The Comets Biography
The Comets
- Real name: Marshall Lytle, Joey Ambrose, Al Rappa, Jackson Haney, Dick Richards, David Byrd
- Artist name(s): Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, B.H. Sees Combo, The Kingsmen, The Lifeguards
The Comets Biography
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets (and variations thereof), was one of the earliest groups of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. Bandleader Bill Haley had previously been a country performer; after recording a country and western-styled version of "Rocket 88", a rhythm and blues song, he changed musical direction to a new sound which came to be called rock and roll.
Although several members of the Comets became famous, Bill Haley remained the star. With his spit curl and the band's matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behaviour, many fans consider them to be as revolutionary in their time as The Beatles or the Rolling Stones were in theirs.
Following Haley's death, no fewer than six different groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming (with varying degrees of authority) to be the official continuation of the group led by Haley. As of early 2008, three such groups are still actively performing in the United States and internationally.
Top Unsigned Artists
