Name	Video Home System
Logo
Country	Japan (Developed)
Type	Video recording media
Encoding	FM on magnetic tape
Common lengths	120, 160 minutes (Standard Play Mode)
Unusual lengths	5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 90, 130, 180, 190, 200, 210 minutes (Standard Play Mode)
Created	1976
Owner	JVC (Victor Company of Japan)
Use	Home video Home movie}}

The Video Home System (better known by its abbreviation VHS) is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan (JVC).

The 1970s was a period when video recording became a major contributor to the television industry. Like many other technological innovations, each of several companies made an attempt to produce a television recording standard that the majority of the world would embrace. At the peak of it all, the home video industry was caught up in a series of videotape format wars. Two of the formats, VHS and Betamax, received the most media exposure. VHS would eventually win the war, and therefore succeed as the dominant home video format, lasting throughout the tape format period. Many industry experts did not predict VHS' dominance because it was technically inferior to Betamax. One expert compared VHS beating out Betamax to QWERTY beating Dvorak in the keyboard layout war.

In later years, optical disc formats began to offer better quality than video tape. The earliest of these formats, Laserdisc, was not widely adopted, but the subsequent DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) format eventually did achieve mass acceptance and replaced VHS as the preferred method of distribution after 2000. By 2006, film studios in the United States had stopped releasing new movie titles in VHS format. On December 31, 2008, the last major United States supplier of pre-recorded VHS tapes, Distribution Video Audio Inc. of Palm Harbor, Florida, shipped its final truckload. , most of the VHS tapes being produced are 6 and 8 hour blank tapes.

History

Earlier in 1971, JVC engineers Yuma Shiraishi and Shizuo Takano lead the effort in developing the VHS tape format. JVC originally collaborated with Sony Corporation and Matsushita Electric (aka Panasonic) in building a home video standard for the Japanese consumer. Soon after, Sony and Matsushita broke away from the collaboration effort, in order to work on video recording formats of their own. Sony started working on Betamax, while Matsushita started working on VX.

By the end of 1971, JVC produced an internal document titled ''VHS Development Matrix''. In the document, it listed twelve objectives in building a home video recording unit. However, the commercial video recording industry took a hit, and eventually lead to JVC cutting its budgets, and re-structuring its video division - even as far as shelving the VHS project. Takano and Shiraishi continued to work on the project in secrecy, and by 1973 they successfully produced a functional prototype.

In 1974, Japan started a standards war of its own. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) attempted to force the Japanese video industry to standardize on just one recording format, for the sake of saving the country from consumer confusion of having too many video formats on the market. Later, Sony had a functional prototype of the Betamax format, and was very close to releasing a finished product. With this prototype, Sony persuaded the MITI to adopt Betamax as the standard, and allow it to license the technology to other companies.

JVC believed that an open standard worked in the best interest of the consumer, as sharing the format among competitors without licensing the technology was better for the consumer. To prevent the MITI from adopting Betamax, JVC made an attempt to have other companies accept VHS, and thereby work against Sony and the MITI. It was a major key to have Matsushita on-board because Matsushita was Japan's largest electronics manufacturer at the time. JVC succeeded in persuading Matsushita to back the VHS format because Matsushita was afraid to allow Sony to become a leader, and Betamax could only record one hour of video. Matsushita's backing of JVC persuaded Mitsubishi and Sharp to back the VHS standard as well. Sony's release of its Betamax unit to the Japanese market in 1975 placed further pressure on the MITI to side with the company. However, the collaboration of JVC, Matsushita, Mitsubishi and Sharp was much stronger, and eventually lead the MITI to drop its push for an industry standard.

Initial releases of VHS-based devices

The first VCR to use VHS was the Victor HR-3300, and was introduced by the president of JVC at the Okura Hotel on September 9, 1976. JVC started selling the HR-3300 in Akihabara, Tokyo, Japan on October 31, 1976. The United States received its first VHS-based VCR - the RCA VBT200 on August 23, 1977. The RCA unit was designed by Matsushita, and was the first VHS-based VCR manufactured by a company other than JVC. The United Kingdom later received its first VHS-based VCR - the Victor HR-3300EK in 1978.

Quasar and General Electric would follow-up with VHS-based VCRs - all designed by Matsushita. By 1978, Matsushita alone produced just over half of all Japanese VCRs.

Technical details

Cassette and tape design

The VHS cassette is a 187 mm wide, 103 mm deep, 25 mm thick plastic shell held together with five Phillips head screws. The flip-up cover that protects the tape has a built-in latch with a push-in toggle on the right side (see bottom view image). The VHS cassette also includes an anti-despooling mechanism (see the top view): several plastic parts near the front label end of the cassette between the two spools. The spool brakes are released by a push-in lever within a 6.35 mm hole accessed from the bottom of the cassette, about 19.05 mm in from the edge label.

There is a clear tape leader at both ends of the tape to provide an optical auto-stop for the VCR transport mechanism. A light source is inserted into the cassette through the circular hole in the center of the underside when loaded in the VCR, and two photodiodes are located to the left and right sides of where the tape exits the cassette. When the clear tape reaches one of these, enough light will pass through the tape to the photodiode to trigger the stop function; in more sophisticated machines it will start rewinding the cassette when the trailing end is detected. Early VCRs used an incandescent bulb as the light source, which regularly failed and caused the VCR to erroneously think that a cassette is loaded when empty, or would detect the blown bulb and stop functioning completely. Later designs use an infrared LED which had a much longer lifetime.

The recording media is a 12.7 mm wide magnetic tape wound between two spools, allowing it to be slowly passed over the various playback and recording heads of the video cassette recorder. The tape speed is 3.335 cm/s for NTSC, 2.339 cm/s for PAL. As with almost all cassette-based videotape systems, VHS machines pull the tape from the cassette shell and wrap it around the head drum which rotates at 1800 rpm in NTSC machines and at 1500 rpm for PAL. VHS machines, in contrast to Betamax and Beta's predecessor U-matic, use an "M-loading" system, also known as M-lacing, where the tape is drawn out by two threading posts and wrapped around more than 180 degrees of the head drum (and also other tape transport components) in a shape roughly approximating the letter M.

Tracking adjustment and index marking

Another linear ''control'' track, at the tape's lower edge, holds pulses that mark the beginning of every frame of video; these are used to fine-tune the tape speed during playback and to get the rotating heads exactly on their helical tracks rather than having them end up somewhere between two adjacent tracks (a feature called ''tracking''). Since good tracking depends on the exact distance between the rotating drum and the fixed control/audio head reading the linear tracks, which usually varies by a couple of micrometers between machines due to manufacturing tolerances, most VCRs offer tracking adjustment, either manual or automatic, to correct such mismatches. The control can additionally hold ''index marks''. These are normally written at the beginning of each recording session, and can be found using the VCR's ''index search'' function: this will fast-wind forward or backward to the ''n''th specified index mark, and resume playback from there. There was a time when higher-end VCRs provided functions for manually removing and adding these index marks — so that, for example, they coincide with the actual start of the television program — but this feature has become hard to find in recent models.

By the late 1990s, some high-end VCRs offered more sophisticated indexing. For example, Panasonic's Tape Library system assigned an ID number to each cassette, and logged recording information (channel, date, time and optional program title entered by the user) both on the cassette and in the VCR's memory for up to 900 recordings (600 with titles).

Recording capacity

A VHS cassette holds a maximum of about 430 m (1,410 ft.) of tape at the lowest acceptable tape thickness, giving a maximum playing time of about 4 hours in an DF480 for NTSC and five hours in an E-500 for PAL at "standard play" (SP) quality. Other speeds include "long play" (LP) (Not all VCRs include this record mode), and "extended play" (EP) or "super long play" (SLP); For NTSC, LP and EP/SLP doubles and triples the recording time accordingly, but these speed reductions cause a slight reduction in video quality - from the normal 250 lines in SP, to 230 analog lines horizontal. Also, video recorded onto tapes at the lower speed often exhibit poor playback performance on recorders other than the one they were produced on. As a result, commercial pre-recorded tapes were almost always recorded in SP mode. In some cases, budget labels such as Video Treasures (both LP and EP), Starmaker (EP), Burbank Video (LP), Avid Home Entertainment (EP), GoodTimes Entertainment (LP), and even Disney (LP) and Paramount (EP) commonly used a slower speed.

Video recording

VHS tapes have approximately 3 MHz of video bandwidth and 400 kHz of chroma bandwidth, which is achieved at a relatively low tape speed by the use of helical scan recording of a frequency modulated luminance (black and white) signal, with a down-converted "color under" chroma (color) signal recorded directly at the baseband. Each helical track contains a single field ('even' or 'odd' field, equivalent to half a frame) encoded as an analog raster scan, similar to analog TV broadcasts. The horizontal resolution is 170 lines per scanline, and the vertical resolution (the number of scanlines) is the same as the respective analog TV standard (575 for PAL or 486 for NTSC). In modern-day digital terminology, VHS is roughly equivalent to 333x480 pixels luma and 40x480 chroma resolutions (333x480 pixels=159,840 pixels or 0.16MP (1/6 of a MegaPixel)).

