What
I’m about to write has mostly all been said before. Bill Haley’s contributions
to Rock N’ Roll are Rock N’ Roll. The leader of the pack, the granddaddy of all
rockers and the man who started much of what we take for granted sonically these days.
He took that crazy cool jump blues sound and got our parents and grandparents
all crazy in the head and their hips swiveling and a swayin’ in, for the time,
vulgar fits of ‘hell yeah’.
You
can argue if a guy that borrowed so much from others to do his thing deserves
the crown of ‘Inventor of Rock N’ Roll’ but there is no denying his place in
rock history. He did the do and we owe him forever more for his contributions.
I
just finished an article by Margaret Moser for The Austin Chronicles, When TheClock Strikes 12, that will devastate your thoughts and memories of Mr. Rock
Around The Clock. A man essentially lost to history, looked over, crippled by
drink and haunted from all he had lived and done.
Moser
starts with Haley’s beliefs on his place in history saying, ”Worse, Haley
bought into the pointless argument of who invented rock & roll, believing
he deserved the title. He had a legit claim, too, having recorded the genre's
first bona fide anthem, "Rock Around the Clock." The other firsts he
deserves credit for have been marginalized along with his memory” and she continues
on the point “Yet, of all the myths and maybes surrounding Haley, one detail
rings true: Bill Haley & His Comets were the first rock & roll band.
While Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee
Lewis dreamed big in 1951, prototype rock bands led by Haley charted hits.”
It
has always been my notion that Elvis and the new breed of rock idols were a
large part of Haley’s decline (mainly Elvis) in teen popularity and the article
touches on that as well, “For all his meteoric rise and worldwide following,
Haley now trailed behind Presley and the new crop of slick young singers. His
trademark kiss curl looked dated and he'd never been especially photogenic:
tall but schlubby, introverted, shy about his blind eye, married, and generally
looking and acting square in a world of Brylcreem pretty boys like Ricky Nelson.
And just when media began focusing on rock & rollers, Haley backed away
from press. His next recording projects of hopped-up international folk songs
were followed by a country album that stiffed.”
But
it is how Moser delves into the last chapter of Bill Haley’s life in South
Texas that destroys my faith in what, respect, reaching out to those who need
it, I don’t know actually but I have a dark spot on my soul. How a man that so
many artist owe so much to would spend his last day in a coffee shop humming
his hits waiting for someone, anyone to recognize or to care.
"After
a while, he'd start to shift in his seat and look around. ... He was giving
people around him clues. He wanted people to hear him and say, 'You're Bill
Haley, aren't you?" -
Take
a few minutes and read the full article HERE.
Respect
is all some people need…
Bill Haley 1925 - 1981
Who Do You Think Has Been Lost To Time?
Follow Global Texan Chronicles
No comments:
Post a Comment