Bill Haley & His Comets The Warner Brothers Years And More (6-CD Deluxe Box Set)

BCD 16157-EI   BILL HALEY : THE WARNER BROTHERS YEARS AND MORE

INTRODUCTION

Anyone reading this, particularly if they already own the previous Bear Family boxed set ('The Decca Years and More' BCD 15506) will undoubtedly know that during the 1950s, Bill Haley, with his band, The Comets, was one of the most successful show business phenomena of all time. 

The acknowledged 'father of Rock 'n' Roll', he had recorded a number of spectacular hit records, had earned millions and millions of dollars, had appeared on stage, screen and record in most countries of the World, and had at one time been the highest paid entertainer in the World.

The standard text book entry for "Haley, Bill (bandleader and singer)" usually then dismisses the whole of the rest of his career with a statement along the lines of his fall from grace being as meteoric as his rise, with perhaps a passing reference to his continuing popularity in Europe and his role in the rock 'n' roll revival from 1968 onwards. 

What is not widely known is that he continued to work a gruelling schedule through the 1960s, that he continued to have hit records, that he continued to expand his musical horizons, and that the story of his life continued to be no less remarkable than his early life, so vividly chronicled in the excellent biography 'Sound and Glory' by John W. Haley and John Von Hoelle (Dyne-American Publications, 1990).

This boxed set contains nearly all the recordings Bill Haley made in the 1960s in the USA. Between 1961 and 1966 he also recorded prolifically for Orfeon Records in Mexico and then from 1968, mostly in Europe, for the Swedish company Sonet Records, but these recordings are beyond the scope of this box. We have been able to assemble all the issued tracks, a number of unissued tracks, and a few alternative versions of issued tracks. 

With Bill Haley, though, one take of a song tends to be pretty much like any other, and even though there are multiple takes available of the Warner Brothers recordings, for instance, only a few are different enough to warrant a release. Sadly, a number of recordings have eluded us altogether. It is believed that many more songs were recorded at the Round Table Club in 1962, for example, but there is no trace of the masters. Similarly, there must be more from the Felt Forum concert in 1969, but we have not been able to track them down.

A NEW DECADE - A FALSE DAWN

As the New Year of 1960 dawned over the frosty lawn in front of the comfortable home he had built for his family in 1955 (Melody Manor, situated on Faulk Road in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania), Bill Haley may well have been dozing in bed reflecting on what had been and wondering what was going to be in the coming decade. He had had the usual Christmas party at Melody Manor for his staff, his musicians and their families. No doubt it was a little less joyous than those of 1955 and 1956 when he had been right on top of the World and cost was no object. 

However, there were reasons to be hopeful. He had a new record deal. Towards the end of 1959 he had signed with Warner Brothers with a guarantee of $150,000 over 5 years, a 5% royalty rate and an advance of $50,000 in his pocket. He still had his band, with most of the musicians who had worked with him through the glory years. His wife, Cuppy, was in the last stages of pregnancy, and Bill's fourth son, Scott, was to be born later in the month. To set against this, though, there were dark clouds overhead...