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An Interview with Marshall Lytle

Bill Haley and his original Comets: Billy Williamson (steel guitar), Johnny Grande (piano), Joey D'Ambrosia (sax), Marshall Lytle (bass) and Dick Richards (drums)

SUN-Veteran and Rockabilly-Legend Jimmy Evans ("The Joints Really Jumpin'") said about Marshall Lytle: "When I started to play bass, I copied the style of Marshall Lytle, also Elvis' bassplayer Bill Black has done this. Marshall had started the slap rock style, we copied him."

Marshall Lytle's bass technique is audible besides Danny Cedrone's legendary guitar solo and the blues shouting of Bill Haley on the first ever rockabilly recording "Rock The Joint" (1952) as well as on the million sellers "Shake, Rattle & Roll" (1954), "Dim Dim The Lights" (1954) and "Rock Around The Clock" (1954).

In the following interview he shares an honest account of how it happened for the world's first ever Rock & Roll Band Bill Haley & His Comets:

Otto Fuchs: "Marshall, you were born in Old Forth, North Carolina. Could you tell us, when you moved to Pennsylvania, and, when you started to interest yourself for music and who your influences were?"

Marshall Lytle: "We moved from North Carolina to Chester / Pennsylvania in the year of 1942. My parents moved up there to work in the shipyards during the second world war. My biggest influence in music happened to come along about 1947 when Bill Haley came on the scene with The Four Aces Of Westernswing. Bill Haley had a guitar player that was named Tex King with The Four Aces Of Westernswing and he lived at our house."

Otto Fuchs: "Your brother Clifford Lytle also worked with Bill Haley, he was guitarist with "The Four Aces Of Westernswing", could you tell us about him and Tex King?"

Marshall Lytle: "My brother Cliff really wasn't  the guitarist for Bill Haley. He just became a guest artist and sang at every opportunity that Bill Haley would give him. To get up on the stage with him, as he did with many many other artists. Tex King was quite a performer himself. In fact I bought Texas's guitar from him, when he left Bill Haley & The Four Aces. I bought his guitar for $25 and when I went to work with Bill in 1951: Bill needed a guitar. So I sold him that guitar for $30. I sure wish I had it today. My brother Cliff never had too much success in the musical field, he kind of needed to work at a regular job, most of the time, to support his family, he never made much money singing to support himself and his family. But he was a guest artist on many, many of Bill Haley shows. Sang on the radio with him at WPWA Radio. And every time he could get up and sing he would do so. But he was never as much at gambling on his career."

Otto Fuchs: "When did you meet Bill Haley the first time?"

Marshall Lytle: "I first met Bill Haley, as I mentioned, in 1947 when Tex King came to live at our house. Tex King needed a place to live while he was playing music with Bill. He was inspirational in my wanting to be in showbusiness. Tex would sit around the house, playing his guitar and singing. And I would watch and listen, then I would grab our old family guitar, and go in the bedroom and try to learn and do all the things Tex was doing. So It was kind of very motivational for me. I met Bill Haley at that same time, when Tex was working with him. We would go and listen to them. I was creating a little career for myself and Bill would also get me up to sing. I did a lot of talent shows around the area, won some contests, did some shows in high school assemblies and things like that. And I would sing to the girls, sitting on the steps."

Otto Fuchs: "You had your own radio show on WVCH, please tell us about it."

Marshall Lytle: "Yeah, my radio show came around when I was about seventeen years old. I did a fifteen minute radio show just me with my guitar, and I would sing the current country & western songs. This was when Bill was doing his show on WPWA. And I was on WVCH – which was a comptetitor radio station. In fact WVCH was right across the street from Luke's Music Bar where Bill was performing every night. That's how my career began."

Otto Fuchs: "Rock-History taught us that Bill Haley hired you on the spot, how did that happen?"

Marshall Lytle: "It was quite unique the way Bill asked me to work with him. During, or right after one of my shows. Bill walked in to the radio station, where I was performing, and told me that Al Rex had quit his band. And he said that he needed a bassplayer, would I like to play bass for him. I said no `I don't know how to play bass.' And Bill said: `Well I can teach you that in thirty minutes!' So I thought about it for a moment, and said o.k. let's do it. So we went to WPWA where he had a bass, and he gave me a lesson for about thirty minutes on how the bass fiddle played and how to slap it. So I bought a bass fiddle that afternoon and worked with thim that very night at the Twin Bars, Gloucester, New Jersey."

Otto Fuchs: "Al Rex, the bassplayer which was replaced by you with The Saddlemen, took Bill Haley's radio show on WPWA over?"

Marshall Lytle: "Al Rex didn't take over that show right away. That show we continued to do for probably a year after I went with Bill .We broadcasted every day from twelve noon til one o'clock in the afternoon. We did that mainly to advertise where we were going to be playing so we could bring an audience to the people we were trying to reach."

Otto Fuchs: "Some stories tell a reluctant Bill Haley when asked by Dave Miller to record Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88". How was Bill Haley's position to black music?"

Marshall Lytle: "Well Bill really loved to sing rhythm & blues music. He found the song "Rocket 88" in 1951 just prior to my joining The Saddlemen. That was Al Rex playing on "Rocket 88". But I believe that the real rock & roll came in 1952 when Shorty The Bailiff a Disc Jockey at WPWA radio station, who played rhythm & blues music, came to Bill one day and said: `Bill you gotta learn that song called - `We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight'. And Bill learned the song, and we went to work that night and did that song at the Twin Bars in Glouceser, New Jersey and the audience loved it. And Bill says 'We're gonna record this one.' So we recorded that song. We took the song on a promotional tour, because it was becoming a territorial hit. And we were in Cleveland / Ohio in 1952 with `We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight' and Alan Freed the "King Of The Moondogs" at that time, that was the name of his show. He played rhythm & blues music – he loved `We're Gonna Rock This Joint Tonight' and during our interview he kept the microphone on, while the song was playing. He was yelling, rock & roll everybody – rock & roll. And the audience started calling up saying `Would you play the rock & roll song again?` So Alan Freed said: `We 're gonna play that rock & roll song one more time, here it is "Rock The Joint!" – Bill Haley & The Saddlemen!'

Bill Haley, Billy Williamson, Johnny Grande, Marshall Lytle – The Saddlemen

Otto Fuchs: "The day you recorded "Rock Around The Clock", you ran in a lot of bad luck, which almost kept you from writing rock & roll history?"

Marshall Lytle: "The day we recorded "Rock Around The Clock" we were going across the Deleware River on a ferry boat and we got stuck on a sandbar, so we were late arriving for the record session. It was supposedly the biggest opportunity of your life, as we were late, we spent most the time recording a song that we didn't know – "Thirteen Women" (And Only One Man In Town). We had to create an arrangement on it. That left us thirty minutes, after we got that one done. We had thirty minutes to record, what Milt Gabler of Decca Records called `Well, do that rock & roll thing you gonna do. ' We already had built an arrangement on "Rock Around The Clock" so we knew it, and we recorded it within thirty mintues. We did two takes – and the rest is history!"

Marshall Lytle (bass),  Johnny Grande (accordion), Joey D'Ambrosia (sax), Bill Haley (rhythm guitar), Dick Richards (drums) and Billy Williamson (steel guitar)

Marshall Lytle, Billy Williamson, Johnny Grande, Bill Haley

Otto Fuchs: "Marshall, it was you who recommended to Danny Cedrone, to use the solo of "Rock The Joint" in "Rock Around The Clock". Do you remember which guitar he played?"

Marshall Lytle: "Yeah, Danny loved to play his big Gibson. I believe it was an L-5 or an L-7. Danny was a big man, so he had to have a big guitar. It would have looked kinda strange, playing a small guitar."

Otto Fuchs: "Together with Joey D'Ambrosia (sax) and Dick Richards (drums) you left The Comets, because of a salary dispute, and formed The Jodimars. The reason why you were not taking part in the filming of the two Columbia Pictures movies "Rock Around The Clock" and "Don't Knock The Rock". Altough you performed in a movie short for Universal – "Roundup Of Rhythm". In which Bill Haley played lead guitar, what do you think of Bill's capabilities as lead guitarist?

Marshall Lytle: "When we did the motion picture "Roundup Of Rhythm", we didn't have Danny Cedrone to play the guitar parts, so Bill had to play the guitar himself. The guitar he played in that film, was the guitar I sold him for thirty dollars. Bill was a pretty good guitarist, but he wasn't what you'd call a lead player. Altough he played boogie woogie, which he also did on "Straight Jacket" – where he played the guitar lead. But it was fun to do, we really enjoyed making that film, that was done in early 55 or 54, I belive. That was our first motion picture featurette, we are kind of little sorry that we left Bill prior to the making of the motion pictures "Rock Around The Clock" and "Don't Knock The Rock". Because if we had stayed a little bit longer, Joe, Dick and myself would have been in that films."

Marshall Lytle, Johnny Grande, Bill Haley and Billy Williamson On Stage

Otto Fuchs: "How succesful were Bill Haley & The Comets when you were a member? And how much did you earn during that time?"

Marshall Lytle: "Our salary dispute with the band came because the group was making at the last part before we left – 17 000 Dollars a week paying Joey, Dick, and myself 175 Dollars salary. We wanted a 100 Dollar raise, because we had families. We had children to raise, and didn't want our wifes to work to support our kids. We were refused the raise, so we thought we don't have much of a future here, and formed The Jodimars."

Otto Fuchs: "When you left the Comets, you gave full notice. During that time, you even offered lessons to the future band members Rudy Pompilli (sax), Al Rex (bass) and Don Raymond (drums). They even sat in the audience, to watch your stage antics, and learn the stage show of Bill Haley & The Comets."

Marshall Lytle: "When we gave our notice to Bill, we decided we'll give you a three week notice, so you can hire someone to learn  what we do.  They hired Al Rex on bass, Don Raymond on drums, Rudy Pompilli on sax and they also hired Franny Beecher – which made it a seven-piece instead of a six-piece band. We had a tour coming up, so they hired all the guys to go on tour, and sit in the audience. They sat out in the front, and watched every move me made. I created the bass antics where I stand on it, lay on it, move it over my head and all that crazy stuff. I created that in 1953 with Joey (D'Ambrosia) – the routine which they did on "Rudy's Rock" as you've seen in "Roundup Of Rhyhtm" at the "Straight Jacket" – number. That was our routine, and all the guys had to learn what we did. So they could step in our shoes, when we left. That was something we didn't mind doing. But on our days off, we already rehearsed The Jodimars. We made a demonstration record, signed a contract with Capitol Records to record. So when we left the band, we weren't out of work – except for one week."

Otto Fuchs: "Your first performance as The Jodimars was in the Palace Theatre in New York. Then you went to the east of the US, up to Canada, and then you played one nighters all throughout the States. This tour should have meant a lot to your careers, is there a possibility of having been booked into the wrong clubs. Could this be the reason why The Jodimars never made it as big as The Comets?"

Marshall Lytle: "Our very first engagement after we had finished with The Comets was a The Palace Theatre, New York. Then we went on to perform at different citys across America. We were on tour with Tony Martin, Tex Beneckys Orchestra. We did a lot of one-nighters, and Colleges and places like that. Then we ended up playing in Nevada, where they had gambling casinos. This was a couple of years after we had begun our careers. The gambling casinos payed us a lot of money, so we concentrated on our night club act, instead of on the recording part of our group. If we had concentrated more on our recording careers than on our night club act, we feel, we could have had some big hit records. One of the major reasons why we never had hit records with Capitol Records is we recorded in New York City. And the heartbeat of Capitol was in Hollyoood /California, 3000 miles away. When we had our first releaseo n Capitol, it seemed as if every artist on the label had a hit record. They were flying very, very high. Nat King Cole had a hit, Nelson Riddle, Tennessee Ernie Ford had "Sixteen Tons" – and every act on the label had a hit. We were kind of thrown in there, without the big promotions that Capitol would do with new artists."

Otto Fuchs: "Frank Pingatore, in the 1950s Bill Haley's hair stylist and a musical adivisor to The Comets, became your manager. The late James E. Myers aka Jimmy DeKnight, told in an interview that Bill Haley even denied the offer of Desilu Pictures for a weekly Bill Haley show, as the producers didn't accept the clause, which should keep The Jodimars from performing in that show. Was there so much bad blood between Bill Haley and The Jodimars?"

Marshall Lytle: "I don't know if it should be considered bad blood, but I think Bill didn't want any competition. Because we were originally his sound, we were the ones that created the sound. Without Bill's voice that is The Jodimars."

Otto Fuchs: "Marshall, you also had a session with the houseband of Imperial Records which also featured the legendary guitarist Joe Maphis, why were the produced recordings never released?"

Marshall Lytle: "By late 1958 The Jodimars had some difficulties to keep up with enough work, so our band began to falter. I went to Hollywood, and Joe and Dick moved back to Philadelphia from Rhino, Nevada where we were working. I was in pursue of a recording contract, went to Imperial Records, and offered them four sides by The Jodimars or as many they would like. I called Joey and Dick on the telephone, told them that I had created this offer by Imperial to record. Four songs to record and so on. And Dick said: `We are back in Philadelphia now, so why don't you use the house band they might provide. The house band included Joe Maphis and all the other band members that were backing up Ricky Nelson at the particular time. I recorded four songs, two were written by Johnny and Dorsey Burnette, who were two great songwriters. They were not released, because I think RickyNelson's father got upset because they used Ricky's band to back up my performance. I think Ricky's dad Ozzie Nelson asked Lew Chudd at Imperial Records, just sit on those records, and don't do anything with them. So that's why they weren't released for a couple of years."

Otto Fuchs: "Thanks to your manager Frank Pingatore, you also performed at the "Easter Jubilee Of Stars" in the Brooklyn Theatre, New York. Other stars performing were The Platters, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers, The Flamingos, The Cleftones, The Rover Boys, The Valentines, The Willows and more. The news papers then wrote that it was an atmosphere like in Alcatraz, as there was so much Police present. Would less Policemen meant have riots?"

Marshall Lytle: "I don't think that there would have been any riots at the Alan Freed shows. The kids were just having a wonderful time while we were there. We did three songs on the show, one of them was "Straight Jacket". The instrumental featuring Joey and me doing my anctics with the bass. At that time we had two drummers in our group plus Alan Freed's Orchestra, that played on the show, also had two drummers. And during our number "Straight Jacket" the house band would  join in with us and do that number. So we had four drummers at one time on one song, and the kids were absolutely going into hysterics. They were dancing in the aisles, hanging from the balconies. Dong all kinds of strange things. Alan Freed asked us: "We are going to have cut out that number, because we are afraid that the balcony might collapse from all the heavy jumping up and down. Beacause that number was creating such a furoure in the aduiencse."

Otto Fuchs: "The Jodimars also performed in Las Vegas, later becoming a lounge act, why was that?"

Marshall Lytle: "We became a lounge act in Las Vegas, because that was where the money was. That was purely economics. We wanted to make as much money as possible. Other night club places couldn't pay as much as in Las Vegas. And it was a groundbreaking opportunity to create Rock & Roll in the Nevada Casino Circuit."

Otto Fuchs: "You also engaged two of Louis Prima's band members to perform with The Jodimars. Jimmy Little Redblonde (trombone) and Bobby Morris (drums). Was that a good idea, to hire them?"

Marshall Lytle: "That was really one of the worsest mistakes The Jodimars ever made. They were some of the most wonderful musicans and musicially increased our music ability very much . But we made them partners in our group. We had six Indians and no chief. No one could make decisions, we had six people to say yes to do anything. The group did not last very long, because of that."

Otto Fuchs: "When did The Jodimars disband, how did your career fold from then on, and when did you meet Bill Haley for the last time?"

Marshall Lytle: "The Jodimars actually broke up in 1959. Right after that I went in showbusiness myself. I created a band with a partner named Jimmy Bryant. Jimmy Bryant was part of a western, jazz, swing group called Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West. They were the staff recording guitarists for Capitol Records. Jimmy and I met and decided to form a band. So we hired Speedy West to play with us, and a drummer and that lasted for five or six months. Then Jimmy wanted to become a staff recording guitar player and to settle down and not travel. So he moved back to Los Angeles. My agent at that time said: "Oh, you wearn out the name Marshall Lytle why don't you change your name and have a different group going. How does it sound to be Tommy Page. I said: "Tommy Page & The Page Boys." "Yeah" he said, "That sounds good." So he started to book me out as Tommy Page & The Pageboys, I had a female vocalist that I married and we had some children together. That ended in divorce later on. And so on and so forth, and that pretty muchis my life. During 1975 was the year that I last saw Bill Haley. In a place called Hayword, California near San Francisco Bill and The Comets were playing an engagement. My ex-wife and I went to see them. He was very pleasant to me, he introduced me from the stage as his original bassplayer and I went back in the dressing room and met his wife Martha. And he told me that they just had a child. And I asked: "Oh, what did you name it?" And he said: "Pedro. Pedro Haley!" And I had a hard time keeping a straight face, because the name Pedro just didn't seem to go with the word Haley. I invited him to have dinner at my home, but he had a previous engagement and couldn't come. But I believe that he sincerely would have liked to come to my home for dinner. But I didn't see Bill anymore. When I heard that he passed away in 1981 it was a very sad day."

Otto Fuchs: "Was Bill Haley's untimely passing a surprise to you?"

Marshall Lytle: "Bill's death did come as a surprise to me. Because during the late seventies, we were trying to get Bill to have a reunion with all the original members of The Comets. We communicated to him via mail, but he never responded."

Otto Fuchs: "Bill Haley's Comets Johnny Grande (piano), Franny Beecher (lead guitar), Joey D'Ambrosia (sax), Dick Richards (drums) and you of course, Marshall Lytle (bass), are back in business sinse your reunion in 1987. What has happened to you career-wise since 1987, and what goals are left for the future?"

Marshall Lytle: "When we had our reunion in 1987 in Philadelphia just to do a charity show for a charity company in Philadelphia. And the paid our expenses to get together and come to Philadelphia to perform. We all agreed to do that. But that was all our intensions, to come together for one show. When we got there we went to the rehearsal studio, and within an hour, we were playing like back in 1955 again. Because we were all the same musicians, playing the same music. All we had to do was to get the feel, and it all came back to us. We did the show and everybody liked what we did. We had a fan by the name of David Hirschberg who eventually became our manager. He came backstage and said: "You guys are marvelous, if I could get you a job in Europe, would you go?" And we said, "Sure", never thinking that it would ever happen. So we waited for awhile, and then midpart 1989 he came and said: "Hey I've got this show in England, it's a big festival, and they paying you a lotta money. And airfares, hotels. And we agreed to go. And that was at Breens Sands near Wales in the south of England. We went there expecting a small crowd. We had three thousand people showing up there to hear the Original Comets and The Jodimars perform. And we were extremely pleasantly surprised. We did so well there, that other promoters saw the potential and offered us jobs to come to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and all over Europe. One gentleman we met was Klaus Kettner of Munich, Germany who had Hydra Records. And he put us on a tour, and recorded the first Live CD with us at one of our concert. And that was the CD "We're Gonna Party". What we would like to do Otto, is to rock til we drop. I have since coming back to the United States, and a recent divorce if my life. I decided to get involved in booking The Comets for some big shows in America. I have two other partners and we formed a company called "America's Golden Music" and we are putting concerts together, to perform here in the United States along with the shows in Europe. In Janurary we'll play several engagements in Florida where I live. And then we shall do shows in South Carolina and Philadelphia and other cities throughout America. I got some very exciting partners who want to branch out and create some nice engagements os that the people can continue to see the Originators Of Rock & Roll!"

 

Otto Fuchs: "Marshall Lytle, thanks for the in-depth interview."

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Opening of the
BILL HALEY
Museum Munich (Germany)
by Otto Fuchs

On October 27th 2007 the first ever Bill Haley Museum opened it's gates in Munich, Germany at Schleissheimerstraà¸e 321 / Frankfurter Ring.

In March 2007 The Original Comets Marshall Lytle, Dick Richards and Joey D' Ambrosia were in presence at the laying of the comerstone. And for fall 2007 Klaus Kettner the initator of the museum and President of Hydra Records flew Bill Turner in to open the museum.

Turner a long time friend of the Haley family, and one of Bill Haley's outstanding guitarists from the 1970s, was thrilled to do so:

"I was indeed honored to 'officiate' at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Hydra Records Bill Haley Museum...that part was a surprise to me - I didn't know about that until about an hour before the event! Had I known, I would've had someone obtain a switchblade knife for me - I'm sure everybody would've gotten a kick out of that ... especially all those who wore the black leather jackets!"

Besides of Bill Turner many high class musicians and insiders were in presence such as Paul Worges, reknown as the german Bill Haley since the 1950s, Rainer Koschorz (the first actor to portray Buddy Holly in the german version of the succesful West End musical Buddy), Chuck Herrmann (Munich rock & roll dj legend), Pete Anderson and others.

Coinciding with the opening of the Bill Haley museum was the 30 year anniversary of one of the oldest rock & roll music magazines - The Rock & Roll Musik Magazin. The publishers of the magdecided to use the occasion, and celebrated the very same day with a huge concert in Munich.

Klaus Kettner sees the mission statement of his museum to honour the life & work of Bill Haley "The Father Of Rock & Roll". He sheds light on one of the few figures in rock & roll history, of which not much is known - this thanks to Haley's own wish to keep most things private and not widely published.

What is widely known is that Bill Haley & His Comets changed the landscape of music with their multi-million selling "Rock Around The Clock" in 1955 when the song was chosen as theme song to the youth drama "The Blackboard Jungle" starring Glenn Ford and a young Sidney Poitier.

This historic recording is now the best selling rock & roll single of all times. Haley changed the lfiestyle of the post war youth internationally and opened a new musical age. Still actual and valid to this very day.

In Britain and Germany Haley was the first artist to sell a million records, up until now Haley sold 150 Million copies of his recordings worldwide.

Klaus Kettner & Hydra Records opened a site with a never before seen richness in recordings, original documents, music instruments (for instance the legendary steel guitar of Comet Billy Williamson), Gold records, awards, film posters, press clippings and many more which can bee seen in a permanent exhibition.

The Bill Haley msueum of Hydra Records wishes to inform the public in an entertaining way about the probably most important figure in rock & roll music - Bill Haley & His Comets may never be forgotten.

BILL HALEY MUSEUM, Schleissheimerstraà¸e 321 / Corner Frankfurter Ring, Munich Opening Times: Tuesday - Friday 12.00 - 18.00h, Saturday 10.00 - 15.00h Infos: rockithydra@t-online.de / Tel. 0049 - 89-3113918



The Bill Haley Night

For the evening of a historic day of rock & roll in Germany Klaus Kettner and HG Hartig (Publisher of the longest running german r&r muisc magazine - simply called Rock & Roll) put together an outstanding night, celebrating the opening of the museum and the 30th year anniversary of the R&R Magazine.

At 8.30 pm Chuck Herrmann, the dj in charge, asked Rainer Koschorz to enter the stage. Koschorz was honoured to be the MC of the evening and presented us with a hot new rockabilly outfit from Germany - 45rpm. A four piece band, with the charming and sexy Sandra on vocals 45rpm put back the feeling of nights when rockabilly gals such as Janis Martin and Wanda Jackson rocked the joints. "Stop Look & Listen", "My Boy Elvis", "Ich will keine Schokolade" (the german take on "Percolator"), "Eeny Meeny Miney Moe" ... are in the reportory. Sandra's stage presence is sympathic, sexy, teasing and the same time innocent. Look out for 45rpm, if you have the chance to see them, don't miss out!

After their encore, Chuck Hermann spins some raw & early Elvis Presley records. Shortly afterwars Marty & His Rockin Comets, an instrumentally fine band from Germany - dedicated to the Northern Sound of Rock & Roll are onstage.

Then one of the stars of the evening hits the stage - MIKE BERRY. Very youthful, considering he's sixty-five by now and with great charisma (as I'm assured by the young Rock-A-Bella's in the audience) he fills the Max Emanuel Brewery, where the event is held, with his great presence.

His material consists mostly of Buddy Holly tunes, but also Elvis' "All Shook Up", Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" or one of the classic rock & roll ballads cut both by Presley & Haley "A Fool Such As I". Then in the middle of his set he sets the reverb high on the PA - he explains that this was typical for his producer Joe Meek - to hide bad musicianship ... "Tribute To Buddy Holly" brings his show to a climax! And Buddy is always present - "Maybe Baby", "Tell Me How", "Heartbeat", "That' ll Be The Day". He gives his encore with "Sweet Little Sixteen".

Then Marty & His Rockin Comets continue with a tribute show to Bill Haley, almost all of his landmark recordings can be heard, then suddenly Bill Turner runs on stage, just as The Comets have done when Bill Haley was still with us - he plugs his Gibson in - and gives a note for note Danny Cedrone solo on "Rock Around The Clock".

Turners star shines bright outstanding solos, and a great voice - "Skinny Minnie", "No Particular Place To Go", "Maybelline", "I Walk The Line" ... are some of the songs he chose for the night. After 25 minutes he has to close his set - the venue is not to have live music any longer than midnight.

After the show, I visit Bill Turner & Mike Berry in their hotel. We chat away for about an hour, then Berry calls it a night and returns to his suite. Me & Bill decide to go to a sports bar in Munich. As we enter, country & western recordings of the 1950s and 1960s ring in our ear. So after another two or three hours we bid farewell to each other.

Let's close this article with some thoughts of Bill Turner: "The last time I was in Munich was in December 1976 with Bill Haley, and the venue he appeared in that night was the Kongress.Saal at the Deutsches Museum. Naturally I was very pleased about returning to Germany, as I knew there were many fans of the traditional Rockabilly; Rock & Roll; Jump Blues and Swing; and that the Original Comets were still being very well received there.

In 1976 I felt that Bill Haley's most loyal fans were in the German-speaking countries, because on that tour the audiences at many of the concerts actually sang along with him on the whole concert ... it was like listening to one huge choir singing (in unison, of course!) all the songs of Bill Haley - particularly on "See Ya Later, Alligator" ... so much so, that Bill could've stepped away from the microphone and the audience would've still carried the song right to the end! I thought this was astonishing, especially for a country where not everyone was English-speaking! The fans were excited to see him everywhere, but it was in the German and Austrian venues where the audiences sang along with every word. This, in addition to the fact that after I was no longer on the band after 1976, I continued to receive fan mail from quite a few people from Germany and Austria, and even had those fans come over to New York to visit me, for many years thereafter."

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Interview with

Roc LaRue

 

Recently Thommy Burns supported Roc LaRue in the recording studio. During a break between songs, Thommy participated in a "dream come true". Here is what happened:
           "As soon as we met Roc in Indy and realized he was the guy who did "Baby Take Me Back" it hit me that Nancy and I had danced to that song many times at Rockabilly weekends and at clubs in London years ago when Nancy went to school there. In fact as we were walking away from meeting Roc, Nancy said to me "He did that song? I know that one - EVERYBODY knows that song!"
           When you (Dave Moore) lined up the recording session I thought I'll have to let Roc know how important that song was. But even more I wanted to hear him sing it. All through the session I hinted at this and when he showed me a picture of him and Nancy from Indy and told me how authenctically 50's he thought she looked, I said "You know, she loves Baby Take Me Back".
           During a break in the recording Roc was still holding his guitar and I had my bass. You and Lance had gone behind the board to listen to something with Maynard. Roc said to me "OK Thommy - here we go" and he started to play "Baby Take Me Back". I immediately began to play along on the bass and sing with him ... every line. I could just see a light in his eyes, we were rockin' as if the years had never gone by. Then he said "I haven't sung that song for so many years - now you can tell Nancy that you played that "Baby Take Me Back" with me.
           I can't tell you how cool it was for me to do this song with him - especailly when I stop to think that he hadn't done it in such a long time. I'll tell you something else- Roc was so happy to have guys like you, Lance and myself working with him. Age doesn't matter, or the passing of time - for Roc it was a trip back to the 50's, not in a nostalgic way, but LIVING it, making music. Thanks for including me and giving me the opportunity.
           WOW!!!! I was there watching this episode and it put a chill up my back. You know, Roc recorded some really great Authentic Rockabilly at that session and the 45EP is due to be released around October 20th. (For more information on the 45 please contact Dave at Wild Hare Records 304-258-0014 or DaveHillbillyM@aol.com.)

 

 

 

Otto Fuchs: "Roc - where & when were you born, and who were your early musical influences?"

Roc LaRue:  "I was born in Fall River, Massachusetts on May 20, 1939.  My earliest influences were Hank Williams, Hank Thompson, Hank Snow (lots of Hanks here), and most of the original hillbilly artists of the 40's and 50's.  And of course Elvis in the mid 50's.  But it was Bill Haley that really got me excited about the new music sounds.." 

Otto Fuchs:  "When did you become involved in music - when did you have your first public appearances?"

Roc LaRue:  "Probably around 1954 - I was about 15.  I did some local contests.  Got hooked up with a local hillbilly band and ended up on radio 2 nights a week and TV in Providence, Rhode Island 6 nights a week.  Quite a job juggling my school books and playing, but it was fun." 

 

Otto Fuchs: "Your first recording contract was with RAMA a subsidary of Roulette Records. Did you enjoy the sessions? And do you think that RAMA did a good job promoting your records?"

Roc LaRue:  "I enjoyed every minute of it.  This was a new experience for this young 18 year old in the heart of Times Square, New York.  Hugo and Luigi were my A&R men and they were great.  Aaron Schroeder was there (he was writing for Elvis at the time also) as was Skitch Henderson. 
     Looking back on it, no, they did not promote the record as they should have.  They brought me back to record "Teenage Blues" and reissued it and plugged that song instead of "Baby Take Me Back".  But Baby Take Me Back took off on its own which ended up with promo tours with Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran and Johnny Burnette.  I feel they dropped the ball - that song could have been a national hit.  I had a West Coast promo tour scheduled and a screen test at Universal International - which the cancelled.  Needless to say I was one broken-hearted teenager."
 
 

Otto Fuchs: "How did you experience "The Golden Age Of Rock & Roll" - what happened for you careerwise in the 1950s?"

Roc LaRue:   "We all look back on it now in retrospect and call it "The Golden Age of Rock n Roll".  We didn't know it then.  All we knew is that we were playing music that we liked and had no idea we were making history." 

Otto Fuchs:  "In the early 60s you enlisted in the US Army - and landed like Elvis in Germany. How did you enjoy it there? Did you also perform while in the service?"

Roc LaRue:  "Yes I performed in Germany.  Couldn't resist getting up on stage and swiveling my hips to those cute little German girls." 

Otto Fuchs: "You just recorded a brand new studio album - could you tell us where it was recorded and who participated in it?"

Roc LaRue:  "I do all my own recording at my home.  I have a digital studio recorder.  My sons Roger (drums) and Chris (keyboard) are included on the CD."

Otto Fuchs: "Can we speak of a first and a second career? Did you ever stop playing music - or did it go all through?"

Roc LaRue:  "After the Army I went back into country music.  That's when I met and did shows with Johnny Dollar, Elton Britt, George Morgan and others.  We missed opening for Hank Williams, Jr. by about a week.  That was when he was doing his Dad's songs.  My favorite country artists during the 60's and 70's were Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and  Waylon Jennings.   I hung up my guitar around 1974 to raise a family and moved from Connecticut to Florida in 1978." 

 

Otto Fuchs: "How did the music business change since the 1950s - and do you find it as thrilling being out on stage - as you did back then?"

Roc LaRue:  "I believe the music business, recordings, radio promo's, etc., turned for the worse.  It is very hard now for a musician to make his mark these days.  I don't like the radio programs as they all play the same song lists.  Country music today is not country.  All the male singers sound the same as do the female singers.  There will never be another time in history as the 40's and 50's when there were so many unique individual entertainers and personalities.  So many great artists and song writers came out of that era.  It will never happen again.............   
 
I find it very exciting to be on stage these days - even though I don't move around the stage like I used to.  Yes, I did Presleyesque type steps - but I think we all did.  But you know - for me it came natural."

Otto Fuchs: "What are your goals for the future - what is left for Roc LaRue to achieve?"

Roc LaRue:  "What is left?  That's a loaded question.  I am enjoying my semi-retirement years which have been made a little more interesting by going back on stage and performing here in America and overseas.  As long as my fans want to hear me - I will continue to perform."
  

Otto Fuchs: "Well, thanks for the interview - and will we see you perform in Europe in the near future?"

Roc LaRue: "Thanks Otto - and remember my next appearance will be this October 27th in Concarneau, France with Glen Glenn.  Then it is off to Paris for a week of relaxation and enjoy the sights and sounds of Paris.  Take care and "Keep on Roc'n".................."

Content is the property and opinion of the writer, not necessarily that of the RHOF

 

                                             E-mail: Otto           Updated, January, 2007

 

Ronny Weiser Interview
Otto Fuchs: "Ronny, could you tell us when and how your interest in rockabilly music started?"
            Actually back then we called it "Rock 'n' Roll Music".
            My mother had old 78's of Louis Armstrong, Dixieland Jazz, the Platters, Cowboy songs, etc. I was ten years old and loved all that stuff, but I had not heard the words "Rock 'n 'Roll" yet.
            Yet I was already well predisposed towards America after listening to the above mentioned music, and having seen Western movies and Tex Avery / Tom & Jerry cartoons.
            Also we were living in Vienna at the time and the Hungarians had just revolted against Soviet domination. My father drove to the border to pick up the refugees who all hated Soviet Communism and loved America.
            It was in the summer of 1957 ('58?) in the resort sea village of Focette (near Viareggio) that, as my birthday present, my mother gave me my first Rock'n'Roll records: two 78's of Bill Haley & His Comets with "Rock Around The Clock", "See You Later Alligator", "Mambo Rock" and "Thirteen Women". Fantastic stuff!
            She also gave me my first pair of bluejeans and she told me to roll up the cuffs like the teenagers and the cowboys in America do! I was becoming more American by the minute!
            But what really made me flip for Rock'n'Roll was seeing the movie "Loving You" where Elvis, with his long sideburns, was driving in a red & white convertible wearing a red and white satin Western shirt, surrounded by hundreds of screaming teenage girls!
            The next summer (again in Focette),  while walking towards the beach, I heard the most amazing sounds a human could ever hear! The juke box at the American Bar is blasting out Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally"!  Next is "Lucille", "Ready Teddy", "Tutti Frutti", etc. I am stunned, simply stunned.
            That was it!!
            Rock'n'Roll was now my greatest passion,  and I had to move to America to visit Memphis and New Orleans and Texas and Tennessee and Hollywood and Denver and Las Vegas, all those magic places where Rock'n'Roll music and Tex Avery cartoons and Blue Jeans were being created!!