JVC would counter 1985's SuperBeta with VHS HQ, or High Quality. The frequency modulation of the VHS luminance signal is limited to 3 megahertz which makes higher resolutions impossible, but an HQ branded deck includes luminance noise reduction, chroma noise reduction, white clip extension, and improved sharpness circuitry. The effect was to increase the apparent horizontal resolution of a VHS recording from 240 to 250 analog (equivalent to 333 pixels from left-to-right, in digital terminology). The major VHS OEMs resisted HQ due to cost concerns, eventually resulting in JVC reducing the requirements for the HQ brand to ''white clip extension plus one other improvement''.

In 1987 JVC introduced a new format called Super VHS which extended the bandwidth to over 5 megahertz, yielding 420 analog horizontal (560 pixels left-to-right).

Audio recording

Original linear system

In the original VHS format, audio was recorded as baseband in a single linear track, at the upper edge of the tape, similar to how an audio compact cassette operates. The recorded frequency range was dependent on the movement of the tape past the audio head, which, for the VHS SP mode, resulted in a mediocre frequency response of roughly 100 Hz to 10 kHz. The signal-to-noise ratio was an acceptable 42 dB. Both parameters degraded significantly with VHS's longer play modes, with EP frequency response peaking at 4 kHz.

Audio cannot be recorded on a VHS tape without recording a video signal, even in the audio dubbing mode. If there is no video signal to the VCR input, the VCR will record black as well as generate a control track while the audio is being recorded.

More expensive decks offered stereo audio recording and playback. Linear stereo, as it was called, fit two independent channels in the same space as the original mono audiotrack. While this approach preserved acceptable backward compatibility with monoaural audio heads, the splitting of the audio track degraded the signal's SNR to the point that audible tape hiss was objectionable at normal listening volume. To counteract tape hiss, decks applied Dolby B noise reduction for recording and playback. Dolby B dynamically boosts the mid-frequency band of the audio program on the recorded medium, improving its signal strength relative to the tape's background noise floor, then attenuates the mid-band during playback. Dolby B is not a transparent process, and Dolby-encoded program material will exhibit an unnatural mid-range emphasis when played on non-Dolby capable VCRs.

High-end consumer recorders took advantage of the linear nature of the audio track, as the audio track could be erased and recorded without disturbing the video portion of the recorded signal. Hence, "audio dubbing" and "video dubbing", where either the audio or video are re-recorded on tape (without disturbing the other), were supported features on prosumer linear video editing-decks. Without dubbing capability, an audio or video edit could not be done in-place on master cassette, and requires the editing output be captured to another tape, incurring generational loss.

Studio film releases began to emerge with linear stereo audiotracks in 1982. From that point onward nearly every home video releases by Hollywood featured a Dolby-encoded linear stereo audiotrack. However, linear stereo was never popular with equipment makers or consumers.

Hi-Fi audio system

Around 1984, JVC added ''Hi-Fi'' audio to VHS (in response to Betamax's introduction of Beta Hi-Fi.) Both VHS Hi-Fi and Betamax Hi-Fi delivered flat full-range frequency response (20 Hz to 20 kHz), excellent 70 dB signal-to-noise ratio (in consumer space, second only to the compact disc), dynamic range of 90 dB, and professional audio-grade channel separation (more than 70dB). VHS Hi-Fi audio is achieved by using audio frequency modulation (AFM), recording each of the 2 stereo channels (L, R) on a frequency-modulated carrier and embedding the modulated audio signal pair into the video signal. To avoid crosstalk and interference from the primary video carrier, VHS's implementation of AFM relied on a form of magnetic recording called ''depth multiplexing''. The modulated audio carrier pair was placed under the luminance carrier (below 1.6 MHz), and recorded first. Subsequently, the video head erases and re-records the video signal over the same tape surface, but video signal's higher center frequency results in a shallower magnetization of the tape, allowing both the video and residual AFM audio signal to coexist on tape. (PAL versions of Beta Hi-Fi use this same technique). During playback, VHS Hi-Fi recovers the depth-recorded AFM signal by subtracting the audio head's signal (which contains the AFM signal contaminated by a weak image of the video signal) from the video head's signal (which contains only the video signal), then demodulates the left and right audio channels from their respective frequency carriers. The end result of the complex process was audio of outstanding fidelity, which was uniformly solid across all tape-speeds (EP or SP.) Since JVC had gone through the complexity of ensuring Hi-Fi's backward compatibility with non-Hi-Fi VCRs, virtually all studio home video releases contained Hi-Fi audiotracks (in addition to the linear audio track). Under normal circumstances, all Hi-Fi VHS VCRs will record Hi-Fi and linear audio simultaneously to ensure compatibility with VCRs without Hi-Fi playback, though only early, high-end Hi-Fi machines provided linear stereo compatibility.

Due to the path followed by the video and Hi-Fi audio heads being striped and discontinuous—unlike that of the linear audio track—head-switching is required to provide a continuous audio signal. Misalignments may lead to imperfect joining of the signal, resulting in low-pitched buzzing.

The sound quality of Hi-Fi VHS stereo is comparable to the quality of CD audio, particularly when recordings were made on high-end or professional VHS machines that have a manual audio recording level control. This high quality compared to other consumer audio recording formats such as compact cassette attracted the attention of amateur and hobbyist recording artists. Home recording enthusiasts occasionally recorded high quality stereo mixdowns and master recordings from multitrack audio tape onto consumer-level Hi-Fi VCRs. However, because the VHS Hi-Fi recording process is intertwined with the VCR's video-recording function, advanced editing functions such as audio-only or video-only dubbing are impossible. Some VHS decks also had a "simulcast" switch, allowing users to record an external audio input along with off-air pictures. Some televised concerts offered a stereo simulcast soundtrack on FM radio and as such, events like ''Live Aid'' were recorded by thousands of people with a full stereo soundtrack despite the fact that stereo TV broadcasts were some years off (especially in regions that adopted NICAM).

The considerable complexity and additional hardware limited VHS Hi-Fi to high-end decks for many years. While linear stereo all but disappeared from home VHS decks, it was not until the 1990s that Hi-Fi became a more common feature on VHS decks. Even then, most customers were unaware of its significance and merely enjoyed the better audio performance of the newer decks.

Variations

Super-VHS / ADAT / SVHS-ET

Several improved versions of VHS exist, most notably Super-VHS (S-VHS), an analog video standard with improved video bandwidth. S-VHS improved the luminance resolution to 400 horizontal per picture height (versus 250 for VHS/Beta and 500 for DVD). The audio-system (both linear and AFM) is the same. S-VHS made little impact on the home market, but gained dominance in the camcorder market due to its superior picture quality.

The ADAT format provides the ability to record multitrack digital audio using S-VHS media. JVC also developed SVHS-ET technology for its Super-VHS camcorders and VCRs, which simply allows them to record Super VHS signals onto lower-priced VHS tapes, albeit with a slight blurring of the image. Nearly all Super-VHS camcorders and VCRs made today have SVHS-ET ability.

VHS-C / Super VHS-C

Another variant is VHS-Compact (VHS-C), originally developed for portable VCRs in 1982, but ultimately finding success in palm-sized camcorders. The longest tape available holds 40 minutes in SP mode and 120 minutes in EP mode. Since VHS-C tapes are based on the same magnetic tape as full size tapes, they can be played back in standard VHS players using a mechanical adapter, without the need of any kind of signal conversion. The magnetic tape on VHS-C cassettes is wound on one main spool and uses a gear wheel to advance the tape.

The adapter does not require a battery to function and is solely a mechanical adapter. It has an internal hub to engage with the VCR mechanism in the location of a normal full-size tape hub, driving the gearing on VHS-C cassette. Also when a VHS-C cassette is inserted into the adapter, a small swing-arm pulls the tape out of the miniature cassette to span the standard tape path distance between the guide rollers of a full-size tape. This allows the miniature cassette to use the same tape loading mechanism of the full-size tape.

Super VHS-C or S-VHS Compact was developed by JVC in 1987. S-VHS provided an improved luminance and chrominance quality, yet S-VHS recorders were compatible with VHS tapes.

Sony Betamax was unable to shrink that form any further, so instead they developed Video8/Hi8 which was in direct competition with the VHS-C/S-VHS-C format throughout the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Ultimately neither format "won" and both continue to be sold in the low-end market (examples: JVC SXM38 and Sony TRV138).

W-VHS / Digital-VHS (high-definition)

W-VHS allowed recording of MUSE Hi-Vision ''analog'' high definition television, which was broadcast in Japan from 1989 until 2007. The other improved standard, called Digital-VHS (D-VHS), records digital high definition video onto a VHS form factor tape. D-VHS can record up to 4 hours of ATSC digital television in 720p or 1080i formats using the fastest record mode (equivalent to VHS-SP), and up to 40 hours of standard definition video at slower speeds.

