|
The band that started the rock 'n' roll revolution first came into being in September 1952 - evolving out of a moderately popular country & western band from Pennsylvania called Bill Haley and The Saddlemen. Seeking to project an image that reflected their speeding path towards the new style of music they were creating - the band first changed its name - to Bill Haley and The Comets - and then went on to change the world… Over the course of the next 29 years - from September 1952 until Bill Haley's death in February 1981 - the membership of the band known as The Comets changed many times over numerous different lineups. During those three decades well over one hundred different musicians are known to have performed with Bill Haley on stage, records, TV, radio and in films - either as an official member of The Comets - or as one of the many session musicians who lent their talents to the distinctive Bill Haley and The Comets sound. After Haley's death in 1981, a couple of the musicians who had played with Haley in the 1960's carried the flame for the music by forming tribute bands - billed as "Bill Haley's Comets." And over the years they in turn recruited numerous other musicians to play under the Comets name. But of all those lineups over 52 years - and of all the 150-plus players who have appeared under the name "The Comets" - the seminal band members are the handful of musicians who played with Bill Haley on record and stage during the crucial three year period when together they created the 'Big Bang' that became rock 'n' roll. The surviving musicians from that era reformed in 1987 as The Comets. The group features five musicians who played in The Comets in the key years 1952-1955. Those were the years when they developed their sound, recorded their breakthrough song "Rock Around The Clock" and recorded many of the other major hits associated with "Bill Haley and The Comets". Those five members of The Comets were integral to the creation of rock 'n' roll - and they are the only surviving members of the core band that played in that seminal 1952-1955 era. All five also appeared together on the band's historic first major national live TV show - Ed Sullivan's "Toast Of The Town" - in August 1955. Three of the founding members left the band at the end of 1955. The other two members of that prime era continued playing in The Comets until 1962. Of the seven musicians who played on the legendary first recording of "Rock Around The Clock" - on April 12th 1954, four have sadly passed on to 'Rock 'n' Roll Heaven.' Fortunately all of the three surviving musicians from that landmark recording session are still in good health - and all three of them are still playing! - as members of the Comets. The other two members of the current lineup of The Comets were key members of Haley's stage band in that same era. While The Comets are the sole survivors of the original band that helped create rock 'n' roll with Bill Haley - a reflection of their popularity can be gauged by the fact that there are still a couple of bands performing sporadically under the "Bill Haley's Comets" banner. However - those two bands each feature only a solitary musician who actually played with Haley - and only in the "nostalgia years" of the 1960's when the work of the Comets was primarily to render faithful reproductions of the magic that had been created in the 'Big Bang' years of 1953-1955. The five original members of The Comets reunited in 1987 and since then have been performing concerts to sold-out audiences throughout the world. They range in age from 71 to 83 - with a cumulative 381 years between the five of them - and an average age of 76!!! The five original members of The Comets are: Johnny Grande (piano): Founding member of the precursor to The Comets - The Saddlemen [1949-1952.] Founding member of The Comets in 1952. Played with the Comets 1952-1962. (Age: 75) Marshall Lytle (bass and vocals): Member of the Saddlemen [1951-1952] Founding member of the Comets in 1952. Played with The Comets 1952-1955. (Age: 71) Joey Ambrose (saxophone and vocals): First saxophonist to be a full member of the Comets. Joined 1954. Played with The Comets 1954-1955. (Age: 71) Dick Richards (drums): Was Haley's first choice to drum in 1952 - but commitments precluded him joining till 1953. Played with The Comets 1953-1955. (Age: 81) Franny Beecher (lead guitar): Session player with The Comets in 1954. Became first full-time lead guitarist in 1955. Played with The Comets 1954-1962. (Age: 83)
|