Otto Fuchs: "Despite for your label Rollin' Rock you are also known for having cut the last recordings of Gene Vincent. How was Gene as a person? And what memories do you have of The Black Leather Rebel?"
            Gene Vincent is one of my great idols.
            In the late 1960's in Los Angeles it was practically impossible to find any of Gene's records in record shops, except when I went to Aaron's Record Shop on Melrose where I found two UK imports of Gene Vincent's Greatest Hits. The owner told me that Gene lived in Hollywood. Telephone info had a listing for Eugene Craddock...
            What impressed me the most about Gene was his kind and friendly attitude towards his fans. As soon as I met him, Gene Vincent invited me over to his apartment, and prepared me some sandwiches and soda pop. A real Southern Gentleman indeed!
            He loved to talk about Rock'n'Roll, and all the artists he admired, and who were his friends, such as Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Carl Perkins, Brook Benton, Elvis, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee, etc., etc.
            He was upset that he could not find in Hollywood a backup band who had the Real Rock'n'Roll "feeling", instead of the "hippie" sound which was drowning him.



Otto Fuchs: "Please tell us when you founded Rollin' Rock and which rockabilly heroes you newly discovered for the label?"
            Rollin' Rock started off as a magazine circa 1970 to promote Real Rock'n'Roll and American Culture and Values. Soon thereafter I designed a Rollin' Rock logo and had 500 Jimmy Patton records pressed after signing a licensing agreement with Sage Records. Mr. Mooney at Sage was surprised that anybody would be interested in this stuff!!
            I found out about Ray Campi in 1972 when I was visiting some Rock'n'Roll fans in Berlin. They told me Ray Campi was living in Hollywood. So I decide to interview Ray. He goes on for hours and hours. Around 6:30 am he pulls up his tie and tells me he has to get ready for school! "Are you a student, Ray?" "No I'm a teacher." Wow!
            So I return home and try to get some sleep. It seems as if I was in bed only five minutes when somebody's banging at the door. My head feels like a train ran over it!
            I open the door and  I see the wind blowing photos of Hillbilly stars onto the Hollywood Freeway!  78's are falling on the floor and cracking into multiple pieces! My dog is chewing on some rare demo tape of some Hillbilly legend, whose tape is unraveling! 
            It was Ray Campi!!! He says: "By the way, Ron, I forgot to mention ...... " Six more hours pass by!! Or was it eight???
            A few days later he moves into my house and rents a room! That cat is DEDICATED!!!!
            Mac Curtis was a DJ on Country sation KLAC in Los Angeles.
            Jackie Lee Cochran was playing in a club on Santa Monica Blvd, billed as "Waukeen Cochran". When I saw the name "Cochran" I knew it had to be somebody rockin'!!



Otto Fuchs: "How did the revival of rockabilly music in the 80s affect your work? What were the bestselling artists of that time?"
            Not much really in America, but tremendously in Finland.
            Ray Campi, Mac Curtis, Johnny Legend and Jimmie Lee Maslon were best selling, because Rollin' Rock Records was very popular in Finland, outselling John Travolta, Donna Summers and John Lennon!! The average age of the Finnish fans was 12 years old!!!

Otto Fuchs: "For awhile Rollin' Rock ceased, why & how did you come out of "semi-retirement"?
            Because of financial problems, I suspended recording new material, but during the period when American and European fans thought I "ceased", or that I was "in retirement",  I was selling tens of thousands of LPS especially manufactured for export to Japan!
            The lack of financial means to support a family of five people (with Rollin' Rock's earnings) forced me to make adjustments, and to find additional sources of income.

Otto Fuchs: "You also worked with Bill Haley's Comets, and released two great CDs on your label. Can we expect a third?"
            Hopefully yes, although now I'm back into a situation of financial difficulties once more!

Otto Fuchs: "If you were to define rockabilly music, what would your definition be?"
            Originally Rockabilly Music was part of a sub-genre of Rock'n'Roll with an emphasis on guitars, Southern vocal, and standup slappin' bass.
            The word was rarely used in the 1950's by the general public, but was used mostly in the trade magazines such as "Cashbox" and "Billboard".
            Most Rockabilly singers considered themselves to be Rock'n'Roll singers. This is what I called it when I was a kid, Rock'n'Roll,  whether it was Doo Wop, New Orleans R'n'R, Hillbilly Boogie, or guitar Rock'n'Roll.
            But today we often use the word as a straight replacement for Rock'n'Roll, which word has been desecrated by the 1960's Hippie Rolling Stone culture. We can see this at "Viva Las Vegas", which, while it's called a "Rockabilly Weekender", it also features Doo Wop, Rhythm & Blues and Western Swing artists.



Otto Fuchs: "What are your goals for the future?"
            My goals are the same as they have always been: to try to make more money, so that I can record more Rock'n'Roll Legends and new hot bands, and so that I can spend more money to promote Rock'n'Roll and Rockabilly,  hopefully till one day Rockabilly will be on top of the Hit Parade charts across the world!!!

Otto Fuchs: "Thanks for the interview."

Thank you very much, Otto!
Always Rollin' The Rollin' Rock,
Rockin' Ronny Weiser,
The Rockabilly Rebel Westerner From Las Vegas,
The Wild Wild West

An Interview
Marvin Rainwater
The following interview I led with Marvin Rainwater several months ago for my Rocket 88 Show on KRKT 99.1 FM Ventura/California.
             Marvin was the first guest artist on my radio programme - Jimmy Harrell (Alton & Jimmy), Dickie "Be Bop" Harrell Gene Vincent's orignal drummer, Marshall Lytle the bassplayer of Bill Haley & The Comets on the original recording of "Rock Around The Clock" and several other Haley classics, The Comets' 60s pianist Joey Welz and one time Comet lead guitarist Bill Turner were to follow, as well as Billy Lee Riley, Roman Self and Charlie Gracie.
             Some of this interviews have already been transcribed for the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame, the others will follow - beginning with Marvin Rainwater:

             Most people who would listen to Marvin Rainwater recordings in the 1950s found themselves asking "How does this man look like?".
             The answer is: He looked like someone who stepped out of one of Jack London's adventure stories - a big man with greggy looks from his Cherokee ancestors. The songs he sang throughout his career range from lusty to plain touching. Marvin spent four decades in the entertainment field, his career took him out of the rough honky tonks of the south to the sophisticated London Palladium near Oxford Street. This has given Marvin a backlog of stores - funny and entertaining.
             He shared those with me for my Rocket 88 Radio Show and the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame. Here some briefs - beside his own hits "Whole Lotta Woman", "Gonna Find Me A Bluebird", "Running Bear", "Half Breed", "Moanin' The Blues", "The Albino Pink Eyed Stallion", "Henrietta", "My Brand Of Blues" and "City Of Angels" Marvin has written also hit material for other artists such as:
             "Be Good To Her" for Carl Smith, "I Gotta Go And Get My Baby" for Teresa Brewer, plus over one hundred performers covered his composition "Gonna Find Me A Bluebird"!
             "Whole Lotta Woman" a big seller in the US, altough not making it to the number one spot like it did in England, where it knocked Elvis Presley from the Nr.1 Spot of the New Musical Express Charts, was also recorded by Vanessa Redgrave for the Oscar winning movie "Georgie Girl".
             Marvin Rainwater also penned "I Miss You Already" for Faron Young and Billy Joe Royal took the song not too long ago to the Billboard Charts.

And now Marvin Rainwater's side of the story:

Otto Fuchs: "Marvin Rainwater is about to release a new CD - what is your favourite music Marvin and is this to be found on your new album?"
Marvin Rainwater: "Well, you know Otto - I loved all kinds of music ever since I was a little boy, which was a long time ago, but I believe my favourite kind of music is rockabilly - because it is so exciting. And the people get into it so deeply - that gets me so excited when I am doing a show - I'm going into a trance. It doesn't happen with other kind of music - so taken from them I'm trying to take this excitement and put it into this new CD with new songs and new ideas and this kind of excitement we have."

Otto Fuchs: "That sounds great - I will do my best to promote that album. Marvin, you played both the London Palladium and the Hemsby Rock & Roll Weekender - two very different experiences as I could make out when I witnessed rock & roll performers in both venues."
Marvin Rainwater: "Well Otto, it was a great difference. Back when I did the London Palladium I did country music - and people were not into country music that much. It was a wonderful experience but the Hembsby thing - that was so exciting and I was so into it, that I just felt like a king when I was onstage. I just felt wonderful and excited!"

Otto Fuchs: "Marvin your talents were spotted at the famous Arthur Godfrey's Talents Scout - where Patsy Cline was noticed the first time by a wider audience as well - could you tell us about your first experience of being in the public eye?"
Marvin Rainwater: "The Arthur Godfrey Show was brought up by my brother Ray who was my talent scout - he was very calm and collected - but I was scared to death. I've never been on a big show before, and I was really shaken. But I had no idea what was gonna happen - except that I was just gonna give it every thing I had - and I did. (Laughs) And when it was over with I was so scared I ran back down the street, out of the backdoor back to our car - and got into that car. And when I found out I won because they were hollering, yelling and raising. And Arthur Godfey said "But, where is he?" And Ray sent someone to get me and he said "What are you doing out here?" And I said "I'm scared!" (Laughs) I went back in and we had a wonderful time - and I was on his show for about a year. He was a very wonderful warm man and he took care of us scared people and made us feel relaxed and comfortable."

Otto Fuchs: "You also recorded "The Majesty Of Love" in a duet with Connie Francis - could you tell us about her?"
Marvin Rainwater: "Well Connie Francis was a beautiful little 18 year old little girl, when I first met her and I done pretty good on MGM. And MGM came and asked me if I was going to record a song with this new girl. And I asked how she sounded, they played me a record of her and I said "That's beautiful". And the strangest thing is that when we cut this record I was so impressed by her beautiful voice, and she was impressed by my country statures you know, and so she kinda switched over and tried to sing my style of music and I was so impressed with her. And I switched over and tried to do her type of music. And this "Majesty Of Love" - if you isten to that you will see how this turned out. She was acting country, and I was acting big shot pop, but it was a great song. And I'm very proud of this record, I always think it is wonderful."

Otto Fuchs: "In 1957 "Gonna Find Me A Bluebird" made the Top 40 of the Billboard Charts, and in 1958 "Whole Lotta Woman" by the way one of my favourite records of you made "only" the Top 60 in the US, but all the way up to Nr. 1 in the United Kingdom. Do you think that in the US you didn't gain the chart success you did deserve because you performed in native american coustumes in public, we'd like to also threw in that our sister station First Nations Broadcasting in Alaska and North Canada is a native station - so I think this would be interesting for our listeners over there and also her on Rock It Radio Calfornia - maybe you could also tell us how you see the Natives in todays America?"
Marvin Rainwater: "Well "Gonna Find Me A Bluebird" did quite well for me, and on the success of that I needed another big record, so I worked very hard and wrote this song "Whole Lotta Woman". And everybody thought it wouldn't work you know they thought it was a strange song. I really belived in it - and I knew it was gonna go. Then it took off, and all of a sudden all the stations banned it cause they said it was dirty. Can you imagine "Whole Lotta Woman" the lyric dirty?
             Anyhow they wouldn't let it let play in this country, over in England it made it to Number One and when I heard it trippling back over I was very happy - because the song justified my faith in it.
             You were talking about the Native Americans Otto - Indians used to throw beer bottles over me, and now with all the big casinos they have all over the country they are throwing one hundred dollar bills. I love em - and I'm glad that it turned around for them. I'm writing a song for them "The Indians Are Smiling Again" and I'm very happy for them - and they treat me awfully well when I work the casinos - they give us good rooms, a good place to work, and treat us like gentleman!"

Otto Fuchs: "Marvin could you tell us a little bit about your musical beginnings and who your influences were?"
Marvin Rainwater: "When I was little boy - about six years old - my mother got me a piano. Because I loved music and she wanted that to develop in me if she could, we were real poor folks - and she had to take in washings to buy me a piano and give me lessons - bless her heart.

             I went on to be a concert pianist I was going to really go into the world as a concert pianist. But when I was about 15 I got a tip of my thumb cut off with a machine which wrecked my piano playing. I can play now, but my thumb had swollen up so bad that I could hit less than three notes, and so it ruined my ambitioun in becoming a concert pianist. I went into the Navy and heard ole Roy singing "Way Back In The Hills" and all of a sudden my heart fell in love with a different kind of music. I started loving that, and writing it and then I put it own to the rockabilly brand in the 58 - the "Whole Lotta Woman" the 58 music really turned me on. I been around the world many times with rockabilly music and I never love anyhing like I do that."

Otto Fuchs: "How was it for you to be with all the 1950s rockabilly frenzy with screaming girls and sold out tours - was there ever a time when you said "Now, it's enough - I rather write songs then go out and perform?" or did you always take it as given of how it is to be in the public eye - well your thoughts on this please Marvin."
Marvin Rainwater: "When I had this success with "Whole Lotta Woman" at the time when it was Number One, we were absolutely mobbed everywhere we went. But I was thrilled to death by that I was a thirty four year old young man. But one time we went to a record autograph session in a record store and the big plate glass windows were holding out the people on the outside and the inside was so full of people - which kept the windows from crashing in on us - and then big desk we were standing at - this whole mob, they didn't do that by purpose they were pushed by others, the whole group of people started inching their way in to this - and we were mobbed at this big desk, this and a wall between us - and my security got me out there right now and got us in a limousine and took us away. And I thought - "Oh Mercy - if this is what poor Presley has to go through I wonder if I want to go through it or not." Cause I love my privacy, but I also love meeting people, perform and shake their hands."

Otto Fuchs: "Marvin Rainwater celebrated his 75th birthday on the 2nd July of last year, Bill Haley would have celebrated his 75th birthday four days later on the 6th of July - and I guess many will still recall what Bill Haley used to say - "When I'm seventy five and if you still can clap your hands, and I still can hold a guitar we'll still have rock & roll - I still be playing!"
Marvin Rainwater: "God bless Bill Haley's heart - he wanted to do it until he was 75 and I am doing it. I'm just getting started - and I think rockabilly music keeps you young, that's what I think and I'm gonna keep it doing it as long as I can. And I feel like a young man right now, we tour through the world my little wife Sheree and I, the rockabilly just makes people really happy who go to this festivals!"

Otto Fuchs: "That was it already with the first ever interview guest here on the Rocket 88 Show, and I'm thankful that the pioneer was Marvin Rainwater - who will always remain one of my idols - thank you Mr. Rainwater!"
Marvin Rainwater: "Thank you Otto for such a wonderful interview and I hope all your listeners have enjoyed this little chat we had - and I want you to thank them for listening up to our wonderful music and once in awhile to one of my rockabilly records - so take care Otto we love you - by bye! By the way - come and visit us in Northern Minnesota - it's always 20 below!"

So a big thank you to all those who tuned in when this interview was first broadcast on Rock It Radio, and a very special thank you to all of the rockabilly enthusiasts who read my column on the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame - like Marvin Rainwater said "We love ya ... "

An Interview
Roman Self
Here an interview printed exclusively for the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame. It was led by me with Roman Self - son of the rockabilly legend Ronnie Self - for a tribute to Ronnie Self show of my Rocket 88 programme on KRKT 99.1 FM Ventura/CA (www.rockitradio.net) - coinciding with the release of Roman Self's first solo CD by the same title, released on the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame Label.

Otto Fuchs: "First of all thanks for agreeing to do the interview."
Roman Self: "Thanks Otto."

Otto Fuchs: " Ok - let's kick it off with the questions: Roman could you tell us where you were born and raised and who your early (musical) influences were?"
Roman Self: "Sure, I was born and raised in Springfield/Missouri. My early influences besides my father Ronnie Self were Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and I can't forget the late great Elvis Presley!"

Otto Fuchs: "How was it 'to grow up' with a father who was a rock & roll star?"
Roman Self: "Well at the time I was pretty young and for me it was a normal life. We always had a few famous people coming in and out the house and you know that was normal for me. Now, that I look back on it it was pretty amazing."

Otto Fuchs: "What was the reaction when your parents divorced?"
Roman Self: "Well Otto, my mom and dad were married and divorced three times and not to mention that they always were in and out on the road tours and recording sessions and all that stuff. Life wasn't that much different for me, so it didn't affect me in a negative way. I still saw him about the same as when they were married and he and mom were very close until the day he died!"

Otto Fuchs: "You also performed with your dad - could you tell us about it?"
Roman Self: "Yeah, when I was 14 I moved to Nashville/Tennessee with dad and we'd gone down to hang out at the famous Tutti Lounge, of course a lot of people recognized him and insisted that he'd get up and do some songs on stage. So he brought me up and me and him sang a few songs together and had a really good time and it really gave me some awesome memories - his picture is still on the wall down there somewhere."