D9

There is also a JVC-designed component digital professional production format known as Digital-S, or officially under the name D9, that uses a VHS form factor tape and essentially the same mechanical tape handling techniques as an S-VHS recorder. This format is the least expensive format to support a Sel-Sync pre-read for video editing. This format is most notably used by Fox for some of its cable networks.

Accessories

Shortly after the introduction of the VHS format, VHS tape rewinders were developed. These devices served the sole purpose of rewinding VHS tapes. Proponents of the rewinders argued that the use of the rewind function on the standard VHS player would lead to kinks in the tape that would affect playback quality. Many lower end VCR's would leave the tape wound around the video head whilst rewinding or fast forwarding, so the rewinders were of some benefit on these machines, to save additional tape and head wear. The rewinder would rewind the tapes smoothly and also normally do so at a faster rate than the standard rewind function on VHS players. However some rewinder brands did have some frequent abrupt stops, which occasionally led to tape damage.

Some devices were marketed, which allowed a personal computer to use a VHS recorder as a data backup device. The most notable of these was ArVid, widely used in Russia and CIS states. In the United States similar systems were manufactured by Corvus and Alpha Microsystems. Also available was ''Backer'' from Danmere Ltd. of England.

Hewlett-Packard also developed a backup system that used VHS tapes known internally as ''Hero'', storing up to 5 GB per tape. It was canceled in 1987 as it was quickly overtaken by DAT tapes which became available at similar storage capacity and smaller physical size.

Signal standards

VHS can record and play back all varieties of analog television signals in existence at the time VHS was devised. However, a machine must be designed to record a given standard. Typically, a VHS machine can only handle signals of the country it was sold in. The following signal varieties exist in conventional VHS:

SECAM/625/25 (SECAM, French variety)

MESECAM/625/25 (most other SECAM countries, notably the former Soviet Union and Middle East)

NTSC/525/30 (Most parts of Americas, Japan, South Korea)

PAL/525/30 (i.e., PAL-M, Brazil)

PAL/625/25 (most of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, many parts of Asia such as China and India, some parts of South America such as Argentina, Uruguay and the Falklands, and Africa)

Note that PAL/625/25 VCRs allow playback of SECAM (and MESECAM) tapes with a monochrome (black and white) picture (and vice-versa) as the line standard is the same. Since the 1990s, dual- and multi-standard VHS machines have become more and more common. These can handle VHS tapes of more than one standard. For example, regular VHS machines sold in Australia and Europe nowadays can typically handle PAL, MESECAM for record and playback, plus NTSC for playback only (provided the TV is able to display NTSC's 525/30 line standard - most can). Dedicated multistandard machines can usually handle all standards listed, some high end models can even convert the content of a tape from one standard to another on-the-fly during playback by using a built-in standards converter.

S-VHS only exists in PAL/625/25 and NTSC/525/30. S-VHS machines sold in SECAM markets record internally in PAL, and convert to/from SECAM during record/playback, respectively. Likewise, S-VHS machines for the Brazilian market record in NTSC and convert to/from PAL-M.

A small number of VHS decks are able to decode closed captions on prerecorded video cassettes. A smaller number still are able, additionally, to record subtitles transmitted with world standard teletext signals (on pre-digital services), simultaneously with the associated program.

Tape lengths

Both NTSC and PAL/SECAM VHS cassettes are physically identical (although the signals recorded on the tape are incompatible). However, as tape speeds differ between NTSC and PAL/SECAM, the playing time for any given cassette will vary accordingly between the systems.

In order to avoid confusion, manufacturers indicate the playing time in minutes that can be expected for the market the tape is sold in. It is perfectly possible to record and play back a blank T-XXX tape in a PAL machine or a blank E-XXX tape in an NTSC machine, but the resulting playing time will be different from that indicated. SP is Standard Play and LP is Long Play at 1/2 speed for both NTSC and PAL regions. EP/SLP designates Extended Play/Super Long Play at 1/3 speed for NTSC regions, but was not widely released in PAL markets.

E-XXX indicates playing time in minutes for PAL or SECAM in SP and LP speeds.

T-XXX indicates playing time in minutes for NTSC or PAL-M in SP, LP, and EP/SLP speeds.

60 min (1 h) 90 min (1:30 h) 120 min (2 h) 160 min (2:40 h) 180 min (3 h) 210 min (3:30 h) 240 min (4 h) 83 min (1:26 h) 129 min (2:09 h) 173 min (2:53 h) 216 min (3:36 h)

+Common Tape Lengths in minutes (hours)
rowspan="2"	Tape Label	Tape Length		Rec. Time (NTSC)			Rec. Time (PAL)
! m !! ft	! Standard Play (SP) !! Long Play (LP) !! Extended Play/Super Long Play (EP/SLP) !! Standard Play (SP)!! Long Play (LP)
! T-60	125.6	412	|	120 min (2 h)	180 min (3 h)	84 min (1:24 h)	168 min (2:48 h)
T-90	185.9	610	|	180 min (3 h)	270 min (4:30 h)	126 min (2:06 h)	252 min (4:12 h)
T-120	247.5	812	|	240 min (4 h)	360 min (6 h)	169 min (2:49 h)	338 min (5:38 h)
T-160	327.7	1075	|	320 min (5:20 h)	480 min (8 h)	225 min (3:45 h)	450 min (7:30 h)
T-180	368.8	1210	|	360 min (6 h)	540 min (9 h)	253 min (4:13 h)	507 min (8:27 h)
T-210 (rare)	433.1	1421	|	420 min (7 h)	630 min (10:30 h)	294 min (4:56 h)	592 min (9:52 h)
DF480 (T-240 equiv)	495	1624	|	480 min (8 h)	720 min (12 h)	340 min (5:40 h)	680 min (11:20 h)
E-120	173.7	570	|	172 min (2:52 h)	258 min (4:18 h)	120 min (2 h)	240 min (4 h)
E-180	259.4	851	|	258 min (4:18 h)	387 min (6:27 h)	180 min (3 h)	360 min (6 h)
E-240	348.1	1142	|	346 min (5:46 h)	519 min (8:39 h)	240 min (4 h)	480 min (8 h)
E-300	435.1	1427	|	432 min (7:12 h)	649 min (10:49 h)	300 min (5 h)	600 min (10 h)

Uses in marketing

Although VHS was a popular delivery format for long-play content, VHS was also used to deliver short-play content, such as music videos, in-store videos and tutorials.

VHS single

''VHS single'', also known as ''videotape single'' or ''Video 45s'' (a play on the term "45" when used to describe vinyl records) is a music single, using a standard-sized VHS cartridge. The format has existed since the early 1980s. In 1983, British synthpop band The Human League released the UK's first commercial video single on both VHS and Betamax as "The Human League Video Single". It was not a huge commercial success due to the high retail price of £10.99, compared to £1.99 for a vinyl single.

The VHS single format gained higher levels of mainstream popularity when Madonna released "Justify My Love" as a video single in 1990 following the blacklisting of the video by MTV. U2 also released "Numb", the lead single from their 1993 album ''Zooropa'' as a video single.

Despite the success of these releases, the video single struggled as its releases were relatively periodical, the technology slowly being superseded first by CD Video (which proved unsuccessful due to the cost of capable LaserDisc players to play the video portion), music CDs with computer-accessible video files, then, by the early 2000s, by both DVD singles and CD+DVD releases.

Other uses

VHS was also commonly included in various products and services - including exercise equipment, kitchen appliances, and even computer software. Corporations used the VHS format to deliver addresses made by company executives to regional offices. Manufacturers would send out VHS tapes to their service centers, to demonstrate how to repair a new product. And retail stores would play VHS tapes demonstrating a product on a television set, requiring a VCR that supported ''encore function replay'' or ''auto rewind play''.

VHS vs. Betamax

VHS was the winner of a protracted and somewhat bitter format war during the late 1970s and early 1980s against Sony's Betamax format, as well as other formats of the time.

Betamax was widely perceived at the time as the better format, as the cassette was smaller in size, and Betamax offered slightly better video quality than VHS—it had lower video noise, less luma-chroma crosstalk, and was marketed as providing pictures superior to those of VHS. However, the sticking point for both consumers and potential licensing partners of Betamax was the total recording time. To overcome the recording limitation, B-II speed (two-hour mode, NTSC regions only) was released in order to compete with VHS's two-hour SP mode, thereby reducing Betamax's vertical resolution to 240 lines (vs 250 lines.) In turn, the extension of VHS to VHS HQ produced 250 lines (vs 240 lines,) so that overall a typical Betamax/VHS user could expect virtually identical resolution. (Very high-end Betamax machines still supported recording in the B-I mode and some in an even higher resolution B-Is (B-I Super HiBand) mode, but at a maximum single-cassette run time of 1:40 [with an L-830 cassette].)

Because Betamax was released more than a year before VHS, it held an early lead in the format war. However, by 1981, United States' Betamax sales had dipped down to only 25-percent of all sales. A debate continues between pundits over the cause of Betamax's loss. Some say - including Sony's founder Akio Morita - that it was due to Sony's licensing strategy with other manufacturers, which consistently kept the overall cost for a unit higher than a VHS unit, and that JVC allowed other manufacturers to produce VHS units license-free and keep cost lower. Others say that VHS had better marketing, since the much larger electronics companies at the time (Matsushita, for example) were on-board with VHS.

