The "My First True Hero Of Rock 'N Roll" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Listening to one of my very first rock and roll bands, Bill Haley and His Comets.  Anyone who was born and raised in the 1940s just has to remember Bill Haley and His Comets if they are any kind of music freak!  Bill was the man whose band had the first ever rock and roll mega-hit.  His "Rock Around the Clock" was the No. 1 song of 1955, even though he had already turned 30 years old.  And, even though Elvis was eventually top dog, Bill Haley's band gained notoriety as being the first ever rock and roll band in history.  Bill lived in nearby Chester, Pennsylvania, an hour-and-a-half ride from my home in Lancaster, where he worked and recorded at a local radio station.  Eventually the Chester Water Authority inlaid rubberized musical notes and a star with motion lines in the sidewalk in front of the radio station as a tribute to Bill's backup group, The Comets.  A plaque also was placed on the side of the building, but when the radio station was demolished, the plaque disappeared.  William John Clifton Haley, Jr. was born in Highland Park, Michigan on July 6, 1925.  Shortly after he was born the family moved to Boothwyn, Pennsylvania where his father worked. as a mechanic and his mother gave piano lessons at home.  Music was a big part of his life with his mother teaching him to sing properly and his dad teaching him how to play the guitar.  Bill began his musical career singing hillbilly and cowboy songs at the age of seven.

A young Bill Haley

Bill dropped out of school after eighth grade and began work at a water bottling company and then a locomotive works.  He first joined local bands in Chester, PA and then joined The Downhomers which played a western swing style of music.  Haley eventually became the lead singer in the band that went on tour for a short time before he returned home knowing that the band wasn't going to help him reach the success he desired.  He then became a disc jockey for the local station in Chester, WPWA.  In 1946 he married his first wife Dorothy and had two children with her.  He also formed his first band, The Four Aces of Western Swing.  The band recorded one cowboy genre record which wasn't successful.  In 1949 he formed a new band, The Saddlemen were he was the lead singer and guitarist.  In '51 they released their first single, "Rocket 88."  The following year they released their second hit, "Rock this Joint," which sold over 70,000 copies.  He also married his second wife, Barbara Cupchack that year.  They too had two children, but one didn't survive infancy.  In 1953 The Saddlemen was renamed Bill Haley and His Comets and became very well known among many generations.  This group always had either 6 or 7 members with Haley and Rudy Pompilli, the sax player, being the most constant members of the band.  In 1953 they recorded "Crazy, Man, Crazy" which was the first single to reach the "Top 20" list.  Bill Haley and his Comets began to gain notoriety.  The manager at Decca Records, James Myers, wrote the song "Rock Around The Clock."  

On April 1, 1954 Haley and Decca Records agreed on a contract and by May 1 the record was released.  At first it wasn't a hit, but after being re-released  in 1955 it became the "national anthem" for teens during the late 1950s.  "Shake, Rattle and Roll" as well as "See You Later Alligator" followed.   I owned both, but what ever happened to them I'll never know.  Would be great collector's records today.  The band began to tour the United States as well as Mexico, Europe and other countries.  By 1955 Bill Haley was a superstar!  

1955 photo of Bill Haley and His Comets.  Bill is on top.

Their "Rock Around the Clock" was part of National Public Radio's series on the 100 most important musical works of the 20th century.  Eventually those who loved Bill Haley and His Comets turned their musical obsessions to musicians like Elvis Presley and Little Richard.  

Photo of Bill reading an article about his band.

Bill Haley began to have money problems and fled to Mexico in 1962 where he met and married his third wife, Martha Velasco who was a Mexican dancer.  Then on February 9, 1981, Haley died of a heart attack in Harlingen, Texas.  In 1987 he was  inducted into the Rock Music Hall of Fame.  

A 1969 photo of Bill Haley and His Comets.

He changed the music world with his innovative skills and rock and roll music.  He was a big influence on the Beatles and other rock performers of the '60s and '70s.  Many people to this day proclaim that Bill Haley was the "King of Rock & Roll" while others give that title to Elvis Presley.  For me, Bill Haley was the "Father of Rock and Roll" with Elvis being the "King".  One way or another, his name will live on in Rock and Roll history.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.