Otto Fuchs: "Were any recordings made by your father featuring you?"
Roman Self: "Well, there are no actual released recordings featuring me. There were however a few demos made, where dad had taken all of us kids, all my brothers and sisters into the studio and put down some songs he had written. And it was a lotta fun - I doubt anybody will find a copy of those."

Otto Fuchs: "What happened to your career after your time with your father?"
Roman Self: "Well, I continued writing my own songs and singing and playing guitar - mainly for friends and family. Right after that I'd go in to the US Air Force and was stationed at California. I just played and sang there in my free time while I was in the service."

Otto Fuchs: "You also performed with your brother Ronnie with the band Rock & Roll Express - how far did the career of this group go?"
Roman Self: "Well that was after my military days and I hooked up with my brother Ronnie we moved down to the Florida Keys, where we formed R&R Express. By the way the R&R stood for Ronnie & Roman. We were pretty much an instant success you know, we pretty much packed the house everywhere we went. It didn't take us long to create a pretty good following. Our sets consisted basicially of a mixture of old time rock & roll, rockabilly, 50s doo-wop, southern rock and the people loved it - cause there seemed to be something there for everybody. And over those years performing in Florida, me and my brother were invited to play a fundraiser for kids - it was a pretty extensive crowd - about 50 000 people and it was an incredible experience. We later moved up the coast to Virginia, continuted to play throughout Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton places like that. I eventually settled down, took a job as electrician, got married and concentrated on my writing again."

Otto Fuchs: "Roman you recorded for many different labels - could you let us in on your discography?"
Roman Self: "Oh yeah, back in the early nineties I decided to take some of my material into the studio and do some demos. The producer at the time requested to release two songs on his own independent label along with several other artists. It was just a mixture of people on an album to include Fats Domino, Hank Williams Jr., Doug Kershaw - people like that. I also made a trip to Nashville during that time and demoed five more of my songs with a single released on vinyl called "In My Sides". I was also invited to play at the Hampton Coliseum and places like that for fundraisers. I'm really big on fundraisers - I really like to help people out. And that at the Coliseum was for the American Cancer Foundation."

Otto Fuchs: "You just released a brand new album on the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame Label - would you tell us about it?"
Roman Self: "Well Otto, I decided to move to Nashville just a couple of years ago and started to get serious with my music. I met Bob Timmers who created the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame website - he asked me if I'd be interested in recording a CD as a tribute to my dad. After I thought about it for a little while - I decided that it might help to keep my dad's music alive. We did have a hard time picking out which songs we were gonna do on CD. There were just so many to pick from, we had four weeks to recreate, practise and get the songs down before entering the studio - so that wasn't a lotta time. The CD "A Tribute To Ronnie Self" turned out really good - as I sat back and listened to the finished product I said it was pretty awesome. All I could really think was - I hope dad would like this. This was the first full CD I'd ever done - it was really a big honour to do it - some of my dad's music, so I'm kinda proud of it."
Otto Fuchs: "Roman, you also performed in Vegas this year - what was this like?"
Roman Self: "Oh man, that was a big honour to perform at one of the biggest rockabilly festivals in the US. I attended Rockin' Ronny Weiser's Pre-Vegas Meet & Greet. He invited me up to do some songs there, so I in return of course - returned a favour and got him up onstage during my set in Vegas to get help me out with the song "Ain't I'm A Dog". And the crowd seemed to like that a little bit, and they were all awesome and wonderful welcoming me into the world. I had the privilege of meeting other artists oh many artists - such as Glen Glenn, Barbara Pittman, Art Adams, Commander Cody - just a whole bunch of people out there. I really had a great time - and look out for the next one."

Otto Fuchs: "I know this is a very personal question - and I understand if you do not want to answer to this - how did you react to your father's death?"
Roman Self: "Well, I was still in the airforce at that time out in California. That was a really tough time for me, it really hit me hard. I feel that no one gets over a family members death - I'm still not over it, but it's something you learn to live with. And I can still see him in my mind, playing guitar and singing and everything, so the memories are really great and I always smile when I think of the time I spent with him."

Otto Fuchs: "What are your favourite songs by your late dad?"
Roman Self: "Oh, my most favourite songs dad wrote have never been released to the public, you know I consider bringing some of those out in the near future, because a lot of people asked me to do a second tribute album to him and he had quite a catalogue - that consisted of I guess you know well over 500 songs. So between my music and his I have a lot of work to do."

Otto Fuchs: "Have you any requests - we'd love to give them some airplay."
Roman Self: "Well, yeah if you don't mind I'd like to hear "Bop-A-Lena", "Ain't I'm Dandy", probably whatever you got there. I really enjoyed doing "You Are The Mama Of My Song" and it's wide open, I really had a ball doing that one - whatever you can come up with - I'll enjoy."

Otto Fuchs: "What do you think of some of the newer rockabilly acts?"
Roman Self: "I'm very impressed - it just blows me away to see and hear them recreate history, the clothes, the sound, the style - man to hear them do dad's stuff it just makes me grin from ear to ear. They are doing a great job in keeping the music alive - I'm telling you that."
Otto Fuchs: "Rockabilly will celebrate it's 50th birthday soon - why do you think are there still so many young people out there who appreciate the music, and in a way also adopt the 1950s lifestyle."
Roman Self: "Well to me I think it's the simplicity and the excitement and the creativness and the freedom of expressing how you feel in the music and in the life. A lot of the music today has become so artificial in my opinion, this is a good way to go, get the grain and be a rebel, and feel the music again."

Otto Fuchs: "What is going on for you currently?"
Roman Self: "Well since the release of my CD "A Tribute To Ronnie Self" and my performance in Vegas and endless help by Bob Timmers at the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame I'm staying pretty busy. I was invited to perform for the city of Burns here in Tennessee, for the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame - it was there 50th anniversary, Eddie Bond had called and asked me to perform with him at one of his shows. Glen Glenn has invited me out on the road with him for a little while. And there are several big shows being worked out right now, and many requests coming in for me to do a follow up CD - like I said earlier. I've also had the pleasure with meetings with all kinds of people - DJ Fontana, Scotty Moore, James Burton, Narvel Felts, just a whole ray of people - it's a real rare treat and a good opportunity meeting this people. It's really fun."

Otto Fuchs: "Are there any plans for Roman Self to go to Europe?"
Roman Self: "Oh sure, it's been suggested by a few people. I've talked with Tony Wilkinson, Stuart Coleman, John Manners - Glen Glenn even mentioned it that I should head into that direction. I'm looking forward in working hard on getting that way soon. It would be an honour to get over there soon and meet all of the fans that loved dad's music so much."

Otto Fuchs: "What are your goals in life and music?"
Roman Self: "I would just like to live live to the fullest and give people a chance to laugh, kick their heels off, and have some fun, as long as they keep listening I'm gonna keep on playing it. Anyone who'd like to get a copy of "A Tribute To Roman Self" can go to to www.rockabillyhall.com/RomanSelf.html or you can go to www.amazon.com - we see you all there."

Otto Fuchs: "Ok, Roman that was it already I'm really happy that you agreed to do the interview - thank you very much indeed - all the best from Vienna/Austria."
Roman Self: "Thank you Otto."

Vienna On The Rocks!
Bill Haley's Original Comets
At the Metropol
It was June the 24th 2003 when the original members of the first rock & roll band ever: The Comets consisting of Marshall Lytle (bass), Dick Richards (drums), Franny Beecher (lead guitar), Joey D'Ambrosia (saxophone) and Johnny Grande (piano) with the Londoner Jacko Buddin standing in for the late great Bill Haley played the Metropol Theatre in Vienna/Austria.
            I was early on location, and was waiting among other fans for the doors of the Metropol to open. It was a hot, sunny tuesday in June, an excited viennese audience gathering outside of the house that would be rockin' - when Ty Tender (an austrian Elvis soundalike), Klaus Kettner (the head of Hydra Records and Rock It Concerts - companyies responsible for recordings and concerts by Bill Haley's Comets on the Continent) with all members of The Comets paved their way through the crowd.
            Making their way from the Metropol to a restaurant to taste the traditional viennese cusine, and about to expierience the "Gemt¸tlichkeit" (cosiness) Austria is so famous for
           . After the Comets had disappeared, the doors opened - and you could already purchase tour posters and CDs plus all the other typical souvenirs such as T-Shirts, Postcards etc. ... At the end of the show The Comets would patiently sign all of those items.
            In the back garden of the theatre you could refresh and feed yourself with viennese wines and austrian beer specialites, of course also non-alcoholic beverages and Gulasch, Bratw¸rstel, Wiener Schnitzel etc. ...
            At 8:00pm Michael Pewny went on stage to welcome the audience with Boogie Woogie of the 1930s and 1940s with accompanient by his piano only.
            After that it was time for one of the most popular austrian rockabilly bands - The Legendary Daltons. Dressed in edwardian drapes and making all honour to the title of their album "Teddyboy" (Indian Dreams ID 29.06.00) available over their website www.legendarydaltons.com JC "Bad Boy" Dalton on lead guitar (aka Christian Haas who ran for many years the rockabilly club Mans Ruin in Vienna), Tommy Lee Dalton leadsinger, CC Dalton (slap bass), Michael "half-pint" Dalton (rhythm guitar) and Genereal FD Dalton (drums) bursted into their hard edged rockabilly with Carl Perkins" "Blue Suede Shoes" for opener.
            Many of the attending audience never had heard rockabilly like that before, but truly were blown away by the bands mastering of their instruments, and the great singing abilites of Tommy Lee. His voice is unique, but if I would have to compare it with someones then I would describe it as an amlagam of Warren Smith and Elvis Presley.
            "Summertime Blues", the immortal Ronnie Self hoiler "Bop-A-Lena", "Washmachine Boogie" among other well loved rockers like "Be Bop A Lula" to mention one more, really brought the house down. Of course the Legendary Daltons could not leave without an encore - they brought Michael Pewny back onstage who could show some great rock & roll piano on the Jerry Lee Lewis classics "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls Of Fire" - if there would haven"t been an intermission and The Original Bill Haley"s Comets after, this band would have stopped the evening cold.
            After a 30 minute intermezzo - it was time to rock around the clock, dressed as in 1955 the Comets plus Jacko Buddin entered the stage, big applause followed their appearing. Some people standing close to me altough decided to laugh, they probably did because despite being the greatest rock & roll band on the planet, these american senior citizens looked very much like they had spent the time before the gig in an oap-home.
            But after The Comets had launched into "Shake, Rattle & Roll" the great 1954 rock & roll adaption of the Joe Turner rhythm & blues hit, their anticipation manifested itself now different - in clapping their hands as hard as they could. The sound was there - not different to the original Decca version but clearly played with more fun and enthusiasm. This gentlemen don"t play their hearts out solely for money - they love what they do and this connects them in a very special way with their audience!
            Also in their reportory was the 1956 Bill Haley & The Comets hit "Birth Of The Boogie". Then Joey D'Ambrosia suppyling hot black sounding saxophone and singing on "I Wan't You To Be My Baby" a song from the Comets most recent album "Aged To Perfecion" relaesed on Ronny Weiser's "Rollin Rock Records".
            Franny Beecher introduced us "See You Later Alligator" in his high-pitched voice as he already had done on the million sellers orginal recording. After that the Comets went into the first rock & roll song that entered the Pop-Charts of Billboard and Cashbox in 1953 - "Crazy Man Crazy".
            It was in 1955 when Joey, DIck and MARShall quit the Comets to from the JODIMARS - one of this bands songs - "Now Dig This" gave name to the best british rock & roll magazine. Dick Richards set his foot to center stage, handing over his drum sticks to Jacko Buddin - and sang us this rock & roll classic. By the way Jacko is a good drummer, but of course his abilities on the instrument, but of course are not to compare with his talent in sounding just like the great Bill Haley! "Dim Dim The Lights" another gold record for Bill Haley & The Comets (which also made it into the high regions of the rhythm & blues charts) was next - it wasn"t sung by Jacko Buddin but by Marshall Lytle who approached this song in his own unique way doing the song just. . Then "Mambo Rock" with Jacko Buddin on vocals, great sax and lead guitar work by Joey D'Ambrosia and Franny Beecher in the tunes middle.
            The show continued with Louis Prima"s "Bouna Sera" sung by Joey D"Ambrosia before he started the song with Prima-like vocals, he told us that the band is playing nowadays the Hard Rock Casino quite often - a rock & roll casino "cause there they trash the rooms before you check in" ...
            "Bouna Sera" had the audience clapping right through til it ended! Then "R-O-C-K" from the film "Rock Around The Clock" and also title track of Bill Haley & The Comets" 1976 Muscle Shoals recorded Sonet album of the same name. Good handling of this classic, altough I was disappointed that Jacko Buddin didn't stick to the very cool original lyrics ...
            Very nice to hear Marshall Lytle back on vocals with the wonderful ballad "You "re The Greatest" another title from the bands newest outing "Aged To Perfection" and Joey D"Ambrosia supplied a very emotinal saxophone solo to it! As Marshall pointed out to the audience "You're (Joey) The Greatest" - Vienna agreed with loud applause. So Joey had to give them more reasons to think that he was the greatest - with a cover of the Stevie Ray Vaughan hit "The House Is Rockin"" after which the Comets 1998 Rockstar album was titled - a showcase for Joey's singing qualities and finally bringing Johnny Grande with a hot rockin" piano into the spotlight. No wonder that he was employed by Bill Haley from 1949 until 1962 - ending at his request an equal partnership with Bill Haley, the late steel-guitarist Billy Williamson and the bands mangager Lord Jim Ferguson.
            Franny Becher showed us why he is anticipated by many rock journalists as one of the greatest lead guitarists of 1950s rock & roll with "Steel Guitar Rag" - all of the band could also be heard with a solo in "The Saints Rock & Roll" in which Dick Richard showcased his abilities with a 5 minute long drum-solo, Marshall Lytle riding his bass, lifting it to the air, laying on his back, still playing it - and the others D'Ambrosia and Grande giving demonstration of their proffessional musicianship.
            With the best selling rock-single of all times, "The National Anthem Of Rock & Roll" (Dick Clark) "Rock Around The Clock" The Comets closed their set. For the first encore they decided to bring us "Rock The Joint" the bands first hit from 1952, and probably the first rockabilly-single of all times. They were joined by austrian Elvis-soundalike Ty Tender on "Rip It Up" also a Top 25 hit for the band in 1956, and brought a medley of "Rock Around The Clock" and "Rock The Joint" - the shows finally with all performers of the evening - The Legendary Daltons, Michael Pewny and Ty Tender joining in!
            A marvellous and moving rock & roll experience - Elvis may haven taken over the throne of Bill Haley as The King Of Rock & Roll - but never employed such innovators of music like Bill Haley - The Original 1955 Comets!

Bill Turner Interview

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the first ever rock & roll recording to enter both the Billboard & Cashbox Pop-Charts in 1953 - Bill Haley & His Comets' "Crazy Man Crazy" I interviewed Bill Turner one-time lead guitarist of Bill Haley's Comets for KRKT 99.1 FM Ventura/California.
            Read now about the early days of rockabilly, the career of Bill Haley & The Comets, and the dark sides of showbusiness, an acknowledging of Bill Haley's importance in the development of rock & roll by Sam Phillips, when he met the youngest son of The Father Of Rock & Roll at the induction of Bill into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. This is an in-depth and accurate account by one of the music biz's most talented performers shedding light on Bill Haley's career in his final years; something completely overlooked by the Haley biographers - Bill Turner:

Otto Fuchs: "Bill - can you tell us when you heard first of Bill Haley & His Comets - and did you ever imagine yourself onetime being a full-fledged member of the band?"
            Bill Turner: "To tell you the truth Otto, the first time I ever heard of Bill Haley & The Comets...I had to be about 7 years old! The first time I heard of them, it was on a newsreel on the night time news. I remember my father was watching the television and there was some news report about a big riot going on. I remember standing there watching the film of it, and it was that 'grainy- grey' type of film...and they were tearing apart a theatre and I distinctly remember a guy playing the upright bass laying on his back lifting up the bass on his feet and still playing it!...and I remember distinctly the cameras zeroing in on a fellow playing a black guitar with a 'curl' on his forehead. The record of "Rock Around The Clock" was playing in the background--of course I didn't know it at that time...I thought it was a live concert. I never knew what that was...until many years later when I'd first saw the newsreel-footage of the Berlin riot and I began to realize that was 1958 and I would have been 7 years old at that time! I rembember that...I never quite forgot that!
            My first time that I had the record of "Rock Around The Clock" was on a 78...one of my cousins gave me a group of 78 records. I remember some of the records she gave me along with "Rock Around The Clock" was "Tonight You Belong To Me" by Patience & Prudence, and it was "Hey Babe" by The Rays, and "Daddy Cool" by another group, that I don't remember their name. It was on the orange Cameo label, so that would kind of date it around that time. That's about the first time that I'd ever heard of Bill Haley & The Comets. I didn't quite know who they were by name, but of course everyone in the world knew the record "Rock Around The Clock"! There was no way in the world that I would have possibly known that I would be playing with that band at any time - back when I was 7 years old!...I don't think that I was even playing...I started playing guitar when I was around 8 years old and I used to lay it flat on my lap like a Dobro because I was so small and the instrument was so big! Ironicially, years later I would become proficient on playing the Dobro, and the six string electric steel...but I had no way of knowing back then---it wasn't even on my mind! Interestingly enough, the first music I was really interested in was country, not rock & roll!...and more specificially so, it was bluegrass--the most traditional form of country music, which is played on the banjo, the mandolin, fiddle, acoustic guitar, upright bass and the Dobro. I always been a bluegrass man, since the very beginning - the rockabilly and rock & roll came a little bit later, I guess!"
           

Otto Fuchs: "How did it come that you joined The Comets?"
            Bill Turner: "The first time I saw Bill Haley was in September 1971, he was playing a club that was close to where I lived. It was a supper club called the Club 802, that was about 5 blocks from where I lived in Brooklyn. It was a Dinner Theatre, and they used to have a lot of the acts like Jimmy Roselli, Frank Sinatra Jr, the Duprees...if I'm not mistaken maybe even Chuck Berry played there---but they had a lot of acts like that. One time Bill Haley was playing there and I wanted to go and see him...I wanted to drop in and meet him. I didn't have any money back then, being a college student--so I had my Brooklyn College Television Department "Press Pass", so to speak. I flashed that like a reporter's Press Pass, and I managed to go there and make believe that I was getting an interview! That's how I got to meet him...I got to meet Bill Haley and Rudy that night! I don't quite remember who was on the band except for...I believe it was...I think I'm pretty sure it was...Ray Cawley on bass, Ray Parsons was there I think...definitively Bill Haley and Rudy...the lead guitarist at that time was Paul Pruitt. I don't remember who the drums were--I don't remember that at all. They were a very tight band...they had a nice show, and I got to speak to Bill Haley and talk to him a little bit. I would never realize that within a couple of years I'd be playing with him! Then the next time he came back to the New York area was in 1973...May of 1973, and he was at the "Richard Nader's Rock & Roll Revival" that was held at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island--that was about an hour ride away from me. So we all went there one night and I decided that I'd ask Bill Haley if I could audition as a guitar player, because I noticed every time he came to New York, he had a different guitar player with him; and none of them...none of them played like the original records, and I was beginning to learn that style and getting it down quite closely!
            I was getting ready to graduate College in June, and I figured, why not? I already had turned down a job offer from the New Christy Minstrels, to relocate to Hollywood...but I chose to try to go for the job with Bill Haley instead, because he was a very hot item at that time, due to the movie "American Graffitti" and the TV show "Happy Days" and plus the Rock & Roll Revival Circuit put him back in the public light, quite a lot. So in any event, he came to the Nassau Coliseum, I managed to get backstage; I again dressed up like a reporter and just walked backstage with a camera and a clip board...walked right past the security guards and they let me right in, thinking I was a newspaper reporter! I simply knocked on his dressing room door, and he remembered me from a couple years earlier at the Club 802 and I spoke with him about possibly joining up with him as a guitar player and he told me that Nick Masters had recently come back with the band, but if I had any material to give it to Rudy Pompilli and he would take care of it. So I got to speak to Rudy discreetly that night, and Rudy remembered me from the Club 802 as well - he took my information. About a year later I was reading in the Musicians' Union paper that Bill Haley was on tour again, and it had a whole bunch of different people listed in the magazine article, so I wrote Rudy Pompilli a letter at that time, asking him if there was an opening on the band, I'd like to try out. He was nice enough to write me back - he sent me a postcard from Australia and a couple of other places. He wrote me, that when he comes back there might be a possibility for me auditioning. Sure enough, he gave me his phone number to call him.
            I did call him, we had a very nice discussion on the phone and he invited me to his house in Chester, Pennsylvania at that time. So I took the train...I didn't even drive back then, took the train with my guitar and I met him in Chester, Pennsylvania and we'd got together. I stayed with him the whole weekend, cause he had a weekend job with a pickup band, so he put me on guitar, as a matter of fact he had Bill Haley's Randall amp in his basement, so I used that - we worked together that weekend. He saw that I really knew the material very well. We went down to his basement and we set up the amp and we ran through the whole show and he saw that I knew the whole show every lead, every intro, every ending faultlessly. He was very happy and he was also happy with the fact that I sang also because that was a important thing. The songs I was singing back then was a lot of the popular songs like "Johnny B. Goode", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls Of Fire" - but I also knew the words to all of Bill Haley's material also. Rudy was very happy about that and he was pretty satisfied because I was able to show Rudy Pompilli that I knew songs like "Guitar Boogie Shuffle", or all those other things like "Honky Tonk" and "Rumble" all kinds of guitar instrumentals that I knew. He was very happy about that, because he'd explained to me that there would be a guitar 'solo' spot, but I kinda knew that already because, I'd heard the live tapes and the live albums, so I pretty much went there quite prepared. I was over Rudy's house one morning when Bill Haley called...and I overheard Rudy talking about me. I didn't hear much of the conversation, because I was in the next room really, still laying in bed in the morning, but Rudy was talking to him about me. Ironicially, that whole next day, Rudy didn't say anything...he didn't say anything to me-- so I was really up in the air. I was wondering what the gist of the conversation was. I didn't want him to know that I was 'eavesdropping', although I couldn't help it!
            I had gone home and then about a week later I'd say...he called up--Rudy had called me and told me to pack my bags, we were going on tour...so he gave me the dates and we got together and went on tour with them. The tour was in July, I believe of 1974. We went to Boise, Idaho and we played the State University, we were at Denver, Colorado...no-- Boise University...and let me think here for a second...it was a long time ago!... Seattle International Raceway, which was the biggest crowd that I'd ever seen. Bill Haley played in Seattle for something like 55 000 people, there was a Bill Haley concert plus a drag race, with all this big racing cars. Boy that was loud, but that was the biggest crowd I've ever seen in my life with 55 000 people. and it was very exciting...the third night, I think we were...I don't have my calender in front of me, but I think we might have been in British Columbia or Canada somewhere, but Bill Haley knocked on my door one morning, and asked if I wanted to go to Europe with him in the fall. Of course I said yes, and interstingly enough, he sat down, I was still kinda in my pajamas. Bill Haley asked to see my guitar and we passed the guitar back and forth playing it and I couldn't believe it what a very good guitar player HE was! He was a pretty good lead guitar player--he could play stuff like "Guitar Boogie", and "Twelve Street Rag" and "Fingers On Fire" and stuff like that...so I was quite impressed. Prior to that I really didn't know that he played lead guitar at all, cause most people just think he plays nothing but rhythm, but that's not true! So, he explained to me that he wanted me to go to Europe and he wanted a strong guitar player because Nick Masters had been previously in the spot, and he wanted to make sure that he had somebody who was strong in that spot. He was very happy with my work--as a matter of fact he told me that in his opinion, one of the important things about being a good musician, is that you've got to love your guitar...you got to love your instrument, and he said that he could tell that I loved mine. I still got that same guitar by the way, it's an old Gibson ES-335, and I still use it today - it's my main guitar. But anyhow, I did go to Europe with him on that tour---it was very, very successful!
            Sad to say, on that first tour, Ray Cawley had quit! I never really had the chance to meet Ray Cawley or speak with him. Apparently when Nick Masters left the band, I guess Ray Cawley thought that he was gonna be 'in charge' and Bill Haley chose to not go that way at all...he simply just called Rudy, and worked through Rudy from that point on! From what I'm told, Ray Cawley wasn't happy with that, and he just didn't show up at the airport on the day of that first tour. So I'm sorry to say I never got to meet Ray Cawley, but...Freddie Moore was there...Freddie Moore was on drums of course, there was Rudy, Bill Haley, myself, Ray Parsons--who for the first couple of days covered the bass in a limited way that he could play it, and then Freddie Moore had a friend named Hank Scholz, who played bass for us on the rest of that tour--he was a left handed bass player, and he was really a keyboard player--but the agent at that time, which was Jeff Bieles, and Bill Haley's manager at that time which was Merve Goldstein...Jeff Beales had a Gibson EB-3 bass I think, and they just reversed the strings on it for Hank to play. Hank was left handed - but Hank did the bass for the rest of that tour. And then around the fall I believe, they hired Jim Lebak and he was the bass player from that point on.
            Otto Fuchs: "50 years ago Bill Haley & The Comets "Crazy Man Crazy" was the first rock & roll record to enter the Billboard & Cashbox charts - what's the signigicance of this recording?"
            Bill Turner: "To me the record "Crazy Man Crazy" is probably one of the most important records Bill Haley ever recorded, maybe even MORE so than "Rock Around The Clock", because "Crazy Man, Crazy" had the historical significance of being the first record where it all came together, to turn into rock & roll, you see, because with 'regular' rockabilly...'regular' rockabilly didn't have drums in it...Elvis'early records didn't have drums...Bill Haley's early records didn't even have drums! And it was the first record to where you took that rockabilly with the slap-bass and everything else that was happening with it, and you added the Gene Krupa style of drumming, that's the important thing-- that one element; that 'swing'-style, almost 'Big Band' kind of drumming, because the 'Jump-Blues' bands were really rhythm & blues--it was a whole different type of drumming than rock & roll. From the 'intro' on, as a matter of fact...that intro by Billy Gussack on "Crazy Man,Crazy" is heavily borrowed from Gene Krupa's "Drum Boogie" - so you could see where that Big Band type of heavy back beat kind of drumming went right into rock & roll and worked so well.
            Once "Crazy Man Crazy" got together with all the musical elements, there was just no turning back--I mean you just couldn't play rockabilly again--without drums...Bill Haley changed that. I too, am of the believe that rhythm & blues and rock & roll are two completely different kinds of music--very similarly to the way 'bluegrass' and 'old-time string band' music differ. One's related to to the other, they turn up on each others' concerts and shows, but they are two different kinds of music. If you take a comparison between, let's say...Big Joe Turner's version of "Shake, Rattle & Roll" and Bill Haley's version: Joe Turner's version is down in the key of E flat; it's much slower and it's just played more relaxed, I'd say-- whereas Bill Haley's version so much more 'supercharged'.
            I would say that Bill Haley did a lot for the black musicians cause if it wasn't for Bill Haley they may have NEVER crossed over!...at least for perhaps another ten years. Most people don't think about that. But I feel that "Crazy Man, Crazy" was probably the spark plug that touched off "Rock Around The Clock"...because it just showed everybody how (by) adding that last element of the Big Band 'swing' style of drumming, particular the style of Gene Krupa, loaned itself to complete the composition of what was to become rock & roll.
            I'd also like to add that Bill Haley's brand of rock & roll had so much more 'swing' into it...much more 'swing' than anybody else's rock & roll. You could listen to Chuck Berry, Elvis, all of them guys, Jerry Lee Lewis but none of those guys had the amount of 'swing' that Bill Haley & The Comets did! They were really the archetype of rock & roll combo, and they really did it well. Everything changed from there of course...everybody who came along...but I think Bill Haley's music was so much more 'harder' to play than anybody else's. For one, if you listen to his guitar players they all had to be emersed in jazz, Charlie Christian or Django Reinhardt much more so than blues or even country. I mean there is country elements to it, but if you listen to Franny Beecher's playing, well--Franny Beecher was the guitar player who replaced Charlie Christian on Benny Goodman! There you have it...your average guitar player just couldn't play like that--NONE of them could! As a matter of fact even the other 'big names' who played lead guitar like Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly or Chuck Berry...they couldn't play that style---it was WAY ahead of them! You see how difficult it was to copy Bill Haley's style, so I guess these other guys just developed their own style within their own stylistic gifts or limitations, and that's what began to change rock & roll and make it a little more stylististically orientated to each others' particular sound."
            Otto Fuchs: "Can you tell us about the first concert you did with Bill Haley & The Comets?"
            Bill Turner: "The first show I did with Bill Haley was at Boise State University which was a football stadium in Boise, Idaho...way back in Mormon country. I don't remember if there was an opening act or not, but we had gone on, and Bill Haley had never heard me! I met him earlier in the afternoon, Rudy introduced me to him. Bill was by the pool with his wife, and his two kids Pedro and Martha Marie, who were both young children back then. I met Bill, Martha and everyone. Rudy introduced me, Bill Haley just told me to keep my amp turned up all the way loud, and he never got to hear me play...until we set foot onstage! I guess he was very happy, because he kept me after that--of course when we played "Razzle Dazzle" and I put all those original guitar fills back in, I'm pretty sure he was pretty impressed with them because nobody else had played those original riffs and runs for a long time.
            I pretty much knew the fans wanted that. The guitar players before me, pretty much took a lot of liberties to play their own style--as a matter of fact, even Rudy Pompilli would tell me to try to devise my own style. But I really knew that the fans wanted to hear the old Franny Beecher and Danny Cedrone stuff. That's what I sought to copy, and it turned out to be a good thing, because it won me a lot of fans; some of them who are still writing to me all these years later! It was a capacity crowd and Bill was given a standing ovation again...he went over very, very well. The second day of that tour was I think Seattle International Raceway, like I said earlier...and again he took that crowd by storm! There was no opening act on that--it was just a Drag Race, and then "Bill Haley...In Concert"! I'll tell you, it was just following on the 'mood of the country' at that time--who was very, very excited about the movie "American Graffitti" and of course, "Happy Days" on TV...so Bill Haley was hot in the United States once again."
            Otto Fuchs: "What was the equipment Bill Haley & The Comets used in the 1970s?"
            Bill Turner: "In terms of equipment used by Bill Haley & The Comets...well most of the equipment...as a matter of fact ALL of the times, the amplifiers were supplied by the promoter, or the opening act, probably by the promoter. We really preferred to use the Fender amps, because we just knew them very well, and of course they are the best amp made I think- they are the cleanest. I mean there are other amps that are very good, like Marshall and stuff like that. But the Marshall amps were geared more towards more the 'hard rock' type of players, that played with a lot of distortion. My favourite amp that I would use would either be a Fender Dual Showman with JBL speakers and a second cabinet, and boy, I tell you with one of those you could fill a stadium...or let's say a Fender Twin Reverb with a second cabinet, we'd use those. Even in Europe those kind of amps were pretty easy to find, because they were such big sellers--they were all over the world. We also used 'Acoustic' brand amps; and Traynor, which was another good one, Marshalls would turn up occasionally, but like I said, we just couldn't get the 'right' sound from the Marshall amps, as good as they were. A lot of times I would be playing the solos, it would sound like Jimi Hendrix, because of the overdriven distortion on it, and that kind of sound doesn't really work in Bill Haley's kind of music (laughs). The drums were usually supplied by the promoter--any really good set of drums would do; Slingerlands, Ludwigs, Tamas, Yamahas, Sonor--which is the great German company...and Premier, which I think is made in England. We always used our own guitars, I had my Gibson, Bill Haley always had his Gibson Super 400, Jim Leback had a Fender--I think it was a precision or jazz bass, I'm not sure...of course Rudy always brought his own sax.(NOTE: Ray Parsons' guitar was a thin-line "Moserite") The microphones were always supplied by the club or the sound crew, or whatever. In the United States they were almost always Shure mics, overseas we had those wonderful German mics like Sennheiser, Beyer Dynamic, and in Austria, of course--AKG!...they were fine mics...as a matter of fact, my own personal mic is a Sennheiser, I use it--it's my favourite mic!"