Decline

The VHS VCR was a mainstay in the TV-equipped living room for more than a decade, but is being replaced by newer technologies. For time shifting (off the air or cable/satellite taping), hard-drive based DVRs have replaced the VCR as the time shifting device of choice, especially in households with subscriber-based TV services. The home camcorder market, one which VHS shared with alternative formats, has already transitioned to digital-video recording. But the largest impact on the VHS format was in March 1997 the introduction of the DVD format to American consumers. For home-video (that is, pre-recorded commercially-released movies, etc.) rental and sales, DVD has almost completely taken the place of VHS.

At most electronics retailers, choice among VHS equipment is increasingly shrinking. New sales are focused on DVD-recorders and subscriber-based DVRs (such as TiVo). Most electronics chains have stopped stocking VHS home-video releases, focusing only on DVD and Blu-ray Disc technology. Major Hollywood studios no longer issue releases on VHS. The final major Hollywood motion picture released on VHS was David Cronenberg's ''A History of Violence''.

On December 31, 2008, the final truckload in the USA of recorded programming on VHS tapes rolled out of a warehouse owned by Ryan Kugler, the last major supplier of VHS-recorded videos. Kugler is President and co-owner of Distribution Video Audio, a seller of distressed goods such as VHS tapes. According to Kugler, "It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt. I was the last one buying VHS and the last one selling it, and I'm done. Anything left in warehouse we'll just give away or throw away."

However in 2009, the Hayao Miyazaki film ''Ponyo'' received a VHS release in Japan alongside DVD and Blu-ray. Home-video VHS tapes can still be found in many second-hand shops, and are sometimes very cheap due to the lack of demand.

In 2010, ''The House of the Devil'' received promotional distribution on VHS and is available exclusively on Amazon.com with a DVD copy of the film.

Although VHS has quickly faded from mainstream home-video, a VCR is still owned in many US households. ''The Washington Post'' noted that as of 2005, 94.5 million Americans still owned VHS format VCRs.

The last standalone JVC VHS-only unit was produced on October 28, 2008. JVC, like many other manufacturers, still makes combination DVD+VHS units.

Several retail chains in the United States and in Europe planned to stop selling VHS equipment in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Despite these plans, VHS recorders and blank tapes are still being sold in major stores worldwide. As an acknowledgement of VHS popularity, in 2009 Panasonic has announced the world’s first dual deck VHS-Blu-ray player.

Successors

VCD

The Video CD (VCD) was created in 1993, becoming an alternative medium for video, in a CD-sized disc. Though occasionally showing compression artifacts and color banding that are common discrepancies in digital media, the durability and longevity of a VCD depends on the production quality of the disc, and its handling. The data stored digitally on a VCD theoretically does not degrade (in the analog sense like tape.) In the disc player, there is no physical contact made with either the data or label sides. And, when handled properly, a VCD will last a long time. However, in practice, the surfaces of the disc do get touched by the operator's hand, causing body oil and dirt to collect on the disc, and eventually transfer to the laser and motor inside of the player, if not cleaned before use. Also, when used in an industrial or commercial environment when a disc is handled hundreds or thousands of times during its life, wear on the plastic can occur if the disc is not handled properly.

Since a VCD can only hold 70 minutes of video, a movie exceeding that mark has to be divided into two or more discs. This format is currently popular in developing countries.

DVD

The DVD-Video format was introduced first, in 1996, in Japan, to the United States in March 1997 (''Test Marketed'') and mid-late 1998 in Europe and Australia.

Despite DVD's better quality (480 typical versus 250 lines horizontal resolution), VHS is still widely used in home recording of video content due to the large installed base and the lower cost of VHS recorders and tape. The commercial success of DVD recording and re-writing has been hindered by a number of factors including: A reputation for being temperamental and unreliable, as well as the risk of scratches and hairline cracks. Incompatibilities in playing discs recorded on a different manufacturer's machines to that of the original recording machine. Shorter recording time: Up to six hours on a single-layer disc (with high compression) versus approximately 12 hours on a T-240/DF480 tape in EP. Compression artifacts: MPEG-2 video compression can result in visible artifacts such as macroblocking, mosquito noise and ringing which become accentuated in extended recording modes (more than three hours on a DVD-5 disc). Standard VHS will not suffer from any of these problems, all of which are characteristic of certain digital video compression systems (see DCT) but VHS will result in reduced luminance resolution, which makes the picture look horizontally blurred (resolution decreases further with LP and EP recording modes).

Blu-ray Disc

A newer optical disc format is Blu-ray Disc, which is the designed successor to DVD. (A competing format to Blu-ray was HD DVD, which was withdrawn from the market, conceding to Blu-ray.) A single Blu-ray Disc can hold up to 128GB (over 25 times the capacity of a single-layered DVD) of information including up to 1080p High-definition video, high definition photos, music, and more.

High-capacity digital recording technologies

High-capacity digital recording systems are also gaining in popularity with home users. These types of systems come in several form factors:

Hard disk-based set-top boxes

Hard disk/optical disc combination set-top boxes

Personal computer-based media center

Portable media players with TV-out capability

Hard disk-based systems include TiVo as well as other digital video recorder (DVR) offerings. These types of systems provide users with a no-maintenance solution for capturing video content. Customers of subscriber-based TV generally receive electronic program guides, enabling one-touch setup of a recording schedule. Hard disk-based systems allow for many hours of recording without user-maintenance. For example, a 120 GB system recording at an extended recording rate (XP) of 10 Mbit/s MPEG-2 can record over 25 hours of video content. However, the DVR technology does not allow for portability or long-lasting storage.

References

External links

BBC News article: Death of video recorder in sight

HowStuffWorks: How VCRs work

The 'Total Rewind' VCR museum covering the history of VHS and other vintage formats

Category:Video storage Category:VHS Category:Panasonic Corporation Category:1976 introductions Category:Composite video formats

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name	Vincent Price
birth date	May 27, 1911
birth place	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
death date	October 25, 1993
death place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation	Actor
years active	1935–93
spouse	Edith Barrett (1938–48)Mary Grant Price (1949–73)Coral Browne (1974–91; her death) }}

Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.

Early life and career

Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Marguerite Cobb (née Wilcox) and Vincent Leonard Price, Sr., who was the president of the National Candy Company. His grandfather, Vincent Clarence Price, invented "Dr. Price's Baking Powder," the first cream of tartar baking powder, and secured the family's fortune.

Price attended St. Louis Country Day School. He was further educated at Yale in art history and fine art. He was a member of the Courtauld Institute, London. He became interested in the theatre during the 1930s, appearing professionally on stage for the first time in 1935.

Career

He made his film debut in 1938 with ''Service de Luxe'' and established himself in the film ''Laura'' (1944), opposite Gene Tierney, directed by Otto Preminger. He also played Joseph Smith, Jr. in the movie ''Brigham Young'' (1940) and William Gibbs McAdoo in ''Wilson'' (1944) as well as a pretentious priest in ''The Keys of the Kingdom'' (1944). Price's first venture into the horror genre was in the 1939 Boris Karloff film ''Tower of London''. The following year he portrayed the title character in the film ''The Invisible Man Returns'' (a role he reprised in a vocal cameo at the end of the 1948 horror-comedy spoof ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'').

In 1946 Price reunited with Tierney in two notable films, ''Dragonwyck'' and ''Leave Her to Heaven''. There were also many villainous roles in film noir thrillers like ''The Web'' (1947), ''The Long Night'' (1947), ''Rogues' Regiment'' (1948) and ''The Bribe'' (1949) with Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner and Charles Laughton. His first starring role was as conman James Addison Reavis in the 1950 biopic ''The Baron of Arizona''. He also did a comedic turn as the tycoon Burnbridge Waters, co-starring with Ronald Colman in ''Champagne for Caesar''. He was active in radio, portraying the Robin Hood-inspired crime-fighter Simon Templar in ''The Saint'' that ran from 1943 to 1951.

In the 1950s, he moved into horror films, with a role in ''House of Wax'' (1953), the first 3-D film to land in the year's top ten at the North American box office, then ''The Mad Magician'' (1954), and then the monster movie ''The Fly'' (1958) and its sequel ''Return of the Fly'' (1959) . Price also starred in the original ''House on Haunted Hill'' (1959) as the eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. Price played Dr. Warren Chapin, in ''The Tingler'', a 1959 horror-thriller film by the American producer and director William Castle. In between these horror films, Price played Baka (the master builder) in ''The Ten Commandments''. In the 1955–1956 television season he appeared three times as Rabbi Gershom Seixos in the ABC anthology series, ''Crossroads'', a study of clergymen from different denominations. About this time, he also appeared on NBC's ''The Martha Raye Show''.

