Bill Haley's

Original Comets

10 April 2004

© & ® 2004 CultConsult, Germany

logo by permission of Joe "Bill" Clifton - Bill Haley & The Comets Revival - www.billhaley.de

Rock Around The Clock Tour 2004

Bill Haley's Truly Golden Oldie
From the Wall Street Journal, April 8, 2004
By John McDonough

IN EUROPE, they're very aware of the 50th Anniversary," says Marshall Lytle, sounding a little neglected but jovial. "But here in the States I can tell you that there will be very little publicity about this event that changed the music of the world. Hey, we were there. We were it. We should be on "Good Morning America." But they think that Little Richard started it. Or, Elvis. Well, whatever happened to Bill Haley and "Rock Around The Clock?"

Marshall Lytle & Franny Beecher

It was on April 12, 1954 - 50 years ago this coming Monday - that Bill Haley and the Comets assembled at New York's Pythian Temple and recorded the song that started it all. Haley died in 1981 at age 55, long overshadowed by the often bizarre procession of rock supernovas he had set in motion. But the Original Comets, of which Mr Lytle was the bass player, are still rocking away on the old numbers - the ones that ended the age of the Great American Songbook and brought on de noise and de funk.

Few pop recordings of the past century could be said to have had a more primal impact on the course of American Music than "Rock Around The Clock." The Comets' Decca disc of Max C Freedman and Jimmy de Knight song would log 24 weeks on the charts, a feat not even Sinatra, Presley, or The Beatles would equal and almost no one would surpass until the 1990s. And rock has been the life of the party ever since.

It was on April 12, 1954 - 50 years ago this coming Monday - that Bill Haley and the Comets assembled at New York's Pythian Temple and recorded the song that started it all. Haley died in 1981 at age 55, long overshadowed by the often bizarre procession of rock supernovas he had set in motion. But the Original Comets, of which Mr Lytle was the bass player, are still rocking away on the old numbers - the ones that ended the age of the Great American Songbook and brought on de noise and de funk.

Few pop recordings of the past century could be said to have had a more primal impact on the course of American Music than "Rock Around The Clock." The Comets' Decca disc of Max C Freedman and Jimmy de Knight song would log 24 weeks on the charts, a feat not even Sinatra, Presley, or The Beatles would equal and almost no one would surpass until the 1990s. And rock has been the life of the party ever since.

Joey Ambrosio & Franny Beecher

"'Rock Around The Clock' was the B-side originally," says Mr Lytle, who received a flat $47.25 as a place in history for the session. "The A-side was 'Thirteen Women' which was published by [session producer] Milt Gabler. That was the song he was pushing. We didn't have an arrangement of it when we arrived at the studio that day. SO we used 2.5 hours of our three-hour time to get that song in the can. After that, Milt said that we could do that 'Rock' thing if we wanted."

"Fortunately, we'd rehearsed 'Rock Around The Clock' the night before at Bill's house." adds Comet Joey D'Ambrosio, who played tenor sax on the date. "Danny Cedrone [lead guitarist, who died three months after the session at age 35] and I led the way on putting a chart to it. Danny had a great guitar solo. The ensemble part was my part. When I started to play, Danny picked up on it, and it became the ensemble. It was just what the piece needed for it to happen."

It didn't happen all that fast, though. In fact, it might not have happened at all if nine-year-old Peter Ford has not been blasting the record at full volume at home one afternoon. That's more or less how it came to the attention of film director Richard Brooks, who was about to shoot "Blackboard Jungle," a ripped-from-the-headlines movie about juvenile delinquency in the urban school system. with Peter's father, actor Glenn Ford. During a script meeting at Mr Ford's Beverly Hills home, Mr Brooks became fascinated with the record and its street-smart rowdiness. He then had MGM license it for $5,000.

He used it over the main title and at the end, where it powerfully punctuated the reconciliation between Mr Ford's character and a smart but taciturn student played by Sidney Poitier. During the summer of 1955, "Rock Around The Clock" rode on the tide of the film's huge success, and perhaps visa-versa. It became the first 12-bar blues ever to hit No. 1 on "Your Hit Parade." More important, the film forever fused Rock 'n' Roll with teenage rebellion.

Bill Haley was an unlikely subversive. A shy man of 30, he had no menace, no cool, no charisma. He was blind in his left eye and his eyes were not straight, Mr Lytle says, "so he created this little spit curl on the top of his forehead to distract from his bad eye." After a flurry of hits, Haley's star quickly faded, dimmed by the onslaught of Elvis Presley the following year. After his death, two members of his last group acquired the Comets trademark from his booking agency, according to Mr D'Ambrosio, and continued doing low-level dates.

