Bill hailey biography
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THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BILL HALEY (): Don't knock the rocker
One of the first victims of rock'n'roll was a founding father of the style: Bill Haley.
A country singer with a love of Western Swing, Haley was 30 when his signature song Rock Around the Clock became a massive hit in '55 when it appeared on the soundtrack to the juvenile delinquent film Blackboard Jungle. He would also appear in the first real rock'n'roll film Don't Knock the Rock the following year alongside Little Richard.
An avuncular character with receding hairline and a kiss curl (a slicked-down curl grown to distract attention from his left eye which had been rendered blind after a childhood operation), Haley never looked the part of a rebel rocker and when Elvis Presley arrived Haley – a John the Baptist for Elvis' rock'n'roll Messiah – was pushed to the margins.
Even before however, as Mark Lewisohn notes in his new book Tune In about the young Beatles, Haley's brief tour of Britain was an enormous
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Bill Haley
American rock and roll music pioneer (–)
For other people named Bill Haley, see Bill Haley (disambiguation).
Musical artist
William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, – February 9, ) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-selling hits such as "Rock Around the Clock", "See You Later, Alligator", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", "Rocket 88", "Skinny Minnie", and "Razzle Dazzle". Haley has sold over 60 million records worldwide.[1][2] In , he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Biography
[edit]Early life and career
[edit]Haley was born July 6, , in Highland Park, Michigan. In , the four-year-old Haley underwent an inner-ear mastoid operation which accidentally severed an optic nerve, leaving him blind in his left eye for the rest of his life. It is said that he adopted his trademark kiss cu
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As frontman for the iconic group Bill Haley & His Comets, Haley became a bona fide music superstar in the s after releasing chart-topping hits including “(We&#;re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock,” “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” “See You Later, Alligator,” and many others. Garnering seven Top 20 singles in the USA alone, Haley&#;s appeal was universal; he amassed legions of fans and sold millions of records in markets around the world.
“We premiered it,” Haley told Rolling Stone in “We put country & western tillsammans with rhythm & blues, and that was rock. The first three years were ours, all ours, till [Elvis] Presley came along.”
Born William John Clifton Haley on July 6, in högländare Park, Michigan, Bill&#;s fascination with music came at a ung age. His father, William Albert Haley played the mandolin and banjo, and his mother, Maude Green was a classically trained pianist and piano teacher.