Editing Bill Haley & His Comets (section)

==Early history==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Bill Haley Comets Ed Sullivan 1955.jpg|thumb|Bill Haley and the Comets on the Ed Sullivan Show or Toast of the Town, Sunday, August 7, 1955, CBS, Hartford, Connecticut]] -->
In around the mid-1940s, Bill Haley performed with the Down Homers and formed a group called the Four Aces of Western Swing. The group that later became the Comets initially formed as "Bill Haley and the Saddlemen" {{Circa|1949}}–1952, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel. The group was also the first to record a cover version (in July 1951) of [[Rocket 88]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.edsullivan.com/artists/bill-haley-his-comets/|title=Artists, Bill Haley & His Comets|date=June 14, 2015|work=Ed Sullivan|access-date=November 10, 2023|quote=}}</ref> originally a [[jump blues]] song by [[Jackie Brenston]] and his Delta Cats, who were actually [[Ike Turner]] and his [[Kings of Rhythm]]. He did so for the [[Philadelphia]]-based [[Holiday Records]] label, in what is now recognized as a [[rockabilly]] style. It sold well and was followed in 1952 by a cover of a 1940s [[rhythm and blues]] song called "[[Rock the Joint]]" for Holiday's sister company, [[Essex Records]].

During those years however, Haley was considered one of the top cowboy yodelers in America. Many Saddlemen recordings were not released until the 1970s and 1980s, and highlights included romantic ballads such as "Rose of My Heart" and [[western swing]] tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away". The original members of this group were Haley, pianist and accordion player [[Johnny Grande]] and [[steel guitar]]ist [[Billy Williamson (guitarist)|Billy Williamson]]. Al Thompson was the group's first bass player, followed by [[Al Rex]] and [[Marshall Lytle]]. During the group's early years, it recorded under several other names, including Johnny Clifton and His String Band and [[Reno Browne]] and Her Buckaroos (although Browne, a female matinee idol of the time, did not actually appear on the record).

"Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", and their immediate follow-ups were released under the increasingly incongruous Saddlemen name. It soon became apparent that a new name for the group was needed to fit the new musical style. A friend of Haley's, making note of the common mispronunciation of the name [[Halley's Comet]] to rhyme with ''Bailey'', suggested that Haley call his band the Comets. This event is cited in the Haley biographies ''Sound and Glory'' by John Haley and John von Hoelle; ''Bill Haley'' by John Swenson; and in ''Still Rockin' Around the Clock'', a memoir by Comets bass player Marshall Lytle.

The new name for the group was adopted in the fall of 1952, before the 1953 release of "[[Crazy Man, Crazy]]" which had some elements of [[rock and roll]] and [[rockabilly]] music.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/2135591-Bill-Haley-With-Haleys-Comets-Crazy-Man-Crazy|title=Bill Haley With Haley's Comets* – Crazy Man, Crazy|date=July 6, 2017|work=Discogs|access-date=November 10, 2023|quote=}}</ref> Members of the group at that time were Haley, Johnny Grande, Billy Williamson and Marshall Lytle. Grande usually played piano on records but switched to accordion for live shows as it was more portable than a piano and easier to deal with during musical numbers that involved a lot of dancing around. Soon after renaming the band Haley hired his first drummer, Earl Famous.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockabillyhall.com/jodimars1.html|title=RAB Hall of Fame: The Jodimars|website=Rockabillyhall.com|access-date=May 1, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215123/http://www.rockabillyhall.com/Jodimars1.html|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> Displeased with the lineup, Haley sought out Dick Boccelli (also known as Dick Richards), who turned down the job but recommended a young drummer Charlie Higler. Soon after, Haley asked Richards again, who then accepted the role. During this time (and as late as the fall of 1955), Haley did not have a permanent lead guitar player, choosing to use session musicians on records and either playing lead guitar himself or having Williamson play steel solos.

Even before the release of more successful records, the group had achieved greatness in some respects: "No one had blended country and R&B on a single before the Comets' "Rock the Joint". No one had scored an American Top 20 hit with anything that could really qualify as rock'n'roll before their single "Crazy Man Crazy" in 1953".<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/22/bill-haley-rock-around-the-clock-worlds-first-rock-anthem|title=Bill Haley: Rock Around the Clock – the world's first rock anthem|date=May 22, 2014|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref>