Description

Bill Haley at 100: Rockin' Around the World

Commissioned by the Estate of Bill Haley, this biography celebrates the centennial of one of the most influential figures of early Rock 'n' Roll and, for the first time, presents Haley's own memoir from his childhood to 1959. This book also includes extensive recollections by his wife, Martha Haley.

In the 1950s, Bill Haley and His Comets gave young people all over the world a musical voice with their unique blend of jazz, rhythm & blues, and country. They established themselves with hits like "Rock the Joint" and "Crazy Man, Crazy," but their success really hit with their recording of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock," especially when it was used as the opening title for the ground-breaking teen rebellion film Blackboard Jungle." Haley and the Comets were the first rock 'n' roll band to take the music on tour overseas, with particularly fateful trips to England and Germany, where frenzied youth, still reeling from the ravages of World War II, rioted at their concerts. The glory days would be short lived, particularly with the arrival of a handsome, young Elvis Presley.

Haley began his musical adventure as a cowboy yodeler and, after peaking in the mid-1950s, ventured into easy-listening music, Mexican twist, and contemporary country. He enjoyed a resurgence in popularity with the Rock 'n' Roll revival movement of the late 1960s, the George Lucas film American Graffiti, and the television show Happy Days. In, 1979, he performed for Queen Elizabeth II, one of his biggest fans.

This biography was meticulously researched by musicians and scholars David Lee Joyner (U.S.) and Chris Gardner (U.K.) and includes not only Haley's life and career, but does a deep dive into the music itself, putting it into context with the musical environment of the times, the influences on it, and what makes it so distinctive.