Red Dragonfly Productions Blog

Rock Around the Clock with a Tribute to the Birth of Rock and Roll Featuring Bill Haley's Original Comets

The Comets, formed in 1952, together with front man Bill Haley are considered by many to be the first rock-n-roll band. Among the pioneers who fused country and western wit hrhythm and blues to create rock-n-roll, they were leading musicians of the day and changed teh face of music in the 1950's with hits like "Rock Around The Clock," Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "See You Later Alligator."

The five surviving original band members reunited in 1987 and have been performing ever since. Hundreds of years of collective rock-n-roll experience will light up the Vacaviller Performing Arts Theatre on Friday, January 30 at 8 pm when The Original Comets return to the Bay Area. Tickets are $28 and can be purchased by calling 707.449.6217 or online at www.vpat.net.

On Aril 12, 1994 Bill Haley and The Comets recorded "Rock Around The Clock," a song that had been composed specifically for them. The song, which became an audio watermark fo r the entire nostalgic decade of the 1950's was recorded in just 20 minutes - the final 20 minutes of a 3-hour New York City recording session.

History records that the song was initially relegated to the "B" side of the group's next single "Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)." The record was only a minor success in the United States on its first release in May 1954. It was only with "Rock Around The Clock" was heard on the soundtrack of the MGM film "Blackboard Jungle" (which premiered in March 1955) that the song really took off with teenagers.

The record was reissued in April 1955 with "Rock Around The Clock as the "A" side, and by July 1955 it had become the first rock-n-roll record to reach Number One on the Billboard Charts (a position it sustained for 8 consecutive weeks). According to the Guinness Book of Records, it eventually sold over 25 million units worldwide and is still the highest-selling commerical pop single of all time.

The Comets are the musicians who provided the musical foundation for singer bill Haley from 1949 (when they were known as The Saddlemen) through the key years of their musical journey together as rock-n-roll pioneers. The band was the foremost group in the musical revolution that gathered steam in the early 50's and culminated in the Big Bang of rock-n-roll. the Comets evolved from country western rots in 1949 when they were known as The Saddlemen, through their renaming as The comets in 1952 amidst a time of great musical exploration, all the way through to their heyday in 1953-1956 when their rock-n-roll hits pre-dated successes by Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Eddie Chochran, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly.

The the band is understandably best-known for its many hits between 1954 and 1958, including the first-ever rock-n-roll number one "Rock Around The Clock" in 1955, some of the band's most important contributions to music took place inthe preceding years -- when as arrangers and performers they were in the forefront of the development of rock-n-roll.

With success they performed stage shows, recordings, radio programs and live appearances on national TV shows such as The Milton Berle Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. On May 6, 1955 they became the first-ever rock-n-roll act to give a concert at Carnegie Hall.

On January 30, 2009, they will be at Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre. Please join me for an evening of rockin' fun and good ol' music!

Labels: Bill Haley, Comets, Original Comets, Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre