Bill Haley was one of the first
rockers in the 1950s. “The Comets' music reputedly fuelled the teenage
revolution as young people rejected anything middle-aged, middle class or
middle of the road in order to establish a new youth culture” (Heath). In his
pioneer footsteps followed: Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Jones, the Everly Brothers and so on.
Haley actually got his start in
Western swing but he soon tired of that and completely changed directions. He
added a drum and saxophone to his group and changed their name to the Comets.
The first major success for the newly redefined band came with “Crazy Man,
Crazy.” It was an original song that Haley based on a phrase he had heard in
his teenage audience. It was the first rock and roll song to be televised
nationally in 1953.
Crazy Man, Crazy
It is undoubted that Haley and His Comets’
biggest hit was Rock Around the Clock. This song launched Haley into the spot
light. After being featured in the movie “Blackboard Jungle”, it was re-released
as part of the soundtrack and topped the charts for weeks. His band toured the
United States, as well as the world. “It helped make Haley a megastar in his
homeland, where he toured with black artists like the Platters, the Drifters,
and Bo Diddley, drawing big teenage crowds but triggering riots, vandalism, and
death threats in the segregated South. Kids everywhere loved the raw, primitive
music that parents, politicians, and clergy saw as harmful, perhaps even a
Communist plot to undermine teen morals” (Satchell).
Rock Around the Clock
As more popular and controversial
acts such as Elvis made their way into the spotlight, the Comets began to
decline in popularity in the United States. They still held popularity in the United
Kingdom and continued to tour there. After that there was a brief musical stint
in Mexico where they recorded “Twist Español” and “Florida Twist.”
Twist Español
Eventually the Comets’ popularity
died down and they faded into the legend that they are today, known as forever influential
and the molders of today’s rock and roll.
Later Alligator
Works Cited:
Heath, H.
"Rolling Back The Years." Nursing Standard 18.51 (2004): 20-21.
CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Web.
19 Nov. 2012.
Satchell,
Michael. "Birth Of The Cool." U.S. News & World Report 133.2
(2002): 56. MAS Ultra - School Edition.
Web. 19 Nov. 2012.
