Career
During the summer of 1955, Lytle, Ambrose and Richards, who were paid on a set salary (as opposed to the other two Comets, pianist Johnny Grande and steel guitar player Billy Williamson, who were considered partners with Haley), requested a pay raise. According to the books Bill Haley by John Swenson and Sound and Glory by John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, their request was denied by either Haley's management or by Haley himself (accounts vary). During that summer, unknown to Haley, the trio recruited a couple of other musicians, and recorded a few demo tapes - including a version of a Haley composition, "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie". This won the group a recording contract with Capitol Records and the group subsequently resigned from the Comets, although according to Swenson they agreed to help train the replacement musicians.
The group's first recordings on Capitol came out in late 1955, and the band scored a few minor hits such as "Well Now, Dig This" and "Let's All Rock Together". In 1956, the Jodimars became one of the first rock and roll acts to take up residence in Las Vegas showrooms. Soon after, they left Capitol and recorded for smaller labels with no success. By 1958, the band had virtually broken up, though Lytle attempted to revive the group with a series of demo recordings later that year, though he was the only member of the core band to actually take part in the recordings (members of Ricky Nelson's band worked on the recording session instead) and they sat unreleased until 1994.
By the 1960s, the Jodimars were only a memory, with Lytle going into real estate, Ambrose becoming a casino pit boss in Las Vegas, and Boccelli/Richards becoming a stage and movie actor. In 1987, the band reunited for a series of concerts in conjunction with a simultaneous reunion of the original members of Bill Haley's Comets. In 1989, Johnny Hale brought the original Comets to the UK as part of his Brean Sands Rock 'n' Roll Weekender. The Jodimars (Joey, Dick and Marshall) were backed by three members of the UK group The Stargazers (Pete Davenport on lead guitar, Chris Gardner on piano, and Ricky Lee Brawn on drums) in a set which included their album in its entirety (12 songs) plus a few other later Jodimars' numbers, and was followed by a set as 'The Original Comets'. This remains the only billed appearance by the Jodimars since the 1960s.
Lytle, Ambrose and Richards went on to tour the world as the Comets alongside pianist Johnny Grande and guitarist Franny Beecher, but included Jodimars songs in each show (most notably "Eat Your Heart Out, Annie" and "Well Now Dig This"). Lytle left the Comets in 2009, following the death of Grande in 2006 and Beecher's retirement from touring also in 2006 (Beecher died in February 2014), and continued to perform as a solo act until his death in May 2013, though he, Ambrose and Richards reunited in 2012 to accept the Comets' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Marshall Lytle died on May 25,2013 at the age of 89, but Ambrose and Richards continued to tour as the Comets. Richards died on July 12, 2019, at the age of 95. Joey Ambrose subsequently retired from touring and died in 2021.
In 1963, the Beatles recorded a version of the Jodimars' "Clarabella" for the Pop Go the Beatles program for BBC Radio, which appeared on the Apple/Parlophone/Capitol album Live at the BBC in 1994, while the song "Well Now, Dig This" inspired the name of the British music magazine, Now Dig This.
Discography
- "Well Now, Dig This" / "Let's All Rock Together", Capitol F3285, November 1955
- "Dance the Bop" (also issued as "Dancin' the Bop") / "Boom, Boom My Bayou Baby", F3360, February 1956
- "Lot'sa Love" / "Rattle My Bones", F3436, May 1956
- "Eat Your Heart Out, Annie" / "Rattle Shakin' Daddy", F3512, August 1956
- "Midnight" / "Clarabella", F3588, November 1956
- "Cloud 99" / "Later", F3633, January 1957
- "Shoo-Sue (Get Away From Me)" / "Story Telling Baby", President 1017, February 1958
- "One Grain of Sand" / "Time (Is Endless), Milestone 2004, November 1960 (credited to "Marshall and Wes and The Jodimars" [Wes being Wes Buchanan])
Additional recordings exist from a demo session in 1955 ("Flip, Flop and Fly", "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" (written by Bill Haley) and "The Big Beat"). All but the latter were released in 1994; "The Big Beat" remains unreleased. In 1958, Lytle recorded "Hip Shakin' Baby", "Be My Love Tonight", "Honey Baby", and "Bring Along Your Lovin'" with Ricky Nelson's band as The Jodimars (Ambrose and Richards reportedly being unavailable) but these recordings also were not released until 1994. A Jodimars cover version of "Dim, Dim the Lights" (which was also a hit for Haley and the Comets) is also known to exist but has never been released.
Two compilation albums of Jodimars recordings exist: Well Now Dig This, first released in 1970 then reissued in 1979, and finally in 1989 as a CD release by the Bulldog Records label (France), and Let's All Rock Together on the Rockstar Records label (UK) in 1994, which included the first release of the 1955 and 1958 demo recordings.