Meanwhile, the original 1954-1955 Comets scattered to the winds. For more than 30 years, they were out of music completely. Mr Lytle went into real estate in California. Mr D'Ambrosio spent 25 years as a pit boss at Caesar's Palace. Pianist Johnny Grande moved to Florida and went into the restaurant business. Guitarist Franny Beecher became a superintendent in a Halloween costume factory. And drummer Dick Richards took small roles in films, usually playing a gangster. (Though Mr Richards was the Comets' regular drummer, Haley used drummer Billy Gussak on the "Rock Around The Clock" date. He died in 1995.)

Dick Richards

Then in 1987, a Philadelphia producer was putting together a show honoring Dick Clark. He called Mr Richards and asked if he could get the Comets together again. "Dick called us all," says Mr Lytle. "We thought it would be a good idea, so we all went to Philadelphia." Within a year they were reunited for a tour of England as "Bill Haley's Original Comets." Stateside performances were rare, however. "Promoters were threatened with lawsuits if they hired us using the Comet trademark," says Mr Lytle, who calls the other Comet groups "phonies."

"A few years ago we went to New York and got a top trademark lawyer," says Mr D'Ambrosio. "He said that were were able to use the 'Original Comets' name. Up until then, some booking agents were running a little scared. Since then it has loosened up."

Today, the Original Comets, who range in age from 70 (Messers Lytle and D'Ambrosio) to 82 (Mr Beecher), seem to regard their performing careers as something of a lark. "We do what we love, and love what we do," says Mr Lytle, who slaps on the same upright-style bass he played in 1954. They choose one job at a time. But they keep busy. Next week they'll be taping three TV shows in London. There are also stateside dates on the schedule.

"Rock Around The Clock" would throw open new doors and slam old ones shut in ways that could not have been imagined in 1954. As Rock 'n' Roll moved center stage, the spirit of vernacular authenticity would largely bury the craft of serious songwriting. Increasingly singers were expected to write their own songs. The rock singer became the musical equivalent of the method actor. Young audiences demanded real emotion, and the more raw and unpolished music sounded, the more authentic it seemed. The artist essentially interpreted himself, not the material. Fifty years later, that remains rock's grand illusion.

The Comets seem more old school, though. "We just entertain," says Mr Lytle, who is old enough to know that it's all show biz and seems delighted that the Original Comets are still clocking time to that ripping, jazz-based back beat.

Mr McDonough last wrote for the Journal on Count Basie.
 

Original Comets European Tour Schedule

• April 12 - TV MDR (Germany)

• April 17 - TV ZDF (Germany)

• April 19 - Koblenz (Germany) Cafe Hahan

• April 21 - Ludwigsburg (Germany) Scala

• April 22 - Zurich (Switzerland) Schutzenhaus Albisguetli

• April 23 - Biel (Switzerland)

• April 25 - TV (Sweden)

• July 02 - Leicester (England) Stardust

• July 04 - Lowestoft (England) Pontons Festival

• August 20-22 - Senigalli (Italy) Summer Jamboree

• August 26 - Osterreich (Austria) "Burg Open Air"

Rockabilly Hall of Fame Performance

• August 6 - Jackson, TN

WHAT WE DO (From Marshall Lytle on Thanksgiving Day 2003): The Comets have the greatest retirement plan in the world. Imagine being in your 70's & 80's and doing what we do, not only do we get to travel to some of the most beautiful places in the world. We also get to play our music to some of the nicest people in the world. Joey , sings "It's A Wonderful World" in our show and every time I think how lucky we are to be able to do, What We Do. At many of our concerts, we see four generations of fans in the audience ranging in age from 8 to 80. It looks like our Wonderful Fans, will keep our music going forever. With "Rock Around The Clock being 50 years old, it's nice to know that it will probably be around another fifty years. Someone asked Franny what was the secret to his long life. Franny answered "don't die". I guess Our T-Shirts say it best "The COMETS are Living Proof that Rock & Roll is the Fountain of Youth". Our music does keep us going, and going and going. I tell everyone that "We're Gonna Rock Till We Drop". We are doing what we love and we are loving what we do. ■

WANTED!

AUSTRALIAN PROMOTER

1954  ~  50 Years  ~  2004

Rock Around The Clock

The Comets want  to Tour Australia

~

If you are a promoter or know of one that might be interested in bringing

Bill Haley's Original Comets to Australia in 2004 / 2005

please phone or email VJ King Sr immediately

mobile 0414 44 99 44

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