Bill Haley

Bill Haley

Person from United States

Genres: rock, rock music, country music, Rock and Roll, rockabilly, 50s, rock n roll

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About Bill Haley

William John Clifton Haley (July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician who played a significant role in popularizing the genre in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets. He achieved international success with million-selling singles such as "Rock Around the Clock", "See You Later, Alligator", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", "Rocket 88", "Skinny Minnie", and "Razzle Dazzle". Over the course of his career, Haley sold more than 60 million records worldwide and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Haley was born in Highland Park, Michigan. At the age of four, a mastoid operation severed an optic nerve, leaving him blind in his left eye. His family moved to Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, during the Great Depression. His father, William Albert Haley, played banjo and mandolin, while his mother, Maude Green, was a classically trained keyboardist. Haley began performing publicly at a young age, including appearances at local events from the age of 13. He left home at 15 and eventually joined a group called the Down Homers in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1947, he formed the Four Aces of Western Swing, later renamed the Saddlemen. The group signed with Holiday Records and recorded a cover of "Rocket 88" in 1951. In 1952, the group was renamed Bill Haley with Haley's Comets, inspired by the pronunciation of Halley's Comet. In 1953, their recording of "Crazy Man, Crazy" became a charting hit and is sometimes considered one of the earliest rock and roll records. In 1954, Haley recorded "Rock Around the Clock", which initially had moderate success but reached number one on the charts after being featured in the 1955 film "Blackboard Jungle". This single is widely regarded as a defining moment in the beginning of the rock era. Haley also had success with "Shake, Rattle and Roll", a cover of Big Joe Turner's song that became a gold record and one of the first rock songs to chart in the United Kingdom. Bill Haley and His Comets were among the first rock and roll acts to appear on national television in the United States. They performed "Rock Around the Clock" on the Texaco Star Theater hosted by Milton Berle on May 31, 1955, and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on August 7, 1955, performing live with Franny Beecher on guitar and Dick Richards on drums. They made a second appearance on the show in April 1957, performing "Rudy's Rock" and "Forty Cups of Coffee". In 1957, Haley became the first major American rock singer to tour Europe. He continued to record hits through the late 1950s, including "See You Later, Alligator", and appeared in the rock and roll films "Rock Around the Clock" and "Don't Knock the Rock" in 1956. While his popularity in the United States declined with the rise of Elvis Presley, Haley maintained a strong following in Europe, Latin America, and Australia. The band also appeared on American Bandstand and other television programmes throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Taken from Last.fm

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