1960s

In the 1960s, Price had a number of low-budget successes with Roger Corman and American International Pictures (AIP) including the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations ''House of Usher'' (1960), ''The Pit and the Pendulum'' (1961), ''Tales of Terror'' (1962), ''The Comedy of Terrors'' (1963) ''The Raven'' (1963), ''The Masque of the Red Death'' (1964), and ''The Tomb of Ligeia'' (1965). He starred in ''The Last Man on Earth'' (1964), the first adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel ''I Am Legend''. In 1968 Price portrayed witchhunter Matthew Hopkins in ''Witchfinder General'' (released in the US as ''The Conqueror Worm''). He starred in comedy films, notably ''Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine'' (1965) and its sequel ''Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs'' (1966). In 1968 he played the part of an eccentric artist in the musical ''Darling of the Day'' opposite Patricia Routledge.

Price often spoke of his pleasure at playing Egghead in the ''Batman'' television series. One of his co-stars, Yvonne Craig (Batgirl), said Price was her favorite villain in the series. In an often-repeated anecdote from the set of ''Batman'', Price, after a take was printed, started throwing eggs at series stars Adam West and Burt Ward, and when asked to stop, replied, "With a full artillery? Not a chance!", causing an eggfight to erupt on the soundstage. This incident is reenacted in the behind-the-scenes telefilm ''Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt''. In the 1960s, he began his role as a guest on the game show ''Hollywood Squares'', even becoming a semi-regular in the 1970s, including being one of the guest panelists on the finale in 1980. He was known for usually making fun of Rose Marie's age, and using his famous voice to answer questions in a playfully menacing tone.

Later career

During the early 1970s, Price hosted and starred in BBC Radio's horror and mystery series ''The Price of Fear''. Price accepted a cameo part in the Canadian children's television program ''The Hilarious House of Frightenstein'' (1971) in Hamilton, Ontario, on the local television station CHCH. In addition to the opening and closing monologues, his role in the show was to recite poems about the show's various characters, sometimes wearing a cloak or other costumes. He appeared in ''The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' (1971), its sequel ''Dr. Phibes Rises Again'' (1972) and ''Theatre of Blood'' (1973), in which he portrayed a pair of campy serial killers. That same year Price appeared as himself in ''Mooch Goes to Hollywood'', a film written by Jim Backus. Price recorded dramatic readings of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories and poems, which were collected together with readings by Basil Rathbone.

Price greatly reduced his film work from around 1975, as horror itself suffered a slump, and increased his narrative and voice work, as well as advertising Milton Bradley's Shrunken Head Apple Sculpture. Price's voiceover is heard on Alice Cooper's first solo album, ''Welcome to My Nightmare'' from 1975, and he also appeared in the corresponding TV special ''Alice Cooper: The Nightmare''. He starred for a year in the early 1970s in a syndicated daily radio program, ''Tales of the Unexplained''. He made guest appearances in a 1970 episode of ''Here's Lucy'' showcasing his art expertise and in a 1972 episode of ABC's ''The Brady Bunch'', in which he played a deranged archaeologist. In October 1976, Price appeared as the featured guest in an episode of ''The Muppet Show''.

In the summer of 1977, Price began performing as Oscar Wilde in the one-man stage play ''Diversions and Delights''. Written by John Gay and directed by Joe Hardy, the play is set in a Parisian theatre on a night about one year before Wilde's death. In an attempt to earn some much-needed money, the Wilde character speaks to the audience about his life, his works and, in the second act, about his love for Lord Alfred Douglas, which led to his downfall. The original tour of the play was a success in every city that it played, except for New York City. In the summer of 1979, Price performed it at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado on the same stage from which Wilde had spoken to miners about art some 96 years before. Price would eventually perform the play worldwide. In her biography of her father, Victoria Price stated that several members of Price's family and friends thought that this was the best acting that he ever performed. In the spring of 1979, Price starred with his wife Coral Browne in the short-lived CBS TV series ''Time Express''.

In 1982, Price provided the narrator's voice in ''Vincent'', Tim Burton's six-minute film about a young boy who flashes from reality into a fantasy where he is Vincent Price. That same year, he performed a sinister "rap" on the title track of Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' album. A longer version of the rap, ''sans'' the music, along with some conversation can be heard on Jackson's 2001 remastered reissue of the ''Thriller'' album. Part of the extended version can be heard on the ''Thriller 25'' album, released in 2008. Price appeared as Sir Despard Murgatroyd in a 1982 television production of Gilbert & Sullivan's ''Ruddigore'' (with Keith Michell as Robin Oakapple). In 1983, Price played the Sinister Man in the British spoof horror film ''Bloodbath at the House of Death'' starring Kenny Everett, and he also appeared in the film ''House of the Long Shadows'', which teamed him with Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine. While Price had worked with each one of them at least once in the prior decade, this was the first teaming of all of them together. One of his last major roles, and one of his favorites, was as the voice of Professor Ratigan in Walt Disney Pictures' ''The Great Mouse Detective'' in 1986.

From 1981 to 1989, he hosted the PBS television series ''Mystery!'' In 1985, he provided voice talent on the Hanna-Barbera series ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo'' as the mysterious Vincent Van Ghoul, who aided Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo and the gang in recapturing thirteen evil demons. During this time (1985–1989), he appeared in horror-themed commercials for Tilex bathroom cleanser. In 1984, Price appeared in Shelley Duvall's live-action series ''Faerie Tale Theatre'' as the Mirror in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", and the narrator for "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers." In 1987, he starred with Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, and Ann Sothern in ''The Whales of August'', a story of two sisters living in Maine, facing the end of their days. In 1989, Price was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. His last significant film work was as the inventor in Tim Burton's ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990).

A witty raconteur, Price was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', where he once demonstrated how to poach a fish in a dishwasher. Price was a noted gourmet cook and art collector. He also authored several cookbooks and hosted a cookery TV show, ''Cooking Pricewise''.

From 1962 to 1971, Sears, Roebuck offered the "Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art", selling about 50,000 pieces of fine art to the general public. Price selected and commissioned works for the collection, including works by Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Nate Dunn.

Personal life

Price was married three times and fathered a son, named Vincent Barrett Price, with his first wife, former actress Edith Barrett. Price and his second wife Mary Grant Price donated hundreds of works of art and a large amount of money to East Los Angeles College in the early 1960s in order to endow the Vincent and Mary Price Gallery there. Their daughter, Mary Victoria Price, was born in 1962. Price's last marriage was to the Australian actress Coral Browne, who appeared with him (as one of his victims) in ''Theatre of Blood'' (1973). He converted to Catholicism to marry her, and she became a U.S. citizen for him.

One example of his outspoken political action came when he concluded an episode of ''The Saint'' titled "Author of Murder", which aired on NBC Radio on July 30, 1950. While concluding the episode, Price denounced racial and religious prejudice as a form of poison and stated that Americans must actively fight against it because racial and religious prejudice within the United States fuels support for the nation's enemies.

Death

Price was a lifelong smoker. He suffered from emphysema and Parkinson's disease, which had caused his role in ''Edward Scissorhands'' to be much shorter than expected.

His illness also contributed to his retirement from ''Mystery!'', as his condition was becoming noticeable on-screen. He died of lung cancer on October 25, 1993 at the age of 82. He was cremated and his ashes scattered off Point Dume in Malibu, California.

Legacy

In 1951, impressed by the spirit of the students and the community's need for the opportunity to experience original art works first hand, Price donated some 90 pieces from his own collection to East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California, thus establishing the first "teaching art collection" owned by a community college in the U.S. Today, the Vincent Price Art Museum continues to present world-class exhibitions, and remains one of the actor's most enduring legacies. The collection contains over 9,000 pieces and has been valued in excess of five million dollars.

The A&E; Network aired an episode of ''Biography'' highlighting Price's horror career the night following his death, but because of its failure to clear copyrights, the show was never aired again. Four years later, A&E; produced its updated episode, a show titled ''Vincent Price: The Versatile Villain'', which aired on October 12, 1997. The script was by Lucy Chase Williams, author of ''The Complete Films of Vincent Price'' (Citadel Press, 1995). In early 1991, Tim Burton was developing a personal documentary with the working title ''Conversations with Vincent'', in which interviews with Price were shot at the Vincent Price Gallery, but the project was never completed and was eventually shelved.

Price was an Honorary Board Member and strong supporter of the Witch's Dungeon Classic Movie Museum located in Bristol, Connecticut until his death. The museum features detailed life-size wax replicas of characters from some of Price's films, including ''The Fly'', ''The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' and ''The Masque of the Red Death''. A black box theater at Price's alma mater, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, is named after him.

