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An oldies and rockabilly concert brings Bill Haley's Original Comets, one of the first rock 'n' roll bands.
By JORGE SANCHEZ, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 11, 2002
LECANTO -- Rock pioneers Bill Haley's Original Comets headline an oldies and rockabilly rock concert beginning at 7 p.m. today at Curtis Peterson Auditorium at Lecanto High.
Also appearing are Frankie Ford, whose hits include Sea Cruise, the Reflections (Just Like Romeo & Juliet, At My Front Door), along with regional acts Tommy and the Saints, Blind Mice and Pete Rostel, a Frank Sinatra tribute singer.
There may be a dispute over who started rock 'n' roll. Many say it was Bill Haley; others point to Little Richard or Ike Turner. But there's no dispute with Comets' bassist Marshall Lytle. He credits the beginning of rock 'n' roll to his former boss Bill Haley.
"Hey, I was there when Alan Freed first made up the term rock 'n' roll," Lytle said.
He said the famed Cleveland disc jockey was interviewing the group in 1952 and playing one of their songs, Rock This Joint (with lyrics "Rock, rock, rock, everybody -- roll, roll roll everybody, We're gonna rock this joint, rock this joint tonight.")
Freed left the studio microphone on, Lytle said, and started pounding on the table, repeating "Rock and roll, everybody."
"He played that song 12 times that night, and that's the first time anyone ever used the phrase rock 'n' roll to describe the music," Lytle said.
Lytle, who still does the stage antics with the doghouse, or acoustic bass, will be joined by other Comets Franny Beecher, 80, on lead guitar, Dick Richards, 77, on drums, Johnny Grande, 72, on piano and Joey Ambrose, 67, on sax. The musicians all joined Haley's Comets at various times in the 1950s. Lytle, Grande and Ambrose played on the original 1954 Decca recording of (We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock.
Haley had a long recording and touring career, and during the decades, dozens of artists were part of his Comets. Beecher, for instance, was the Comets' second lead guitarist, joining the band in 1954. He did not play on the rock classic Rock Around the Clock. Beecher replaced Danny Cedrone, the guitarist who did play on the record. Cedrone died shortly after the recording session in a fall down a flight of stairs.
Though they're hardly the spry youngsters of the 1950s, Lytle said the band performs 60 to 80 concerts a year and just finished a tour of Europe.
"They only accept you over there if you're the real thing, they don't want to hear any copycat groups," Lytle said.
The performers will be available for autograph sessions after the concert. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the concert starts at 7 p.m. The Comets will be the headline act. Tickets at the door are $30.