Bill Haley, with his band, the Comets, was one of the first rock and roll acts to tour the United Kingdom. This magazine cover dates back to that first 1957 tour.

Bill Haley (July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was one of the first American rock and roll musicians, and is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s. Image File history File links This is a magazine cover. ... Image File history File links This is a magazine cover. ... July 6 is the 187th day of the year (188th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 178 days remaining. ... 1925 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

Haley was born William John Clifton Haley in Highland Park, Michigan and was raised in Pennsylvania (some sources append "Junior" to his name, but his eldest son states that this is erroneous). In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a country band called the Down Homers, after which he set out on his own. He made a number of unsuccessful country music singles in the 1940s, for several labels, including Cowboy Records 1948-1949 whilst working as a touring musician and later a DJ. In 1951 he and his band, The Saddlemen, changed styles, recording cover versions of Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88" and "Rock this Joint". The relative success of the latter of these convinced Haley that he could be a successful rock and roller. In 1952 The Saddlemen became Bill Haley & His Comets, and in 1953 Haley's recording of his original composition, "Crazy Man Crazy" became the first rock and roll song to hit the American charts. Highland Park is a city located in Wayne County, Michigan. ... State nickname: The Keystone State Other U.S. States Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell Official languages None Area 119,283 km² (33rd)  - Land 116,074 km²  - Water 3,208 km² (2. ... Country music, once known as country and western music, is a popular musical form developed in the southern United States, with roots in traditional folk music, spirituals, and the blues. ... Events and trends The 1940s were dominated by World War II, the most destructive armed conflict in history. ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... In pop music a cover version is a new rendition of a previously recorded song. ... Rocket 88, a rhythm and blues song from 1951 claimed by Sun Records owner and pioneer rock and roll record producer Sam Phillips as the first rock and roll song. The record was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, but the band did not actually exist. ... Rocket 88, a rhythm and blues song from 1951 claimed by Sun Records owner and pioneer rock and roll record producer Sam Phillips as the first rock and roll song. The record was credited to Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, but the band did not actually exist. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The original members of Bill Haley and His Comets, c. ...

In 1953, a song entitled Rock Around the Clock was written for Haley, but he was unable to record it until April 12, 1954. Initially, it was unsuccessful, but Haley soon scored a major worldwide hit with a cover version of Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" which went on to sell a million copies. Haley and his band were important in launching the music known as "Rock and Roll" to a wider (white) audience after years of it being considered an underground movement. When "Rock Around the Clock" appeared on the soundtrack of the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, it launched a musical revolution and opened the doors for the likes of Elvis Presley. Haley continued to score hits throughout the 1950s such as "See You Later Alligator" and he starred in the first rock and roll musical movies. His star was soon surpassed in the USA by the younger, sexier Elvis, but Haley continued to be a major star in Latin America and in Europe in the 1960s, and continued to be a popular touring act for the rest of his career. He made his final performances in South Africa in 1980. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Rock Around the Clock is a pop song from 1953. ... Blackboard Jungle (also known as The Blackboard Jungle) is a 1955 motion picture of social commentary that catalysed a genre of teacher dramas. ... Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), also known as The King of Rock and Roll, or as just simply The King, was an American singer who had an effect on world culture rivaled only by The Beatles . ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing Lake Erie in the background The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and institution in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated, as the name suggests, to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential...

Haley's original Comets from 1954 and 1955 still tour the world to packed houses. Despite ranging in age from 70 to 82, the band shows no sign of slowing down and recently released a concert DVD.

Some sources state that Haley was born in 1927, which is due to Haley knocking two years off his age for publicity purposes in the 1950s. A few sources erroneously give a birth year of 1924. 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1924 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Note: the article Bill Haley & His Comets includes more detailed biographical information on Haley's career. The original members of Bill Haley and His Comets, c. ...

Biographies

In 1980, Haley began work on an autobiography entitled The Life and Times of Bill Haley but died after completing only 100 pages. The work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and has yet to be released to the public. The United States Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress, is the official US government body that maintains records of copyright registration in the United States. ...

In 1982, John Swenson wrote Bill Haley: The Daddy of Rock and Roll (published in the UK under the title, Bill Haley), which is controversial among Haley fans for alleged inaccuracies.

In 1990, Haley's eldest son, John W. Haley, along with John von Hoelle wrote Sound and Glory, a biography focusing mostly on Haley's early life and peak career years. This book is long out of print.

A French-language biography apparently exists, but no other information is available.

A book on the history of Haley's most famous recording, Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution by Jim Dawson was published in June 2005. [1]

Film portrayals

Unlike his contemporaries, Bill Haley has rarely been portrayed on screen. Following the success of The Buddy Holly Story in the 1970s, Haley expressed interest in having his life story committed to film, but this never came to fruition. In the 1980s and early 1990s numerous media reports emerged that plans were underway to do a bio-pic based upon Haley's life, with Beau Bridges, Jeff Bridges and John Ritter all at one point being mentioned as actors in line to play Haley (according to Goldmine Magazine, Ritter attempted to buy the film rights to Sound and Glory). The Buddy Holly Story is a 1978 biographical film which tells the life story of rock musician Buddy Holly. ... Beau Bridges, actually born Lloyd Vernet Bridges III on December 9, 1941, is an American actor. ... Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. ... John Ritter - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

Bill Haley has also been portrayed - not always in a positive light - in several "period" films:

• John Paramor in Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe (1985)
• Michael Daingerfield in Mr. Rock 'n' Roll: The Alan Freed Story (1999)
• Dicky Barrett (of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones in Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story (also 1999)

In March 2005, the British network Sky TV reported that Tom Hanks is planning to produce a biopic on the life of Bill Haley, with production tentatively scheduled to begin in 2006. However this rumor was quickly debunked by Hanks. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were a ska-core band from Boston, Massachusetts (Bosstones is a play on Boston). They are credited, along with bands such as Operation Ivy and The Suicide Machines, with creating the ska-core genre, a form of music that mixes, to various degrees, elements of modern... British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB - formerly two companies, Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting, which merged) is a company that operates the most popular subscription television service in the UK and Ireland. ... Tom Hanks in February 2004 Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor famous for playing notable roles in many popular and critically acclaimed movies. ...

External link

• Portal site providing links to all the major Bill Haley-related websites on the Net