Director Tim Burton directed a short stop-motion film as a tribute to Vincent Price called ''Vincent'', about a young boy named Vincent Malloy who was obsessed with the grim and macabre. It is narrated by Price. "Vincent Twice, Vincent Twice" was a parody on ''Sesame Street''. He was parodied in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' ("Sunday, Cruddy Sunday"). Price even had his own ''Spitting Image'' puppet, who was always trying to be "sinister" and lure people into his ghoulish traps, only for his victims to point out all the obvious flaws. The October 2005 episode of the Channel 101 series ''Yacht Rock'' featured comedian James Adomian as Vincent Price during the recording of Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Starting in November 2005, featured cast member Bill Hader of the NBC sketch comedy/variety show ''Saturday Night Live'' has played Price in a recurring sketch where Vincent Price hosts botched holiday specials filled with celebrities of the 1950s and '60s. Other cast members who have played Price on ''SNL'' include Dan Aykroyd and Michael McKean (who played Price when he hosted a season 10 episode and again when he was hired as a cast member for the 1994–95 season).

In 1999, a frank and detailed biography written by his daughter, Victoria Price, about her father was published by St. Martin's Press. In late May 2011, an event was held by the organization Cinema St. Louis to celebrate what would have been Price's 100th Birthday. It included a public event with Victoria at the Missouri History Museum and a showcase of ephemeral and historic items at the gallery inside the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Filmography

References

Further reading

Price, Vincent, ''I Like What I Know – A Visual Autobiography'', Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, copyright 1959.

External links

Vincent Price Gallery

St. Louis Walk of Fame

Profile @ Turner Classic Movies

Vincent Price Papers catalog

''The Saint'' radio program

Category:Actors from Missouri Category:Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Category:American film actors Category:American Roman Catholics Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism Category:Deaths from emphysema Category:Deaths from lung cancer Category:People from St. Louis, Missouri Category:People with Parkinson's disease Category:Yale University alumni Category:Gilbert and Sullivan performers Category:1911 births Category:1993 deaths Category:The Yale Record alumni

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Name	Bill Haley & His Comets
Background	group_or_band
Alias	Bill Haley and the Saddlemen, The Kingsmen, The Lifeguards, B.H. Sees Combo
Origin	Chester, Pennsylvania
Genre	Rock and roll, country, rockabilly
Years active	1949–1952 as Saddlemen; 1952–1981 as Bill Haley & His Comets; 1981–present as The Comets, Bill Haley's Comets, etc.
Label	Atlantic, Keystone, Cowboy, Holiday, Essex, Decca, Warner Bros. Records, Orfeón, Dimsa, Newtown, Guest Star, Logo, APT, Gone, United Artists, Roulette, Sonet, Buddah, Antic
Associated acts	The Jodimars
Current members	Marshall LytleJoey AmbroseDick RichardsDavid ByrdJackson Haney; alsoAl RappaLenny Longo (separate groups called Bill Haley's Comets)
Past members	Bill HaleyJohnny GrandeBilly WilliamsonRudy PompilliAl RexFranny BeecherRalph JonesNick NastosJohn "Bam-Bam" Lane and more than 100 others. }}

Bill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets (and variations thereof), was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of white America and the rest of the world. From the end of 1954 until the end of 1956 the group would place nine singles into the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.

Bandleader Bill Haley had previously been a country performer; after recording a country and western-styled version of "Rocket 88", a rhythm and blues song, he changed musical direction to a new sound which came to be called rock and roll.

Although several members of the Comets became famous, Bill Haley remained the star. With his spit curl and the band's matching plaid dinner jackets and energetic stage behaviour, many fans consider them to be as revolutionary in their time as The Beatles or the Rolling Stones were in theirs.

Following Haley's death, no fewer than six different groups have existed under the Comets name, all claiming (with varying degrees of authority) to be the official continuation of the group led by Haley. As of early 2008, three such groups are still actively performing in the United States and internationally.

Early history and Rocket 88

The band initially formed as Bill Haley and the Saddlemen c. 1949–1952, and performed mostly country and western songs, though occasionally with a bluesy feel. Many Saddlemen recordings would not be released until the 1970s and 1980s, and highlights included romantic ballads such as "Rose of My Heart" and western swing tunes such as "Yodel Your Blues Away". The original members of this group were Haley, pianist and accordion player Johnny Grande and steel guitarist Billy Williamson. Al Thompson was the group's first bass player, followed by Al Rex and Marshall Lytle. During the group's early years, it recorded under several other names, including Johnny Clifton and His String Band and Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos (although Browne, a female matinee idol of the time, did not actually appear on the record).

Haley began his rock and roll career with a cover of "Rocket 88" recorded for the Philadelphia-based Holiday Records label in 1951 which sold well and was followed up a cover of a 1940s rhythm and blues song called "Rock the Joint" in 1952 (this time for Holiday's sister company, Essex Records). Both songs were released under the increasingly incongruous Saddlemen name. It soon became apparent that a new name was needed to fit the music the band was now playing. A friend of Haley's, making note of the common alternative pronunciation of the name Halley's Comet to rhyme with ''Bailey'', suggested that Haley call his band The Comets. (This event is cited in the Haley biographies ''Sound and Glory'' by John Haley and John von Hoelle, and ''Bill Haley'' by John Swenson and in ''Still Rockin' Around The Clock'', a memoir by Comets bass player, Marshall Lytle.)

The new name was adopted in the fall of 1952. At that time, the members were Haley, Grande, Williamson, and Lytle. Grande usually played piano on record, but switched to accordion for live shows as it was more portable than a piano and easier to deal with during musical numbers that involved a lot of dancing around. Soon after renaming the band, Haley hired his first drummer, Charlie Higler, though Higler was soon replaced by Dick Boccelli (a.k.a Dick Richards). During this time (and indeed, as late as the fall of 1955), Haley did not have a permanent lead guitar player, choosing to use session musicians on record and either playing lead guitar himself or having Williamson play steel solos, instead.

Slap-back bass, one identifying characteristic of rockabilly, was used on the Comets' recordings of "Rocket 88", "Rock the Joint", "Rock Around the Clock", and "Shake, Rattle, and Roll". Prior to becoming the Comets, slapback was also used by bassist Al Rex, although to a lesser extent, on "Yodel Your Blues Away".".

National success and Rock Around the Clock

In 1953, Haley scored his first national success with an original song called "Crazy Man, Crazy", a phrase Haley said he heard from his teenage audience. Haley later claimed it sold a million copies, but this is considered an exaggeration. "Crazy Man, Crazy" was the first rock and roll song to be televised nationally when it was used on the soundtrack for a 1953 television play starring James Dean. Haley and His Comets then recorded "Rock Around the Clock", Haley's biggest hit, and one of the most important records in rock and roll history. Sales of "Rock Around the Clock" started slow but eventually sold an estimated 25 million copies (per the Guinness Book of World Records) and marked the arrival of a cultural shift.

Much more impressive was "Shake, Rattle and Roll", a somewhat bowdlerized cover version of the Big Joe Turner recording of earlier in 1954. The record was one of Decca's best selling records in that year. The song was the seventh best selling record in November of '54.

In early March 1955, Haley and the Comets had a total of four songs in Cash Box magazines top 50 songs: "Dim, Dim the Lights, (I Want Some Atmosphere)", "Birth of the Boogie", "Mambo Rock", and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".

Although Haley's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" never achieved the same level of historical importance as "Rock Around the Clock", it actually predated it as the first major international rock and roll hit, although it did not attain the Number 1 position in the American charts, but became his first Gold Record. When Elvis Presley recorded the song in 1956, he combined Haley's arrangement with Turner's original lyrics but failed to score a substantial hit. Late in 1954, Haley also recorded another hit, "Dim, Dim The Lights", which was one of the first R&B; songs recorded by a white group to cross over to the R&B; charts. Johnnie Ray had reached #1 with "Cry" in 1952.

The (belated) success of "Rock Around the Clock" is attributed to its use in the soundtrack of the film ''Blackboard Jungle'', which was released in March 1955. The song, which was re-released to coincide with the film, rose to the top of the American musical charts that summer and stayed there for eight weeks, the first rock and roll record to do so.

Ambrose's acrobatic saxophone playing, along with Lytle on the double bass -literally on it, riding it like a pony, and holding it over his head- were highlights of the band's live performances during this time. Their music and their act were part of a tradition in jazz and rhythm and blues, but it all came like a thunderclap to most of their audience. In late 1954, Haley and His Comets appeared in a short subject entitled ''Round Up of Rhythm'', performing three songs. This was the earliest known theatrical rock and roll film release.

At the end of February 1955 Haley and the Comets had four tunes in the Cash Box Best Selling Singles list: "Shake, Rattle and Roll, "Dim, Dim the Lights", (I Want Some Atmosphere), "Birth of the Boogie", and "Mambo Rock".

In 1955, Lytle, Richards and Ambrose quit the Comets in a salary dispute and formed their own group, The Jodimars. Haley hired several new musicians to take their place: Rudy Pompilli on sax, Al Rex (a former member of the Saddlemen) on double bass, and Ralph Jones on drums; in addition, lead guitarist Franny Beecher, who had been a session musician for Haley since Cedrone's death in the fall of 1954, became a full-time Comet and Haley's first performing lead guitarist. This version of the band became even more popular than the earlier manifestation, and appeared in several motion pictures over the next few years.

