front of a fairly raucous crowd. (Incidentally, the
Legacy edition contains an error on the packaging suggesting this was
the group's last-ever professional performance; in fact, Haley
continued to perform for another year.)
Highlights of this performance include the
old standbys such as "Shake Rattle and Roll" and "Rock Around the
Clock", of course. You also get to see a rare videotaped performance
(possibly the only one known to exist) of Haley performing his version
of "Me and Bobby McGee", a song he'd recorded back in 1970.
Unfortunately the performance is marred by the fact the opening verse
is missing (the tape starts partway into the song) and, also, at one
point an audience member jumps on stage and gets tackled by security.
It's a throwback to the old riot days of the 1950s, to be sure, but not
really appropriate for the song. The video also includes Haley being
presented a gold record for his recent recordings for Sonet Records
(for some reason some audience members can be heard booing afterwards).
Also included is a performance by supporting act Mal Gray (before he
became a full-time Comet later in the year) of Chuck Berry's "Promised
Land". Of particular note is the guitar work of Jerry Tilley, who I
consider to be one of the more underrated of the post-Golden Years
Comets.
The two editions are virtually identical
in terms of content, except that the St. Clair edition, for some
reason, repeats the performance of "The Saint's Rock and Roll" at the
end (and in fact the packaging doesn't mention several other songs
included on the DVD, either). Both editions present the songs out of
original performance order, with "Rock Around the Clock" appearing
midway through. Also edited out is a bizarre moment following the
performance of "Rock the Joint" showing another audience member jumping
on stage and this time being tackled by Haley's rhythm guitar player,
Ray Parsons (this was broadcast on Format V, however).
This isn't necessarily the best showcase
of Bill Haley and His Comets, but it's worth checking out for those
interested in sampling some of his final work.
Tracks: Shake Rattle and Roll,
Razzle-Dazzle, Rudy's Rock (instrumental), The Saint's Rock and Roll,
See You Later Alligator, Rock Around the Clock, Rock the Joint, Me and
Bobby McGee (joined in progress), Bill Haley receives a Gold Record,
Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie, Rip It Up, The Promised Land (Mal Gray vocal).
The St. Clair edition ends with a repeat of "The Saint's Rock and Roll".
Another recent DVD of note is One for
the Money: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll. Produced in 2005 and
released to DVD in North America by Passport Video, this is an
extensive documentary on the early days of rock and roll. Unlike many
similar documentaries that seem to start and end at Elvis, this
production actually takes a moment to give Bill Haley and His Comets
their due, including interviews with music historian Jim Dawson, author
of the history of Rock Around the Clock (see review, below).
For Haley fans, the rare footage of the
band is the attraction here, and Passport has kindly included as a
bonus feature the two complete Comets performances that were included
in the documentary. Recorded in either late 1955 or early 1956 for
either The Ted Steele Show or Washington Square
(exactly which show this is is unknown), the performances of "Rock
Around the Clock" and the instrumental "Huckleberry" have been released
previously on DVD and broadcast on television, however the producers
have managed to get ahold of two very clean, bright prints of these
kinescopes -- I have never seen better images from these two
performances and for that alone I recommend this DVD. From a Haley
historian standpoint the performance by Rudy Pompilli and bass player
Al Rex of "Huckleberry" (with obligatory bass-riding and sax
acrobatics) is worth noting as the song was written by ex-Comet Joey
Ambrose, who had quit the band to join the Jodimars in the fall of
1955. Exactly why Rudy is shown performing this and not his own "Rudy's
Rock" is unknown, but suggests this must have been one of the very
first filmed performances of the so-called post-Jodimars Comets.
Also worth checking out on this DVD is a
terrific performance by the Treniers of "Rockin' is Our Business" with
uncredited contributions by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis!
POSTED:
December 9, 2005
Book review:
Rock Around the Clock - The Record That Started the Rock
Revolution! - Jim Dawson
Backbeat Books (ISBN 0-87930-829-X)
Don't let revisionists tell you any
different - it may not have been the first rock and roll song, but
"Rock Around the Clock" was undeniably the song that launched the rock
and roll era, and music historian Jim Dawson has written a book that
makes this case in a convincing and entertaining manner.
Rather than just being a blow-by-blow
account of the recording of the song (though he does this, too -
grounded ferry story and all), Dawson digs deeper, exploring beyond the
writing of RATC to the very roots of rock and roll. His thesis is that
the events of April 12, 1954 was the culmination of factors going back
decades. "Rock Around the Clock" was literally the right song at the
right time.
Although the book is about "Rock Around
the Clock", Dawson also explores the history of some of Haley's other
epochial hits, such as "Crazy Man Crazy" and "Shake Rattle and Roll".
Along he way, he has uncovered some gems of information, like the fact
"Crazy Man Crazy" was the first rock and roll song played on national
TV when it was heard during a live TV play starring James Dean in 1953
(long before he became a Rebel Without a Cause). Or the fact (known to
us Haley fanatics but unknown to everyone else) that Sonny Dae and His
Knights - the first band to record "RATC" was not a black
rhythm and blues band which is so often reported, but was actually made
up of a group of white Italian-Americans led by one Paschal
Vennitti. Dawson even dug up a photo of the band to prove the point.
The book isn't perfect - there are a few
minor factual errors and Dawson seems a bit skeptical of Peter Ford's
claim to have been indirectly responsible for "RATC" being chosen for
his father Glenn's film Blackboard Jungle. And, like Sound
and Glory , Haley's later years from 1958 on (including his
successful forays into Latin America and the Rock and Roll Revival) are
sped through in about a dozen pages (though to be fair, Dawson is
focusing on the song, not Haley himself). But I have rarely seen any
book devoted to a single song that takes such a detailed approach to
its subject matter.
This is only the third English-language
book ever written about Bill Haley and His Comets, and the only one now
remaining in print. For that reason alone the book is worth getting for
Haley fans. For scholars of the history of Rock and Roll music,
especially the more-than-a-few who still claim it all started when
Elvis Presley came along, Jim Dawson's book should be mandatory reading.
Rock Around the Clock is available
through Amazon.com and can also be found in bookstores in North
America. I'm uncertain of its publishing status overseas as of December
2005.
OLDER REVIEWS ON PAGE
3
Go to "PAGE TWO"
for A BILL
HALEY WHO'S WHO
Go to "PAGE THREE" for NEWS
ARCHIVE
plus OLDER REVIEWS,
1972 INTERVIEW,
and ROCKIN' LINKS
"ROCK AROUND THE
CLOCK" TRIBUTE PAGE
