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Inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
Michigan Connection
The musician was born William John Clifton Hughes on July 6, 1925 in
Highland Park, Michigan.
Band
Haley was a member of the Downhomers and musical director for the
Saddlemen. By 1953 the Saddlemen had changed its name to Bill Haley and
His Comets.
Notable
In 1953 "Crazy, Man, Crazy" became the first rock and roll
record to make Billboard's pop chart. "Rock Around the Clock"
became a hit when it was used as the soundtrack to The Blackboard
Jungle, a
1955 movie about high school delinquency that generated controversy in the
press and pandemonium among the young. In effect it became the anthem for
rebellious fifties rock. Shake, Rattle and Roll was the first rock and
roll album to sell a million albums.
Big Hits
In 1955 band leader Bill Haley and His Comets recorded the landmark rock
and roll song "Rock Around the Clock," which held down the #1
spot on the charts for eight weeks and went on to sell 22 million copies
worldwide.
Find out more about Bill
Haley and other musical Michiganians in
Makin'
Music: Michigan's
Rock & Roll Legacy. |