Other hits recorded by the band included "See You Later, Alligator" in which Haley's frantic delivery contrasted with the Louisiana languor of the original by Bobby Charles, "Don't Knock the Rock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", "Rudy's Rock" (the first instrumental hit of the rock and roll era) and "Skinny Minnie".

In 1956, Bill Haley and His Comets appeared in two of the earliest full-length rock and roll movies: ''Rock Around the Clock'', and ''Don't Knock the Rock''.

Decline in popularity

The band's popularity in the United States began to wane in 1956–57 as sexier, wilder acts such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard began to dominate the record charts (although Haley's cover version of Little Richard's "Rip It Up" - which ''was'' released in direct competition - actually outsold the original). After "Skinny Minnie" hit the charts in 1958, Haley found it difficult to score further successes Stateside, although a spin-off group made up of Comets musicians dubbed The Kingsmen (no relation to the later group of "Louie, Louie" fame) did score a hit with the instrumental, "Weekend" that same year.

Overseas, however, Haley and his band continued to be extremely popular, touring the United Kingdom in February 1957, during which Haley and his crew were mobbed by thousands of fans at Waterloo Station in London at an incident dubbed the ''Second Battle of Waterloo'' by media. That same year, the Comets toured Australia and in 1958 enjoyed a successful (if riot-dominated) tour of the European mainland. Bill Haley & His Comets were the first major American rock and roll act to tour the world in this way. Elvis who was on duty in Germany visited them backstage at some shows. During an off day in Berlin they performed two songs in the Caterina Valente movie "Hier Bin ich Hier Bleib Ich" (Here I Am Here I Stay).

Back in the U.S., Haley attempted to start his own record label, Clymax, and establish his own stable of performers, most notably Philadelphia children's show hostess Sally Starr and the Matys Brothers. Members of The Comets were commissioned to work as session musicians on many of these recordings, many of which were written or co-written by Haley and/or members of The Comets. The Clymax experiment only lasted about a year. In 1959, Haley's relationship with Decca collapsed and after a final set of instrumental-only recordings in the fall, Haley announced he was leaving Decca for the new Warner Bros. Records label.

Mexico and the late 1960s

In 1961–1962, Bill Haley y sus Cometas (as the band was known in Latin 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 craze that was sweeping America at the time. Haley followed up with what was, for a time, the biggest selling single in Mexican history with "Florida Twist". 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 to "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 entitled ''Orfeon a Go-Go'' and made cameo appearances in several movies, lipsynching to some of their old hits. Haley, who was fluent in Spanish, recorded a number of songs in the language, but the vast majority of the band's output during these years were 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 that same 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 called "Jealous Heart" for which he was backed by a local mariachi band (and similar in style to the earlier "Jimmy Martinez", and late-60s-style rocker called "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.

Revival

By the late 1960s, Haley and the Comets were considered an oldies act. The band's popularity never waned in Europe, and the group signed a lucrative deal with Sonet Records of Sweden in 1968 that resulted in a new version of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting the European charts that year. The band would record a mixture of live and studio albums for the label over the next decade.

In the United States in 1969, promoter Richard Nader launched a series of rock and roll revival concert tours featuring "oldies" acts of the 50s and 60s. One of the first of these shows, held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, resulted in Haley receiving an eight-and-a-half minute standing ovation following his performance, as Nader related in his recorded introduction to Haley's live album ''Bill Haley's Scrapbook'', which was recorded a few weeks later at New York's Bitter End club.

The band appeared in several concert films in the early 1970s, including ''The London Rock and Roll Show'' and ''Let the Good Times Roll''. After 1974, tax and management problems prevented Haley from performing in the United States, so he performed in Europe almost exclusively, though he also toured South America in 1975. The band was also kept busy in the studio, recording numerous albums for Sonet and other labels in the 1970s, several with a country music flavor. In 1974, Haley's original Decca recording of "Rock Around the Clock" hit the American sales charts once again thanks to its use in ''American Graffiti'' and ''Happy Days''.

Late career

In February 1976, Haley's saxophone player and best friend, Rudy Pompilli, died of cancer after a nearly 20-year career with the Comets. Haley continued to tour for the next year with a succession of new sax players, but his popularity was waning again and his 1976 performance in London was critically lambasted by music media such as ''Melody Maker''. That year, the group also recorded an album, ''R-O-C-K'' at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio for Sonet Records. In early 1977, Haley announced his retirement from performing and settled down at his home in Mexico. According to the John Swenson biography of Haley, the musician was quoted as saying that he and Pompilli had an agreement that if one died, the other would retire.

The Comets continued to tour on their own during this period.

In 1979, Haley was persuaded to return to performing with the offer of a lucrative contract to tour Europe. An almost completely new group of musicians, mostly British - including Pete Thomas (saxophonist) - were assembled to perform as The Comets, and Haley appeared on many television shows as well as in the movie ''Blue Suede Shoes'', filmed at one of his London concerts in March 1979. A few days later, a performance in Birmingham was videotaped and aired on UK television; it was released on DVD in 2005. During the March tour, Haley recorded several tracks in London for his next album with Sonet, completing the work that summer at Muscle Shoals in Alabama; released later in the year, the resulting album ''Everyone Can Rock & Roll'' was the last release of new recordings by Bill Haley before his death.

In November 1979, Haley and the Comets performed for Queen Elizabeth II, a moment Haley considered the proudest of his career. It was also the last time he performed in Europe and the last time most fans saw him perform "Rock Around the Clock".

In 1980, Bill Haley and His Comets toured South Africa but Haley's health was failing and it was reported that he had a brain tumor. The tour was critically lambasted, but surviving recordings of a performance in Johannesburg show Haley in good spirits and good voice. Nonetheless, according to the Haley News fan club newsletter and the Haley biography ''Sound and Glory'', planned concerts such as a fall 1980 tour of Germany, and proposed recording sessions in New York and Memphis were cancelled—including a potential reunion with past members of the Comets—and Haley returned to his home in Harlingen, Texas where he died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack on February 9, 1981.

In April 1981, Bill Haley & His Comets returned to the British musical charts once again when MCA Records (inheritors of the Decca catalog) released "Haley's Golden Medley", a hastily compiled edit of the band's best known hits in the style of the then-popular "Stars on 45" format. The single reached No. 50 in the UK but was not released in the United States.

In 1987, Bill Haley was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. At that time, supporting bands were not also named to the hall. This policy has since changed and efforts have been under way for several years to have The Comets also named to the Hall. Bill Haley and His Comets have also been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and, in July 2005, the surviving members of the 1954–55 Comets (see below) represented Haley when Bill Haley and His Comets were inducted into Hollywood's Rockwalk, a ceremony also attended by Haley's second wife and youngest daughter. The Comets placed their handprints in cement; a space was left blank for Haley.

In 2005, Bill Haley And His Comets were inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. Two of the band's recordings have been voted Legendary Michigan Songs: "Rock Around The Clock" in 2007, and "Shake, Rattle And Roll" in 2009.

The Comets

More than 100 musicians performed with Bill Haley & His Comets between 1952 and Haley's death in 1981, many becoming fan favorites along the way. Several short-lived Comets reunions were attempted in the 1980s, including one contingent (organized by Baltimore-based piano player Joey Welz who was briefly a Comet in the mid-1960s) that appeared on ''The Tomorrow Show'', and another run by an Elvis Presley impersonator named Joey Rand (this group later lost a legal action over the right to use the Comets name).

The Comets, featuring musicians who performed with Haley in 1954–1955, reunited in 1987 and are still touring the world as of 2007, playing showrooms in the United States and Europe. They have also recorded a half-dozen albums for small labels in Europe and the United States. This version of the group has also been credited as Bill Haley's Original Comets, and in circumstances where the use of the Comets name is in dispute, A Tribute to Bill Haley and The Original Band. The basic line-up of this group from 1987 to May 2006 consisted of Marshall Lytle (bass), Joey Ambrose (sax), Johnny Grande (piano), Dick Richards (drums) and Franny Beecher (guitar). British singer Jacko Buddin augmented the group on vocals during most of their European tours, with Lytle taking over on vocals for US/Canadian tours beginning in 2000 and full-time in Europe in the mid-2000s. Since they connected with Klaus Kettner's Rock It Concerts (Germany) in 1991 they have played hundreds of shows all over Europe, dozens of television shows and in March 2007 pre-opened the Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany.

Two additional groups claim the name Bill Haley's Comets and have extensively toured in the United States since forming in the 1980s: one originally Haley's 1965–68 drummer John "Bam-Bam" Lane, the other run by Al Rappa who played bass for Haley off-and-on between late 1959 and early 1969 (some media promotion for Rappa erroneously states that he joined the group in 1956). Both these musicians claim trademark ownership of the Bill Haley's Comets name; this dates back to Lane and Rappa (during a period when they worked together as one band) winning a trademark infringement lawsuit against the aforementioned Joey Rand group in 1989. Both Rappa and Lane's bands have, from time to time, recruited other former Comets for their line-ups (for example, in 2005, Rappa joined forces with Joey Welz), but for the most part the bandleaders are the only regular members who have worked with Bill Haley directly. Lane died in 2007 but his group continues to perform, led by bandleader Lenny Longo, who has no direct Bill Haley connection. Al Rappa incorporated numerous professional musicians from the Southern Indiana area such as Warren Batts, Joe Esarey, Dave Matthews, John Urbina and many others to make a full band. Al Rappa performed his Upright Bass show before thousands in audiences all over the country. The band members from Al Rappas "Comets" went on to form the LocoMotion showband and continued touring the States without Al Rappa. LocoMotion is now no longer a band. Esarey went on to graduate from Cedarville University and Luther Rice Seminary and now pastors a growing church in Ohio. Esarey has released two Saxophone solo albumns and is currently writing and producing Christian music for a worship group.