            Otto Fuchs: "Could you also tell us about your fellow band members, basically the line-up of The Comets?"
            Bill Turner: "When I first joined The Comets, like I said, the line-up was Rudy Pompilli on saxophone of course, Freddie Moore on the drums, Ray Parsons on rhythm guitar, Hank Scholz was on bass on the first tour, and myself on guitar. The second tour I did, it was...Jim Leback was on bass, and everybody was still the same; Ray Parsons, Rudy Pompilli, Haley of course, and Freddie Moore. The third tour I did with them was in Brazil, that was after Rudy became sick. Rudy became ill at the end of 1974, on that very successful December 1974 tour of Europe, Rudy was complaining about congestion in his lungs..that he felt that he always trying to cough up...and cough up.
            When we got home from that tour, we all kinda caught a flu on the last night, because we were playing in Strasbourg...I believe it was--the name of the place was "Le Chalez", in Strasbourg...and it was so hot...and we were all sweated up, and we had to exit the club through the back, because you couldn't get through the crowd, and we all caught a bad chill in the December winter air. Most of us woke up with a fever the next day, and we flew home like that. Rudy wound up going into the hospital, I later learned...and while he was in the hospital they did tests on him and they found out that he had inoperable cancer! Of course we, on the band weren't told that--they didn't tell us that at all! I found that out later on.
            Sad to say that the months that followed were not good months at all. We lost a lot of tours in 1975...a lot of tours were cancelled--some at the last minute!..and we spent most of the year home. We finally did go on tour again in October 1975. We went to Brazil--that was supposed to be a three or four week tour, but it got cut short after two weeks - because they couldn't get things together for the last two weeks of the tour - the manger or the promoter, or whoever it was. So we came back after two weeks. The personnel on that tour was like I said, Jim Lebak on bass, Ray Parsons on rhythm guitar, Rudy, Bill Haley, myself, and my own drummer from Blue Smoke, Tony Benson. They used him as a last minute replacement because Freddie Moore had gone back to College to finish his schooling, and he couldn't get off to do that tour. So they used my drummer, Tony Benson...on, like a one and a half week notice! He pretty much knew most of the songs because we, on the Blue Smoke Band had already been playing most of Bill Haley's music. It turned out to be a good move, because Tony really knew all of the songs--he knew all of the stops, and everything...so I thought he did a pretty good job, considering he was just pulled in on a short notice like that!"
            Otto Fuchs: "Did you get to know Bill Haley close enough to tell us how different the person was compared to it's image?"
            Bill Turner: " Yes, I did get to know Bill Haley quite closely. He was very friendly towards me...he liked me very much--he told me so. I didn't know it at that time, but he had a son, that was exactly my age. Jack Haley and myself are born three weeks apart, exactly to the day. Bill Haley never spoke about his kids like that. I never knew he had an older son that was my age. One thing we had in common - Bill Haley and I liked the same kind of country music. Like I said, he came into my hotel room one morning and he sat there, played the guitar with me...and showed me things to do on it--which surprised me, because I didn't know that he played lead...but he was very nice to me, and I found him to be very consistent on and off-stage. He didn't have an onstage-personality, and a different one off-stage. He was kind of a funny guy--he'd like to tell jokes backstage, and most of them I can't repeat (laughs). We were swapping jokes backstage - he was a very heavy smoker... for one, I never realized he smoked so heavy...he was a chain smoker, with those unfiltered Camels, which were in my opinion, definitely "coffin nails" (laughs). Interestingly enough, it is the same brand of cigarrettes that Roy Orbison and Lester Flatt all smoked. It's probably the strongest American cigarrette that's out there. I think those things are a slow 'death sentence', if you ask me. I found Bill to be very open, there was a time where he came to my room and spoke to me in 1976, for about three hours and talked about a lot of things. Some of his adventures, and some stories about his close-encounters with the United States 'Mafia', I guess--as it were, I'm not sure how true a lot of that was, or how much was exaggerated, but he told me about that. He never spoke about his first wife...he spoke to me about that in 1976. ...but I found him to be a very regular guy...really easy to talk to, easy to ask things. He was very knowledgeable...he was a very well-spoken man...he was very articulate, he spoke like an educated man, but of course, you know his mother was a school teacher, so that meant that she was educated. I think he had a lot of 'mannerisms' from his mother...his father was from Kentucky, I guess he was a more 'country' type of guy. He never spoke about his father...or his mother...I would later learn about that...but I found that Bill Haley was a very dignified kind of guy; he had a lot of class, I would say."
            Otto Fuchs: "The late Rudy Pompilli, was the longest serving member of The Comets, and their sax man was also the band leader - how was he to work with?"
            Bill Turner: "Rudy Pompilli was the nicest guy anybody could ever worked for. He was fair, he was just, he was just a regular guy. You could talk to him...you could hang out with him...he was a very patient man. If you needed to go over a song or something, he'd show you, he'd teach you - he was just a very gregarious outgoing person - a real gentleman - and the 'ultimate professional'... he was also probably the best sax-player I've ever heard in my life...and I miss him very much...he was the nicest guy. He worked well with Bill Haley, the two of them had personalities that went together very well. Rudy was a very patient man, you know I guess... you'd have to put up with Bill Haley and his faults through the years, but he was that true friend that stuck by you in thick and thin. I have always said, and I believe it to this very day, if Rudy Pompilli had not died, there'd STILL be Bill Haley & The Comets going on today. I feel that...because I feel that the day that Rudy Pompilli died, was the beginning of the day that Bill Haley began to die...and ironically, I think Bill died five years to the day that they buried Rudy...and that was a very sad chapter indeed...That was the beginning of the end of The Comets."
            Otto Fuchs: "Who are your musical influences and which of The Comets' lead guitarists before your time, influenced you the most?"
            Bill Turner: "My influences throughout my musical career...have been very diverse. On guitar I would have to say, my favourite guitar players of all time were Chet Atkins, Merle Travis and Les Paul. I've also liked other guitar players like Scotty Moore and James Burton, LinkWray, Chuck Berry - a lot of the 'first generation' players. I also admire a lot of the jazz artists as well; Tal Farlow, again--Les Paul, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery, and most of the older players.
            On the Comets of course, well I would have to say it would be a toss-up between Danny Cedrone and Franny Beecher, maybe more so Franny because he had a lot more recorded stuff with Bill Haley - strangely enough I really didn't copy Johnny Kay or Nick Masters much, except that Bill Haley wanted me to use Nick Masters' endings on songs...for instance, on the endings of "Razzle Dazzle" I would like to have done the original ending. But Bill Haley wanted to have all the endings done the way Nick played it, but Haley wanted it (the ending of "Rock Around The Clock") WITHOUT the 'stop', his reason for that is because he says that when the ending's too elaborate, like on the original DECCA endings, it sounds too much like a 'lead', and the audience might get confused...and not realize that the song was ending. He felt that with the Nick Masters ending, which was the same on all of the songs, that it would automatically 'telegraph' to the audience that they should begin clapping. So I see his logic in it, even though I didn't quite agree with it. (Bill demonstrates all in all note for note renditions of Franny Beecher's licks on "Razzle Dazzle", "Rock A Beating Boogie" and "Rock Around The Clock" and also the way Nick Masters ended those songs - and also shows how Franny played "Joey's Song" and "Blue Comet Blues") Nick Masters had a closer style to Carl Perkins really, you could tell that he was a Carl Perkins fan...and so am I! There is also a lot of other stuff that Nick did, which I really didn't wanna play, like he used to play a lot of glissandos (demonstrates), which I never really use all that much in my playing. I just want to do the regular solos like Beecher and Chuck Hess, and guys like that... Bob Scales I think it is, and some of (what)them early guys used--to me that was the best guitar playing in rock & roll...and it almost wasn't rock & roll, because it has a lot of ties to the Big Band era. I understand all those guys used to use a medium or heavy gauge string on their guitars -so you couldn't do much 'bending' like you can with light gauge strings, see... Chuck Berry will use light gauge strings, that's why you can get stuff like...(demonstrates the 'intro' to "Johnny B. Goode")...you couldn't get any 'bending' with the heavy gauge strings.
            Otto Fuchs: "It was reported in the 1970's that Bill Haley had a drinking problem - can you relate to this? Did you ever see Bill Haley drinking?"
            Bill Turner: "Quite honestly by the time I had joined the band, Bill Haley pretty much had it under control. He was recovering, of course--a big help in that was Martha being present with him from probably around 73/74 on. Prior to that there were some episodes. I had only seen him a little bit drunk once, and that was on the 1974 tour and that was one particular night where Martha was driving to another venue, while Bill Haley was flying. The only difference in him was that he had his eyes kinda like closed...almost. He didn't look right, he was sweating very heavily, but he went right through with the show. He just wanted to be left alone, I guess...we all kinda gave him his privacy...but he pretty much had it under control for the most part there."
            Otto Fuchs: "With the exception of the LP "Live in Paris" you cannot be heard on any of Bill Haley's albums - why is that?"
            Bill Turner: "I think the reason for that is because at that time it was "Producer Politics". It was Sam Charters who was producing Bill Haley's albums at that time. Sam never met me, he never heard me play - I was supposed to be on that Nashville album, as a matter of fact I had gone to Nashville in March of 1975 with them - and that was the ill fated recording session that Bill Haley failed to show up for. I'd met Sam Charters there, but I guess perhaps he just saw me just as young kid, he probably didn't realize that I was a serious player. Somehow or other I guess, Sam Charters just felt that it was the 'older' guys on the band that really belonged with Bill Haley, and not some kid. So from that point on, it was just Jim Leback, Ray Parsons, Rudy - well Rudy of course belonged there, but they were putting Herb Hutchinson in. Ray Parsons really didn't play on any of those recordings, he was just there as a background vocalist. But he was a close friend of Bill's, so they just kinda kept him around there to help things run smoothly, I guess...but I'm very sad that I didn't play on any of those albums, because I wanted to! Bill Haley always told me that he wanted me to play on his albums. As a matter of fact he told me that they would do a recording session, and that he wanted me to get in there and just really, really, kinda play my heart out. Apparently when the recording session time came around, it never came to be (the 1975 Nashville album). We had to return after that. Starting in 1976, the Muscle Shoals album they did, I didn't even have any knowledge about that being made. Even though months earlier Bill Haley told me that they would do another album, and he wanted me on it - just somehow I never got the call. But like I said it's 'Producer Politics'. Producers just hire whoever they feel comfortable with, and that's that. They don't care, really.
            I might also add that Rudy Pompilli had wanted me to play rhythm guitar on his solo-album - "The Sax That Changed The World". I guess Sam Charters who produced that album just didn't want the expense of the extra piece on it, so I was left off of that one as well. By that time Jim Lebak tried to push his own players on the band, which is what happens from 1976, on. It was really the saddest part of Bill Haley's career after Rudy Pompilli died."
            Otto Fuchs: "What was the repertory of Bill Haley & The Comets when you were a member?"
            Bill Turner: "The usual show would begin with that B-flat "chaser"...the reason for that is because it allowed the curtains to open, and it also allowed the sound engineer who'd be sitting there with head phones on, to adjust the 'levels' on everybody's instrument...at least instrumentally, anyway. Of course Bill Haley always sang on center mic. The first song was always "Shake, Rattle & Roll", the second was "Razzle Dazzle", then "Rip It Up", then I believe he'd call on "Rudy's Rock" or maybe "Rudy's Rock" was first and then was "Rip It Up", then after "Rudy's Rock" I believe he'd do "Alligator" or he'd turn it over to me to do "Guitar Boogie" or "Johnny B. Goode"...in the middle of the show he always had the drummer play a solo on "Caravan" - he'd come back...he'd either do "See You Later Alligator" or feature one of the other Comets who would sing "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Slippin' & Slidin'" and he always closed the show with "Rock Around The Clock".
            Interestingly enough, he never played "Skinny Minnie" the whole time I was with him. He did "Burn That Candle" only once, and that was at the London show in 1976 when they had the big riot...but that was because at that time, the people from Sonet Records were in the audience, because at that time he was at the end of his Sonet career and what they were discussing was NOT renewing his contract! So he did "Burn That Candle" because it was the only song on his Muscle Shoals album, I believe it was, where he had a band that could play it, because he didn't do any of the other songs on the album. So, you see he didn't promote his albums when he was out on the road, he just did basicially the same show over and over again. I undersand the record label towards the end wasn't very happy with him about that, that's why that whole thing happened in the late 70s where HAD to do songs like "Me & Bobby McGee" - and stuff like that - and "Hail Hail Rock & Roll". The whole thing happened because Sonet was thinking about NOT renewing his contract again, so (that's why) Patrick Malynn had to step in and put his own band with him, because he didn't want to be bothered with the expense of flying an American group over...when he could just worry about flying Bill Haley alone, over. Yeah, I guess it was a thing about 'money'. That's part of what happened after the 1976 tour...again, it wasn't a very happy time at all."
            Otto Fuchs: "Could you tell us about life on the road?"
            Bill Turner: "Accomodations on the road were quite good, actually. Most of the time we flew everywhere we had to go. We didn't have to carry our own amps or equipment - we always stayed in the nicer hotels which I'm glad...that was very nice. The restaurants were plentiful. Many times the promoter would buy us dinner or something like that. I would have to say the travelling was very nice, especially when Rudy was there. Bill Haley sometimes in Europe, would be taken seperately away from the band, but that was usually with Patrick Malynn, with Bill and Martha in one car...and us, on the band in a tour bus--which was pretty comfortable. The longest we ever had traveled on a tourbus was eleven hours and that was from...I think...hmm...I think that was from Feldkirch to Insbruck or some town like that. It was a very long ride, but it was quite nice and very scenic. I'd do it again...I wouldn't mind it. It was a very nice trip. I have no problems about that.
            In the United States we had never cram into a tourbus the way the country singers do from Nashville; I mean they have customized buses that they go over the road. Those kind of acts don't fly that much to their jobs. Most of it is over the road. It would have been nice if Bill Haley would have been working more in the United States - he could have had his own bus and done it that way. But he had been doing a lot of overseas work, so...I can almost say that just about everywhere, we flew."
            Otto Fuchs: "Why did you quit The Comets - was it because your own group Blue Smoke needed more attention?"
            Bill Turner: "The sad fact of the matter is that--I never did quit the Comets - I was dropped from the band! I was dropped from the band by Jim Leback and Patrick Malynn. On that 1976 tour they began ganging upon me and they were just trying getting me off the band. ...because Jim Leback was trying to take control of the band, now that Rudy was out of the way. He figured that he was gonna take over and be the new Nick Masters...for sure he couldn't be the next Rudy Pompilli--that's for sure. But he figured he was gonna take over the band, and he was gonna put Herb Hutchinson in on guitar, keep Wayne Stevens on drums, keep George Baker on sax, bring Ray Parsons back, and he was gonna be the head guy - he was gonna take over. I don't know what he had in mind, but he fancied himself as to being some really top- rated songwriter--up there with Willie Nelson I guess (laughs). But perhaps not, because nothing ever really happened for him after that. Sad to say that while he was hatching his conspiracy, Patrick Malynn had other things in mind. Patrick Malynn had the Mal Gray Band as the opening act on most of that tour, and the reason for that is because he put them there to study the show...because he was planning on using the Mal Gray Band to replace ALL The Comets, what is what he did! I think after I had left, The Comets did one or two more tours that Jim Leback was on, and after that, they got rid of Jim Leback and Ray Parsons and used the Mal Gray Band completely.
            Patrick Malynn just wanted to take control of the band. Patrick Malynn was NOT a good manager--I thought he was a nice guy when I first met him. But he was very manipulative, he lied a lot...and he was the kind of guy who caused division between people. He did the same thing with Bill Haley's family! Jack Haley who was Bill Haley's oldest son, was actually friends with Martha at one time. After that he did that interview for National Public Radio, where the subject of Bill Haley's drinking came up, Jack had commented a little bit on it...but the National Public Radio FOCUSED on that, as the central focus of the interview! Patrick Malynn found out about that, and he was the one who told Marha about it and he drove a wedge between Martha and Jack Haley. They have never spoken again, because of that..and that was Patrick Malynn's doing!!
            What Patrick used to do, was just 'divide and conquer'. He just played people against each other and get them fighting with each other, and that's was what was happening on the '76 Comets. Jim Leback and Herb Hutchinson were trying to turn it into like a jazz/blues band...and it really wasn't working...the fans did NOT like it. George Baker and Wayne Stevens were basicially just playing it cool, going along for the ride. On the other side was myself, trying to hold the band together in it's original form, doing the original leads, and of course Haley doing his usual good job on the singing, and his good job on guitar playing. It was just a sad time, the band was very divided and of course, when things weren't going right on the band, they were trying to blame me for all the band's problems! Ironically, it was me that trained that band; Jim Leback tried to take credit for it. He told Haley that it was he who put the band together. They all had been his friends, but it was me who had to take the train all the way to Trenton, New Jersey several times and train them. If it wasn't for me, they would have NEVER gotten that show together.
            Again, it's a kind of politics--when you wanna get rid of somebody on a band, you just start trying to get everybody lined up against that one person.... It's water under the bridges as far as I'm concerned, it's so long ago it just doesn't matter anymore. But just for the record, I did not leave the Comets, I wanted to stay there and I was very sad when I got put out. I couldn't believe that Haley would stand by and watch that happen...but I came to understand that Patrick Malynn kept Bill Haley completely detached from the band. He kept Bill Haley away from the band...Bill really didn't know what was going on. He was just hearing all bits and pieces from Jim Leback and Patrick Malynn, I guess he didn't know or didn't care -or whatever. I guess Patrick Malynn told Haley he would take care of all of it, yeah--like he usually does. Another thing that Patrick Malynn did, was that after dividing Jack Haley and Martha, creating an animousity between the two them... ...Patrick Malynn decided to help himself to an ADDITIONAL five percent of Bill Haley's Sonet record royalties, WITHOUT permission from Martha...so... it was me who got Martha the high-level music business attorneys that she needed, and she launched a lawsuit against Patrick Malynn in the end. And I was very glad that I was able to come to her rescue like that, cause Patrick Malynn was about to...well, he had NO right taking that extra 5 percent of Bill Haley's Sonet royalties...that's got to be MUTUALLY agreed upon on! He called me up for the first time in 20 years trying to locate Martha, and I wouldn't give him the address or phone number. I told him to write me a letter and I'd forward it to her. And that gave me quite a bit of satisfaction, cause when Bill Haley died I called up Martha-- and he wouldn't let me talk to her! So I guess I felt good about that... What was very sad that from the 1976 tour on, everybody was trying to manipulate Bill Haley. Patrick Malynn was trying to pull him one way, Jim Leback pull him the other way. It was sad, everybody had their own ulterior motive. As for me I just wanted to keep the band together and keep it strong, and keep it sounding the way it was supposed to sound."
            Otto Fuchs: "You recently released an album with The Blue Smoke Band - could you tell us about it?"
            Bill Turner: "Yes Otto, our first album came out -it's called the "Mississippi Maserati Breakdown" on Mansion Records. We call it alternative country or alternative rockabilly--I can't think of a better name for it. It's not an 'imitation' of Bill Haley, I guess you could call it an 'extension' of his music, because you know--the music evolves. We did record "Rip It Up"...we changed it around a little bit, simply just to not make it a 'cover' of Bill Haley's version...even though when I'm live on stage, I do it the same way Bill did. Blue Smoke can still play all of Bill Haley's music...we never lost it. As a matter of fact, when new members join the band--that's the first thing they learn how to play--rock & roll from it's very beginning. Another song we recorded on it was Carl Perkins' 1950 song, "Turn Around" which, like I said, was written in 1950; we have a Merle Travis record on it called "Bayou Baby"--another song from 1950...and there's four originals on it.
            The producer of that album is Jim Calvert, who's been a long time friend of mine. Jim was one of the people that worked under Phil Spector in the 1970s, as a matter of fact on that John Lennon album called "Rock & Roll"--that one with the black & white cover where John Lennon is wearing a black leather jacket leaning against a brick wall - Jim Calvert is one of the rhythm guitar players on that record. Jim also had a bit of a history in the 1970s recording a lot of those New York...I guess they'd call "Bubble Gum" groups, like Ohio Express and many of those groups, in the early part of the 70s. He was actually the Producer on a lot of those, he worked under other producers whose names I don't remember, really-- cause I wasn't there with him. Jim is a fine producer and he too, believes in that "Wall Of Sound", very much like Phil Spector. Jim is also a great guitar player, he's really a fine blues and rock style player. The album is available worldwide...anybody can get it just by logging in on their computers to www.cdbaby.com - they just can look it up in the artist search by Bill Turner & Blue Smoke, or they can look up the album title "Mississippi Maserati Breakdown". We have it available on CD and cassette, and like I said, it's available worldwide. It's still getting some airplay here in the United States. We did record a second album--we were the back up musicians on an album by one of the local country singers here named Tim Kross - the name of that album is called, "Lost In Carolina" and that album came very, very good. That album was a little bit more 'countrypolitan' and a little less rocking than mine is, but that came very well, the Blue Smoke band did all of the music and all of the background vocals on that. We were also present on a third CD as well, but the third CD was a single--it was as special song for the Battleship New Jersey that they were going to make into a museum. The fellow who wrote that song Jim Murphy had hired us to do all the background music and all of the background vocals. I was the producer of that."
            Otto Fuchs: "Together with Blue Smoke you back up many Elvis Impersonators and Soundalikes - who in your opinion comes the closest to Presley?"
            Bill Turner: "Well Otto, that's a tough question - a lot of them are our friends, but there are some really 'quality' ones out there. I would say the best ones - the closest in mind, to me are...the guys who do the closest 1950s Elvis I would say, are Jim Barone from Bayville, New Jersey and Ray Guillmette from Chicopee, Masachusetts. The fellows who did the closest 1970s Elvis I would have to say, would be.. oh, there are several of them one of my closest friends who had passed away about seven years ago was Frank Quinn--he was one of the best singers of Elvis music...and one of the best male singers I've ever heard -- period! - I miss Frank. We also backed up one of the most famous ones - Larry Seth- who used to go around the country with his own big touring show, which was called "The Big El Show". And presently today there is a gentleman from Cherry Hill area, Cherry Hill, New Jersey and his name is Mark Reno - he's a very, very outstanding stage performer, good singer - we have an album with him too, as a matter of fact! He has a live album. I think it is called "Mark Reno Live at the Riverbank Stadium" or something like that, and I guess he's got a website and you can look his name up. I guess that's our fourth CD!! He's got a great CD out, and we are happy to be with him on that.
            The reason why we got so popular in the Elvis field is because I play guitar like Scotty Moore. I can get an exact sound, where when you close your eyes you'd think it WAS Scotty, as well as James Burton - I like him a lot too and I can duplicate his style, and we got the kind of band that plays that kind of harmony! ... And of course Blue Smoke can expand up to a twelve piece band with a full horn section, so we can get the exact sound as Elvis' TCB band, when he was in Las Vegas. So, we've managed to do quite a lot of concerts in that Big Band format backing up either Elvis-Performers, Soundalikes or even Elvis-Contests! One particular Elvis contest we did in Wildwood, which interestingly is one of the towns that Bill Haley used to play in in the 1950s. He used to play in Wildwood, New Jersey on the shore, down the southern end of New Jersey. We were playing the "Grand Opening" for a big Roller Coaster in an Amusement Park and they turned it in into a 50s Festival, and they decided to have an Elvis-Contest. I helped to promote it, and the guy only wanted about ten Elvis-performers to show up, but when I spread the word, about 45 of them came down! Lo and behold... MTV heard about it, and MTV got in contact with me saying that they needed 25 Elvises for a video-shoot, for a commercial, so I invited them down to Wildwood and told them to take their pick, we had them in all sizes, shapes and genders and levels of expertise. MTV came down and signed up all their Elvises - and as a special appreciation towards me, they hired Blue Smoke to do the soundtrack for their four commercials for the M-2 Satellite Network. You may have seen those commercials--I believe they were shown all over the world! They're four 30 second spots with a whole bunch of Elvis-guys jumping around, talking about "...24 hours of Music TV..." and you'll hear the 'CC Rider chaser' being played in the background. That's us--Blue Smoke...we used seven pieces on that. I played lead and ryhthm guitar...we had our saxman (John Kurdilla) duplicating his parts, our trumpet man (Bart Freeman) doubling his parts, of course Eric (Knutsen) on bass and Ray Torelli on drums and Jeff Gaynor was on keyboards; (Note: Joe Camusci was on Pedal Steel guitar)... that's how we wound up doing it, we didn't use any artificial synthesizers or anything...that was REAL instruments on those commercials. I understand they still show them from time to time, but that was a LOT of fun doing those MTV Commercials!
            I was also the "Casting Supervisor" (laughs)...I got to choose some of the Elvis performers that were used in that commercial, so needless to say, I made about 25 'best friends' for the rest of my life on that day! (laughs) I like to tell people that Colonel Tom Parker died and left me in charge! I even got a picture on the wall, that he sent me a very nice letter and an autographed photo one time, which I like showing the Elvis-Guys—

