Editing Bill Haley & His Comets (section)

==Mexico and the late 1960s==
In 1961–1962, '''Bill Haley y sus Cometas''' (as the band was known in Hispanic America) signed with the [[Orfeón]] label of Mexico and scored an unexpected hit with "Twist Español", a Spanish-language recording based on the [[Twist (dance)|twist]] dance craze, which was sweeping America at the time. Haley followed up with "Florida Twist" (#3 MEX, according to Billboard Hits Of The World 04.21.62), which was for a time the biggest-selling single in Mexican history. Although [[Chubby Checker]] and [[Hank Ballard]] were credited with starting the twist craze in America, in Mexico and Latin America, Bill Haley and His Comets were proclaimed the Kings of the Twist. Thanks to the success of "Twist Español" and "Florida Twist", among others, the band had continued success in Mexico and Latin America over the next few years, selling many recordings of Spanish and Spanish-flavored material and simulated live performances ([[overdubbed]] audience over studio recordings) on the Orfeon label and its subsidiary, Dimsa. They hosted a television series, ''Orfeon a Go-Go'', and made [[cameo appearance]]s in several movies, lip-synching some of their old hits. Haley, who was fluent in Spanish, recorded a number of songs in the language, but most of the band's output during these years was instrumental recordings, many utilizing local session musicians playing trumpet. There was also some experimentation with Haley's style during this time; one single for Orfeon was a folk ballad, "Jimmy Martinez", which Haley recorded without the Comets.

In 1966, the Comets (without Bill Haley) cut an album for Orfeon as session musicians for Big Joe Turner, who had always been an idol to Haley; no joint performance of "Shake, Rattle and Roll" was recorded, however. In a 1974 interview with [[BBC Radio]], Haley said Turner's career was in a slump at this time, so he used his then-considerable influence with Orfeon to get Turner a recording session. The Comets' association with Orfeon/Dimsa ended later that year.

By 1967, as related by Haley in an interview with radio host [[Red Robinson]] in that year, the group was "a free agent" without any recording contracts at all, although the band continued to perform regularly in North America and Europe. During this year, Haley—without the Comets—recorded a pair of demos in [[Phoenix, Arizona]]: a country-western song, "[[Jealous Heart]]", on which he was backed by a local [[mariachi]] band (similar in style to the earlier "Jimmy Martinez"), and a late-60s-style rocker, "Rock on Baby", backed by a group called Superfine Dandelion. Neither recording would be released for 30 years. In 1968, Haley and the Comets recorded a single for the [[United Artists]] label, a version of [[Tom T. Hall]]'s "[[That's How I Got to Memphis]]", but no long-term association with the label resulted. In order to revive his recording career, Haley turned to Europe.