William John Clifton Haley was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-selling hits such as "Rock Around the Clock", "See You Later, Alligator", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", "Rocket 88", "Skinny Minnie", and "Razzle Dazzle". Haley has sold over 60 million records worldwide. In 1987, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
"Rock Around the Clock" is a rock and roll song in the 12-bar blues format written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952. The best-known and most successful rendition was recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 for American Decca. It was a number one single for two months and did well on the United Kingdom charts; the recording also reentered the UK Singles Chart in the 1960s and 1970s.
Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group recorded nine Top 20 singles, one of which was number one and three that were Top Ten. The single "Rock Around the Clock" was the best-selling rock single in the history of the genre and maintained that position for several years.
Francis Eugene Beecher was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley & His Comets from 1954 to 1962, and is best remembered for his innovative guitar solos combining elements of country music and jazz. He composed the classics "Blue Comet Blues", "Goofin' Around", "Week End", "The Catwalk", and "Shaky" when he was the lead guitarist for Bill Haley and the Comets. He continued to perform with surviving members of the Comets into 2006. In 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Beecher as a member of the Comets by a special committee, aimed at correcting the previous mistake of not inducting the Comets with Bill Haley.
William Famous Williamson was the American steel guitar player for Bill Haley and His Saddlemen, and its successor group Bill Haley & His Comets, from 1949 to 1963.
Rudolph Clement Pompilii was an American musician best known for playing tenor saxophone with Bill Haley and His Comets. He was usually credited under the alternate spelling Rudy Pompilli and occasionally as Rudy Pell.
Marshall Edward Lytle was an American rock and roll bassist, best known for his work with the groups Bill Haley & His Comets and The Jodimars in the 1950s. He played upright slap bass on the iconic 1950s rock and roll records "Crazy Man, Crazy", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", and "Rock Around the Clock".
"Crazy Man, Crazy" was the title of an early rock and roll song written by, and first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets in April 1953. It is notable as the first recognized rock and roll recording to appear on the national American musical charts, peaking at #12 on the Billboard Juke Box chart for the week ending June 20, 1953, and #11 for two weeks on the Cash Box chart beginning for the week of June 13.
Donato Joseph "Danny" Cedrone was an American guitarist and bandleader, best known for his work with Bill Haley & His Comets on their epochal "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954.
William Gussak (1920–1994) was an American jazz and recording session drummer, best known for being the drummer on the classic 12 April 1954 recording of "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Some sources incorrectly spell his name as Guesak.
Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets is the title of an early rock and roll music compilation album issued by Essex Records in December 1955, and featuring music by the titular group, Bill Haley & His Comets. The album features recordings made by Haley in 1952 and 1953, including his hits, "Rock the Joint", "Crazy Man Crazy", "Fractured", and "Live It Up".
Shake, Rattle and Roll is the title of an early rock and roll compilation album issued by Decca Records in 1955, and featuring music by Bill Haley & His Comets. The album, which was issued in a 10-inch format, consisted of recordings previously issued on singles in 1954 and 1955, including the title track, and "Rock Around the Clock", although at the time of this album's release in early 1955, "Rock Around the Clock" had not yet become a major hit. This was Haley's second album, and was one of the first album-length releases of the rock and roll era, predating the release of Elvis Presley's first album by a year.
"Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" is a 1952 song composed by Bill Haley and first recorded by the Esquire Boys in 1952. Bill Haley and the Comets recorded the song in 1955 for Decca. The song was featured in the 1956 movie Rock Around the Clock.
"Birth of the Boogie" is a 1955 song composed by Bill Haley with Billy Williamson and Johnny Grande. The song was released as a Decca single by Bill Haley and His Comets, peaking at #17 on the Billboard singles chart.
Bill Haley & His Comets recorded many singles and albums. The following list references only their original release and generally does not include compilation albums or single reissues. This list does not include releases on which the Comets worked as session musicians, and primarily focuses on releases during Haley's lifetime.
"Two Hound Dogs" is a 1955 rock and roll song composed by Bill Haley and Frank Pingatore. The song was released as a Decca single by Bill Haley and His Comets. The Decca single peaked at #31 on the Cash Box singles chart.
"Real Rock Drive" was the title of an early rock and roll song written by, and first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets under the name Bill Haley with Haley's Comets in 1952. The song was released as an Essex Records 78 single.
"Fractured" was the title of an early rock and roll song written by Bill Haley and Marshall Lytle and first recorded by Bill Haley & His Comets, then going by the name Bill Haley with Haley's Comets, in 1953. The song was released as an Essex Records 78 single in 1953, peaking at #24 on the Billboard singles chart.
"R-O-C-K" is a 1956 rock and roll song recorded and co-written by Bill Haley and released as a Decca single. The song appeared in the 1956 Columbia Pictures movie Rock Around the Clock. The single peaked at #16 on Billboard.
Joseph Frank D'Ambrosio, also known by his stage name Joey Ambrose, was an American saxophonist who was best known for being a member of the rock and roll band Bill Haley & His Comets. He played tenor saxophone on two of their biggest hits, "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