when they see it, their jaws drop!

            Otto Fuchs: "Where do you see the differences of Elvis Presley and Bill Haley - who was more important to rock & roll?"
            Bill Turner: "Otto - that's the hardest question you asked me so far! Let me suffice to say that Bill Haley was the "trunk of the tree", Elvis was one of the MAIN branches - I tell that to everybody, because that's how I feel about Bill Haley - he was the guy that started it.
            As a matter of fact, I'll let you in on a little story: I was at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Awards on the night they inducted Bill Haley into the Hall Of Fame. I was invited there by Martha because she didn't want to attend, she sent Pedro, Bill Haley's youngest son up there. I was his escort, and chaperone, so I was with him there...and we were getting into the elevator with Sam Phillips. I knew who Sam Phillips was and introduced him to Bill Haley's son - and Sam Phillips told him: "I was just getting my record label off the ground when your daddy had "Shake, Rattle & Roll" in all the jukeboxes." So there you heard it right from the lips of Sam Phillips! I believe that when Bill Haley came out with "Shake, Rattle & Roll" and "Rock Around The Clock", it just kinda blew everybody's mind!
            All of the R&B singers and some of those country singers all stopped in their tracks and began to follow the road to rock & roll. They were following Bill Haley's lead, perhaps it was Bill Haley who baked the cake, but it was guys like Chuck Berry, Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis who, perhaps put some of the icing on it. I'd also like to add that Bill Haley remained in his "ROLE" as the quintessential 'rock & roll band leader'; let's face it, it was the first rock & roll band where it was led by a guitar player, who sang lead...which everyone else copied..I mean, like--Bill Haley didn't play upright bass and lead a band, or try to lead a band playing saxophone, so he really set the pattern for all the other bands thereafter with the exception being Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Fats Domino of course, but most of the guys that played rock & roll were on guitar, it was the model that Bill Haley set forth.
            In comparing him with Elvis, well Elvis expanded outward moreso, perhaps Elvis was a better actor than Bill Haley was - that's what Elvis capitalzed on. Of course you know, he had the unique look that he had...he was a very good looking man - and he had better management. Let's face it Colonel Parker was a genius--he really was. I don't care what people say about him, Elvis approved of him all the way--whatever their financial 'split' was. It's interesting to see what would have happened had Bill Haley had Colonel Tom Parker on his side. I don't know what the relationship between them two were. I don't know--I've heard it said that they were friends, I don't know if that's true or not...but I've heard it said. Lord Jim Ferguson was one of Bill Haley's friends but he just didn't have the business acumen of Colonel Tom Parker.
            I've always felt that all through his career, Bill Haley was hampered by the lack of really good management. I mean, his agent in Philadelphia was Jolly Joyce who was one of the 'old-timers'. Lord Jim Ferguson and Patrick Malynn were not even on the same page as Colonel Tom Parker. Another thing that I felt Bill Haley should have done was, when his career began to falter at DECCA...I felt that he should've perhaps...well, "hindsight's always 20/20"...but I feel he should have concentrated more on going to Nashville and releasing more country records, because there is a lot of stuff that came out of Nashville, that sounded like Bill Haley could have done it! He had a couple of interesting attempts, when he was on Warner Brothers--but he just never stayed put. He kept trying to recycle his brand of rock & roll, up until the time when he went to Mexico and then he continued it on there. Of course he was the man who brought the Twist to Mexico and is still remembered as being that. The Mexican records are very interesting, by the way! They are very interesting examples of what the guys can do...when they are in control of their own music. Some of those songs are very interesting, I felt that they were well done, even if they were recorded in circumstances (with) less what they had in New York or Nashville or on the West Coast. I think in the very near future you're going to see a massive release on some of those Mexican records, because Sony Latino has bought ALL of those labels in Mexico Bill Haley recorded on - Dimsa, Orfeon, Maya...what else?.. all of those Mexican labels that he recorded on, are now under the corporate umbrella of Sony Latino!"
            Otto Fuchs: "Since Bill Haley's untimely passing in 1981, many of his musicians reunited as The Comets - why were you never part of these reunions?"
            Bill Turner : "Otto, the fact of the matter is that--in a way I was! It was actually me that got the Original Comets back together again. I had been friends with Dick Boccelli (Richards) since 1978 or 1979, when I met him on Broadway...and we stayed in touch for the whole time. He'd be calling me up from time to time, telling me that he was in touch with Joey D'Ambrosio, Marshall Lytle, Johnny Grande, Franny Beecher and Billy Williamson. He was talking about trying to get The Original Comets back together. Interesteingly enough, Jimmy Myers even called me up, back around in 1979! He called up a meeting with us in a hotel in New York. Me & Dick Bocelli went down there and we met Jimmy Myers, and he was talking about getting the Original Comets back together - and he wanted me to go on and 'front' them, and be the guitar player. Now, Bill Haley was still alive then, he also wanted to invite Bill Haley as part of that tour!... which would have been very, very intersting--it would have been the first time Bill Haley would have been reunited with his Original Band. Now...I had mixed feelings about that-- I would have LOVED to have seen Bill Haley reunited with his Original Band...and I wasn't trying to compete against him, but I told Jimmy Myers, 'Well, look you know...if he wants to go along, then it's fine by me - I'll step out'. I wasn't looking to compete with him or work against him in any way. The thing was that Jimmy Myers wanted to kind of... put HIS name out front... "Jimmy Myers"... in big letters... presents: Bill Haley & His Comets. Bill Haley pretty much was putting himself under 'subjection' to Jimmy Myers!, who always kinda put himself first.
            Jimmy Myers told me a lot of stories and...I really don't believe most of them. Also I'm not sure if this is true, but I have heard that Jimmy Myers approached Patrick Malynn with the idea - and Malynn wasn't buying into the idea at all. So...that never came to be! However, me and Dick Boccelli stayed in touch, and eventually, after I had gone to the Philadelphia Music Awards and the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Awards, and the Philadelphia Music Foundation Awards, which were three award ceremonies where Bill was inducted.
            All three of those awards ceremonies happened in one year - in 1987; that was a very big year for Bill Haley. In any event I went to all three of them, and I took Bill Haley's children to them, because Martha didn't want to attend it. But in any event, Dick Boccelli had called me up, and he was really serious about trying to find a place where the Comets could play...and I had gotten him in touch with the people at the Philadelphia Music Awards, and I told Dick to call up this particular number and talk to him, telling him that he spoke to me, and I referred him. Well-as fate would have it--when Dick made that phone call, the person that was putting the Awards together just happened to be somebody, that went to high school with Dick Boccelli! And the Original Comets were written into the show RIGHT ON THE SPOT!! Dick was very excited, and he called me back and told me about it...I was very happy...The Original Comets were gonna get together in October of 1987!! Dick Boccelli invited me to be a performer on the Philadelphia Music Awards, and I really didn't want to do it, because I felt the honour belonged to them.
            I am not an Original Comet and I know that...unlike Joey Welz. ... But I told them that I'd be in the audience, and I'd be there clapping for them, but they insisted that I join them for that; and then I told Dick, I said, "Well look, if the Philadelphia Music Foundation wants it, then I'll go along with it, but I don't wanna just come aboard, because I'm not an Original Comet. The Philadelphia Music Awards called me and told me they wanted me on it, and as it turned out, it worked out fairly well:
            They gave Marshall an upright bass, which didn't have electric pick up on it, so on that performance I played electric bass and I stood towards the back, so Marshall could do his tricks with the bass and flip it and twirl it, and I'd just be holding up the bass line on the electric bass, 'cause I knew how to play bass, as well..and...they STOLE the show! - The Original Comets were the most exciting thing on that show, and they had everybody there!: Hall & Oates, Patti LaBelle, Grover Washington Jr.,Mike Pedicin Jr., Mike Pedicin Sr., and Charlie Gracie... It was just an exciting show, it was just one of the favourite nights of my entire life! Their segment of the show was shown on TV on a programme called 'Entertainment Tonight.' I was very fortunate to get that footage--I still have it. Dave Hirschberg had come down with me to the Awards, I brought him down as my guest...we drove down...as a matter of fact--I'd JUST came in from Mississippi! (laughs) I just kinda unpacked one suit case, packed up another one, and we drove off to Philadelphia...and we had just a wonderful time!
            Dave Hirschberg wrote a magazine article about the whole event, and it was picked up by 'Now Dig This Magazine' and from that moment on, The Original Comets' telephone began to ring off the hook! Dave Hirschberg was acting as their manager at that time, and he helped them to get them on the road...and their fame and their reputation began to grow. The Original Comets had invited me to be their lead singer--I was their first choice to be the lead singer!! However, the reason why I couldn't do it was for several reasons:
            First of all, I was working with my band which is my full time occupation - and I just didn't want to turn into a freelancer. Secondly, I was close friends with Martha Haley, and ALL the bands using the name 'The Comets' do NOT have her permission--they are just using it, and she's not very happy about that! Even though in my opinion, The Original Comets--our own... Dick Bocelli and Franny Beecher and them guys--they have a right to use it more than anybody else. The third reason is that since the late 70s, I'd become a "sabbatarian" Christian--I don't work on the Seventh Day, from Friday sunset till Saturday sunset - and I'm able to do that working on Blue Smoke, because I can book myself around the Seventh Day. I just wouldn't be able to do that with The Original Comets...I couldn't expect them to work around my schedule. I DID work with them a couple of times; I went to England with them in 1991 for two weeks, in 1992 I went out to the West Coast with them, for their 'first appearance in the United States in 25 years'. They played the Bicycle Club Casino in Los Angeles--and I was with them on that.
            I'd like to also point out, that in 1983, I believe it was, Jolly Joyce...Norman Joyce had called me down to his office, and he was trying to put together a 'Comets' band! He wanted me to go out on the road with my band as "Bill Haley's Comets"! I didn't want to do that because I felt it was wrong. He offered me money, and of course at that time, I had Tony Benson still on my band, who did play one tour, at least. But I felt it was not right, I felt that Bill Haley owned the name - which he insisted HE had the service mark on. He was telling me (that) he owned the name, but I told him that Bill Haley didn't appoint a successor, so therefore that name belongs to Bill Haley; or at least his family--and that was my position on it. I'm very close friends with Martha and I don't want to go against her. I'd like to see the Original Comets succeed, but I don't want people to think that I'm using his name to make money for myself - I prefer to do that with Blue Smoke. I can pay a tribute to Bill Haley at any time, because I play the music too. I did recently appear with The Comets as a guest--they were playing just south of Atlantic City, in Sommers Point, and they called me onstage. That was the first time I played with them in over ten years...in just about 10 years, and I went on and sang two songs with them and really brought the house down--it was great playing with those guys again! ...But I always try to help them as much as I can, because there are two other bands calling themselves "The Comets" and they are both FAKE! - we ALL know who the REAL Comets are!...
            But that's the reason why I never got involved with those 'revival bands', they've all wanted me to play with them because I still remember all the Franny Beecher and Danny Cedrone leads - they've all asked me to play with them, but...I prefer to try to get my reputation on the band Blue Smoke - as a contemporary act really, cause that's what we are--we are NOT a 'nostalgia act' - we are a contemporary "alternative country band."
            Otto Fuchs: "In 1976 you with Bill Haley & The Comets came to Austria, what was your impression of the country? I'm asking that because I'm Austrian".
            Bill Turner: "I thought Austria was one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen in my life! The scenery was just absolutely out of this world, and I've been all over the world... I've been to Hawaii, I've been to the Caribbean, I've been to South America, I've been to tropical countries...I've been to Alaska; Canada; all parts of the United States... But the scenery in Austria was so breathtaking I've never seen Winter scenery so beautiful in my life! I might wanna say that on that eleven hour bus trip that I was on...we were stopped at a railroad crossing--and I saw the most beautiful woman I ever saw in my life, up on a mountain top in Austria! She was blonde, and had gorgeous blue eyes and she was standing at a railroad crossing, wearing one of those beautiful colourful knitted sweaters. I guess it was a native costume, perhaps. She was a girl from up the mountains--I never knew who she was (laughs), she probably wasn't even aware that I was looking at her, but I thought she was the most beautiful woman I ever saw in my life. I thought Austria was wonderful.
            I have a special love in my heart for all the German-speaking people, because I felt that they were Bill Haley's most loyal fans - no matter whether he was up or whether he was down, Bill Haley always had his biggest fans in the German- speaking countries. We've always admired the German speaking countries here in the United States--we love your microphones (laughs) and all the technical stuff you guys make. My record turntable is made in Germany, and my microphone is made in Germany, also one in Austria--and so are our headphones! So we have a lot of admiration and respect for the German-speaking people. Like I said I had a chance to visit Innsbruck, Vienna, Feldkirch...Graz and Villach. I think those are the cities in Austira - it's been a long time, so forgive me if I'm saying the names wrong! Austria was just so beautiful...the scenery looked like something off of a painting--it was so picturesque!"

            Otto Fuchs: "What goals are there left for Bill Turner - what's left to achieve?"
            Bill Turner: "There's quite a lot left for me to achieve. Musicially, I would like to get Blue Smoke on a major label or even a strong independent label--even a label in Europe - somebody who will distribute us, and handle us as an artist should be handled. Here in the United States, a lot of the roots rock music isn't appreciated properly--not like it is in Europe! We, on Blue Smoke would like to come to Europe and perform for you all.
            On my own personal goals I would like to get better as a guitar player...keep on working --the band Blue Smoke has been together for 31 years! I myself have had a pretty wide career--I've played in Nashville...I've've played on the Grand Ole Opry six times; I've done recording sessions... We would like to...maybe one day get our music into a movie soundtrack - that's basically what we would like to continue to do! We'd like move up to the next level... As for me, I would like to continue serving the cause of peace, I'd like to continue serving the Lord, I'd like to continue working for the "good of humanity". One thing I've always tried to do in my own work, and in my own life, is (to)...build bridges between people!- because I feel that it's the best 'gift' that we can give each other. That's always what I tried on Blue Smoke, it's never been an 'Ego- Gratification' thing. We just enjoy what we do, and we like sharing it."
            Otto Fuchs: "Well, Bill that was it already, and I hope we have it up soon - all the best from Austria - Otto."
            Bill Turner: "Thank you Otto - it's been a pleasure speaking to you, and I hope we can meet soon--maybe on your soil! Thanks for having...."

            Joey Welz: You could call this interview the Comet Tales. There are lot of stories that I remember and before we get into my days with Bill Haley's Comets I would like to say that it was the highlight of my career as a musician to be featured pianist with Bill Haley's Comets and try to carry on the tradition after Johnny Grande left.
            Otto Fuchs: Where were you born and who were your early influences?
            Joey Welz: I was born in Baltimore in 1940, and my influences at that time were Little Richard, Ray Charles and I always can remember the early recordings on Essex by Bill Haley & The Saddle-Men and Bill Haley became my mentor, and my inspiration for wanting to be a rock & roll musician and it was always my dream to be with Bill Haley as a Comet, which I could fulfill later on in my career in the sixties.
            Otto Fuchs: When did you meet Bill Haley the first time?
            Joey Welz: I first saw Bill Haley with a group called the Saddlemen and that was at Carlins Park in 1953. Johnny Grande was there and Billy Williamson was there and the slapping bass men was there. I think it was Marshall Lytle, or it could have been Al Rex. When I first heard the music I knew that I wanted to spend my life with this kind of music. It was a real hot rockin' country flavoured rhyhtm & blues type of music that Bill was experimenting with. I knew early on that it would be succesful and of course from one of the tunes Bill Haley wrote, Alan Freed played the version by the Treniers first, and later our Decca recording it was a song Jimmy Myers gave to Bill Haley called "Rock-A-Beating Boogie" and in the lyrics it said "Rock Rock Rock Everybody - Roll Roll Roll Everybody" and that was the beginning for rock & roll, and rock & roll had it's name thanks to Alan Freed.
            Otto Fuchs: Joey when did you start to perform?
            Joey Welz: I first started the band business of making Baltimore our stomping ground for this new type of music. We were the first rock & roll band in Baltimore and actually our roots were rockabilly. The group was called the Jayrockers with Sam Cataldie on drums, and Jimmy Staggs on guitar, myself on piano and we had a bassplayer by the name of Greggard and later replaced by a slapping bassman by the name of Flirby. The Jayrockers made their first recordings in Baltimore in 1955 "The Jitterbug Rock", "I'm Lonesome" and "You're The One". The way that this worked was that I figured if I could get a group togehter I could open for Bill Haley and get to know the band and consequently that's what happened.
            Otto Fuchs: When did you start to befriend Bill Haley & The Comets?
            Joey Welz: I really got to know Bill Haley & The Comets when they came to Baltimore in 1955 to appear for Buddy Deane and do a concert at Gwyn Oak Park. My group the Jayrockers were the opening act and so therefore I was able to hang out backstage and get to know the guys first hand. That was the first time that I met Johnny Grande, Marshall Lytle, Dick Richards, Billy Williamson and Franny Beecher who was playing guitar at that time I think as a guest guitarist. It was a highlight for me to be able to open for Bill Haley and also later on at that particular venue Bill saw me playing piano for the first time and got the idea, that for a kid I was pretty good. I think I was 15 years old at that time.
            Otto Fuchs: Opening for Bill Haley & The Comets, around that time the hottest rock & roll act in the nation, must have done a lot to your career - what happened next?
            Joey Welz: Well I continued to open for Bill Haley and get to know them much better every time they came to Baltimore and played like the Keets Theatre there. I would hang out with them and help them load up the truck and at the same time I was making records with the Jayrockers and then I cut my first records for the BAT Record Label with my group the Rockabillys, which had Charlie Shriner and Wayne Grimm on guitar, and Lou Hinko on drums and myself on piano, and a bassplayer by the name of Dan Lennard. We had "Boppin' The Stroll", "Shore Party" and "The Mystery Of Love" and then all of a sudden I went into the army and became an engineer and landed in Berlin/Germany, where I helped to produce a show with popular music in the afternoon with Seargant George Hudack entitled "Frolic At Five".
            >From 1960 to 1962 I was involved with the programming of AFN and also engineered and recorded a lot of programmes. I always played Bill Haley and we were able to set up a recording in Frankfurt to co-incide with The Comets coming to play the service clubs. At that time in 1962 Franny Beecher wasn't there and Johnny Kay was playing guitar and Dave Holly was their drummer, we still had Rudy Pompilli on sax, and Billy Williamson was still there, and Johnny Grande was still there, and it was the first time that I met Al Rappa who I understood joined the group in the late 50s, and recorded "Joey's Song" with them. So the story goes that after the service clubs engagements we ended up at the AFN Frankfurt Studios, where we recorded the live recordings that just have been released by Hydra Records, which I was happy to participate in as far as the production was concerned and also performance I sang background on some of the songs and played tambourine - especially I remember "Shake, Rattle & Roll" and singing background with Bill Haley in the studio and also singing the chorus part to "Honky Tonk" which was featuring Rudy Pompilli.
            Otto Fuchs: What memories do you hold when joining up with Bill Haley & His Comets?
            Joey Welz: One of the great memories I have about that 1962 experience with joining up with the Comets was the Star Club engagment. There were some guys there called The Silver Beatles, as you know The Comets were a lot older than I. I was always the youngest of The Comets and still am and so the guys that came from England known as the Silver Beatles and I kinda hung out. I got to know them, The Comets and Bill didn't pay much attention to them. I thought that they were really neat so I became friends with them during that time and hung out with them. I remember a story that I would like to share with you:
            John Lennon asked me "Joey we wanna come to America - what do you think of our name Silver Beatles?". Well, I said John "I've never seen a silver beatle, they are either green or gold and secondly if you play south of the Mason-Dixon Line in the south they hate bugs and they stomp on them. They don't like bugs at all." So John Lennon said to me "No Joey, it's Beatles, Beatles - B-E-A-T". So I said "John if you drop the silver and keep the beat in there you will be alright."
            During one of the engagements at the Star Club with the Silver Beatles which consisted of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrisson and at first Peter Best and then Ringo. I can recall sitting in on one of their sets at the Star Club where they were singing a lot of Little Richard tunes and Jerry Lee Lewis tunes and I was playing piano with them and jamming. I never realized it but from the ceiling was a little amateur microphone hanging and 16 years later when I was in New York I came across an album called "The Star Club Tapes" and I got the album and listened to it. I couldn't believe it because I could hear faintly in the background my rock & roll piano playing. So actually I recorded with the worlds greatest band after Bill Haley & The Comets The Beatles and never knew it.
            Otto Fuchs: When did you actually join the Comets?
            Joey Welz: When I got out of the army in '63 I was able to rehearse with the Comets and I was invited to join. Rudy Pompilli persuaded Bill, as well as my friend Al Rappa to bring me in. So I became a full fledged featured pianist, then of course Johnny Grande had left after the tour for the service clubs in 1962 and so that was the time that I joined the Comets. I can remember we asked for one more chance to have a shot with DECCA records, and Milt Gabler gave us that shot with a song called "Green Door" and "Yeah She's Evil". Now, "Green Door" was a remake of the Jim Lowe hit in the 50s, and of course featured a lot of piano. I thought the records turned out great, but unfortunately they didn't sell enough records. Therefore the Comets had already left Warner Brothers while I was in the service, and now in 1964 did their last sides for DECCA, and later on we recorded quite a bit for the ORFEON Label in Mexico.
            Towards the end of the mid-sixties I had to leave Bill Haley's Comets, my second daughter was born and my wife who was a german girl with the name of Ursula was very upset with me for me never being there, so I had to go back and get a real job in the record business. So I became a supervisor for the largest distributor of records handling company and was the buyer for the east coast and later on I became a producer, first I was the A&R Director for Wedge & Dome Records in Baltimore, then I got a job as the A&R Director for Music City Records in Nashville, and also worked with the Palmer label in Detroit. And then I had a big hit record myself when I got out of the service - it was called "Hey Little Moonbeam" and was on the Canadian American Label and today I own that label and all the masters and eventually that led to my siding with Gerry Granahan and Caprice Records and currently I'm the CDO of that label here in America.
            Otto Fuchs: Joey you have a prolific carreer of your own - could you tell us about it?
            Joey Welz: All throghout my career with Bill Haley and even later in the 60s, 70s, 80, 90s and still today I maintain a recording career. Some of my biggest hits besides of "Hey Little Moonbeam": My first record on BAT was "Boppin' The Stroll" and that has become a very collectable record, "The Mystery Of Love" in 1963 was a hit. Then I recorded "Hey Rattlesnake" for Gametime Records in 1965 and I also wrote a song with Buddy Killen called "Forever" which was a million seller, then in 1966 I co-wrote with Sam The Sham the follow-up to "Wolly Bully" naturally called "Wolly Bully Rides Again" and also during the Comets I recorded a lot with Al Rappa, Dave Holly, Rudy Pompilli and Johnny Kay - two songs were released on Teardrop Records "Baby Let Your Hair Hang Down" and a song called "You Changed". Also during that time I was able to write a lotta songs that other artists recorded. During my writing career, production career I had songs recorded by Link Wray, Roy Buchanan, produced songs with Danny & The Juniors, Freddy Cannon and Jimmy Jones and currently I am producing with my co-writer and producer Gabriel The Four Tops for Caprice International.
            Otto Fuchs: Did you know Bill Haley close enough to tell us about his personality?
            Joey Welz: Bill was an unassuming guy, he spoke well, and he didn't really know how to deal with the fame and all the fuss that was made over him in the 50s and then became quite dispondent when he lost the fame due to the popularity of Elvis in the 60s and almost became like a hermit. I can remember that during my days, a lot of times Bill didn't like to sign autographs so Rudy Pompilli and myself would actually take the pictures behind the stage there and sign them and give them back to the folks. I think Bill Haley was disappointed that he was forgotten in rock & roll he truly was the first to give us rock & roll from uniting the rhyhtm & blues, country, rockabilly music togehter and was a great rock & roll vocalist, had a very exciting voice and he was always good to me and we used to talk late at night after the shows about spiritual things. Bill liked me and when he introduced me during the Comets shows he always called me the Baltimore Flash.
            Otto Fuchs: When did you meet Bill Haley for the last time and were you shocked by his untimely death in 1981?
            Joey Welz: The last time I saw Bill was at our filming of the NBC Special in Washington DC. I think it was 1970 or 71 at the Cellar Door and he asked me to join him for that and I did. Of course I was shocked to hear of his early death in 1981 and at that particular time I immedeately wanted to do something so I called The Comets back together and we did a show for Bill Snyder at NBC. A TV show all over the country called "Tomorrow" and I was very happy and lucky to get Franny Beecher to join us, and Al Rappa and myself. I was really fortunate and proud to be able to sing a medley of all of Bill's songs because I always had the voice to do the Bill Haley music. I'm a rock & roll blues type shouting type of singer, so I it was really an honour to be able to be in the show. After the show I was told that the switch boards lit up from all over the world - people wanted us back especially in the USA so we contacted our original agent in Philadelphia the Jolly Joyce Agency and for the next year I joined Franny Beecher, Ray Parsons, Al Rappa, Dave Holly and we had a sax-player from Baltimore by the name of Jim Robertson who worked with my Comet Revival Band a few years earlier when I featured Al Rappa and Ralph Jones, so we did the tour and it was another highlight for me, playing all over the country and people loved to see us back.
            During the time of The Comet Revival which I put together especially for the TV show and later for the tour, I was able to record some music with a few of The Comets again. We did "The Hawk Talks" and a song I wrote called "Bring Back The Music" and it featured Franny Beecher on guitar, and Al Rappa on bass. "The Hawk Talks" was a thing that I wrote with Franny which was a medley of all of his instrumentals and all the DECCA recordings. We also recorded "The Bevery Hillbillies Theme" at that time, but it was never released.
            Otto Fuchs: What will the future hold for Joey Welz?
            Joey Welz: As far as the future goes I am very happy to break the news about the release of "Rock Around The Clock Forever". I became friends with Jimmy E. Myers known as Jimmy DeKnight the original writer of "Rock Around The Clock" and we revised it several times, and he was kind enough to give me a small co-writing share on the reviesed version. First it was recorded again for "Happy Days", then I did a Country version in the 80s, and the rock & roll version in the 90s which was a Heavy Meatal version and all of these got a lot of play, especially in Europe.
            The last song Jimmy E. Myes and I wrote was "Rock Around The Clock Forever" ironicially it was Jimmy E. Myers first big song and his last. He had asked me to update it for the young generation, so we did it in a Hip Rock Version and it is featured on the new album which is been released 2003 on Caprice entitled "Rock Around The Clock Forever". The album also has all of the tunes I wrote with Jimmy in the 90s, during my country career like "The Nashville Boogie" and "Rock-A-Billy" and "Back To A Better Time" and so many more that hit the charts. I just received a gold record for a million airplays of our songs in the 90s from Airplay International.
            Also recently Al Rappa and I got together and wrote a song called the "Comet Dodge Van". I thought it's actually not good to call it The Comet cause it would be confusing with the Comet car, which was a Ford product. We changed it to the "Custom Dodge Van" - that's the van we all travel in when I do a few shows now and then with Al Rappa. That particular song was also released on Caprice, and got some country airplay.
            Otto Fuchs: As you know there are currently three different bands out there billing themselves Bill Haley's Comets - what are your thoughts on this?
            Joey Welz: As far as the bands are concerned that call themselves The Comets as you know Al Rappa and Johnny Lane have the legal rights to the name Bill Haley's Comets. The other guys that were there, that left in 1955 were the Original Comets and I love them all.
            My favourite line up would be to see all of us from The Original Comets Franny Beecher, along with Dick Richards, Joey D'Ambrosia, Johnny Grande, Marshall Lytle, Al Rappa, John "Bam Bam" Lane and Joey Welz. I'd like to see us all get together for one big show and I hope possibly to be invited to join them for the Madison Square Garden Show coming up in New York City.
            In closing I'd like to say that the Original Comets they were first there Johnny, Joey, Marshall, Dick Richards and the line-up from that area - did I leave somebody out? Joey D'Ambrosia on sax, Marshall Lytle on bass, Dick Richards on drums, Johnny Grande on piano and Franny Beecher. These are the guys that inspired me and I love them. I think that I owe my career in music to the inspiration that they provided, so I'd like to wish them luck, wish Al Rappa luck as my dear friend, he and I roomed together during the years I was with Bill Haley's Comets. I think that there are only a few of us left, and I think that we should all Rock Around The Clock Together Forever. Thank you very much for asking me to share my thoughts on Bill Haley's Comets. This is Joey Welz saying See You Later Alligator!

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