In March and July 2005, the members of the 1954–55 group, now billed as simply The Comets after decades of controversy over the use of the name, made several high-profile concert appearances in New York City and Los Angeles organized by Martin Lewis as part of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of rock and roll, the release of ''Blackboard Jungle'', the 50th anniversary of "Rock Around the Clock" hitting Number 1, and the 80th birthday of Bill Haley. During a July 6, 2005 concert at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, The Comets were joined on stage for one song by Gina Haley, the youngest daughter of Bill Haley; at a similar appearance in March they were joined by Haley's eldest son, John W. Haley.

In 2006, The 1954–55 Comets spent much of the year in residence at Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater in Branson, Missouri. Meanwhile, the John Lane edition of Bill Haley's Comets recorded a new album in Tennessee in early 2006 which has yet to be released.

On June 2, 2006, Johnny Grande, keyboardist with the 1954–55 Comets and an original founding member of the band, died after a short illness. The following month, 85-year-old guitarist Franny Beecher announced his retirement, though he was at one point announced as participating in an early 2007 tour of Germany. The three remaining original Comets (Lytle, Richards, and Ambrose) continue to perform in Branson with new musicians taking over the keyboard and lead guitar positions. During September 2006, PBS in the United States aired a series of programs videotaped in Branson during the spring of 2006; these shows include the last recorded performances of the complete Original Comets line-up including Grande.

John "Bam-Bam" Lane died on February 18, 2007 but his edition of Bill Haley's Comets is expected to continue touring, with the 2006 recordings to be released in Lane's memory.

On October 27, 2007 ex Comets guitar player Bill Turner opened the afore mentioned Bill-Haley-Museum in Munich, Germany. He will also join the New Comets during their 'Remember Bill Haley Tour 2011' with Bill Haley's daughter Gina Haley.

Several bands patterning themselves after The Comets are also active in Europe, including Bill Haley's New Comets in Germany.

Discography

Bill Haley & His Comets recorded many singles and albums. The following list references only their original release and does not include compilation albums or single reissues. This list does not include releases on which the Comets worked as session musicians and only includes releases during Haley's lifetime.

Singles

As Bill Haley & the Saddlemen (and variations of the name)

1950

"Deal Me a Hand" / "Ten Gallon Stetson" (Keystone 5101)

"Susan Van Dusan" / "I'm Not to Blame" (Keystone 5102)

"Why Do I Cry Over You?" / "I'm Gonna Dry Ev'ry Tear With a Kiss" (Atlantic 727)

"My Sweet Little Girl from Nevada" / "My Palomino and I" (Cowboy 1701) - released as Reno Browne and Her Buckaroos

1951

"Rocket 88" / "Tearstains on My Heart" (Holiday 105)

"Green Tree Boogie" / "Down Deep in My Heart" (Holiday 108)

"I'm Crying" / "Pretty Baby" (Holiday 110) - with Loretta Glendenning

"A Year Ago This Christmas" / "I Don't Want to Be Alone for Christmas" (Holiday 111)

1952

"Jukebox Cannonball" / "Sundown Boogie" (Holiday 113)

"Rock the Joint" / "Icy Heart" (Essex 303)

"Dance with a Dolly" (With a Hole in Her Stockin')" / "Rocking Chair on the Moon" (Essex 305)

As Bill Haley & His Comets (and name variations thereof)

1953

"Stop Beatin' round the Mulberry Bush" / "Real Rock Drive" (Essex 310)

"Crazy Man, Crazy" / "Whatcha Gonna Do?" (Essex 321)

"Pat-a-Cake" / "Fractured" (Essex 327)

"Live it Up" / "Farewell-So Long-Goodbye" (Essex 332)

1954

"I'll Be True" / "Ten Little Indians" (Essex 340)

"Chattanooga Choo Choo" / "Straight Jacket" (Essex 348)

"Thirteen Women (And Only One Man in Town)" / "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" (Decca 29124) - "Rock Around the Clock" was initially released as the B-side

"Shake, Rattle and Roll" / "ABC Boogie" (Decca 29204)

"Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)" / "Happy Baby" (Decca 29317)

"Yes Indeed!" / "Real Rock Drive" (Transworld 718)

1955

"Mambo Rock" / "Birth Of The Boogie" (Decca 29418)

"Razzle-Dazzle" / "Two Hound Dogs" (Decca 29552)

"Burn That Candle" / "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" (Decca 29713)

1956

"See You Later Alligator" / "The Paper Boy (On Main Street U.S.A.)" (Decca 29791)

"The Saint's Rock 'n' Roll" / "R-O-C-K" (Decca 29870)

"Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" / "Rockin' Through the Rye" (Decca 29948)

"Rip it Up" / "Teenager's Mother (Are You Right?)" (Decca 30028)

"Rudy's Rock" / "Blue Comet Blues" (Decca 30085)

"Don't Knock the Rock" / "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" (Decca 30148)

1957

"Forty Cups of Coffee" / "Hook, Line and Sinker" (Decca 30214)

"(You Hit the Wrong Note) Billy Goat" / "Rockin' Rollin' Rover" (Decca 30314)

"The Dipsy Doodle" / "Miss You" (Decca 30394)

"Rock the Joint (a.k.a. New Rock the Joint [stereo])" / "How Many?" (Decca 30461)

"Mary, Mary Lou" / "It's a Sin" (Decca 30530)

1958

"Skinny Minnie" / "Sway with Me" (Decca 30592)

"Lean Jean" / "Don't Nobody Move" (Decca 30681)

"Chiquita Linda (Un Poquito de tu Amor)" / "Whoa Mabel!" (Decca 30741)

"Corrine, Corrina" / "B.B. Betty" (Decca 30781)

1959

"I Got a Woman" / "Charmaine" (Decca 30844)

"(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" / "Where'd You Go Last Night" (Decca 30873)

"Shaky" / "Caldonia" (Decca 30926)

"Joey's Song" / "Ooh! Look-a-There, Ain't She Pretty?" (Decca 30956)

1960

"Skokiaan (South African Song)" / "Puerto Rican Peddler" (Decca 31030)

"Music! Music! Music!" / "Strictly Instrumental" (Decca 31080)

"Candy Kisses" / "Tamiami" (Warner Bros. Records 5145)

"Hawk" / "Chick Safari" (Warner Bros. 5154)

"So Right Tonight" / "Let the Good Times Roll, Creole" (Warner Bros. 5171)

"Rock Around the Clock" / "Shake Rattle and Roll" (new versions) (Warner Bros. no. 7124)(Back to Back Hits)

1961

"Honky Tonk" / "Flip, Flop and Fly" (Warner Bros. 5228)

"Riviera" / "War Paint" (Gone 5116)

"Twist Español" / "My Kind of Woman (Spanish version)" (Orfeon 1010) [May 1961]

"Cerca del Mar" / "Tren Nocturno" (Orfeon 1036)

"Florida Twist" / "Negra Consentida" (Orfeon 1047)

"Spanish Twist (English version)" / "My Kind of Woman" (Gone 5111) [September 1961]

1962

"Caravan Twist" / "Actopan Twist" (Orfeon 1052)

"La Paloma" / "Silbando Y Caminando" (Orfeon 1062)

"Bikini Twist" / "Rudy's" (Orfeon 1067)

"Mas Twist" / "Tampico Twist" (Orfeon 1082)

"Twist Lento" / "Sonora Twist" (Orfeon 1100)

"Martha" / "Tacos de Twist" (Orfeon 1132)

"Jalisco Twist" / "Pueblo del Twist" (Orfeon 1169)

1963

"Tenor Man" / "Up Goes My Love" (Newtown 5013)

"White Parakeet" / "Midnight in Washington" (Newhits 5014)

"Dance Around the Clock" / "What Can I Say" (Newtown 5024)

"Tandy" / "You Call Everybody Darling" (Newtown 5025)

"Yakety Sax" (by Bill Haley & His Comets)" / "Boot's Blues" (by Boots Randolph (Logo 7005)

"ABC Boogie (new version)" (by Haley) / "Rock Around the Clock" (by Phil Flowers (Kasey 7006)

"Pure de Papas" / "Anoche" (Orfeon 1195)

"El Madison de la Estrella" / "Viajando Con el Madison" (Orfeon 1229)

"Avenida Madison" / "Reunion de Etiqueta" (Orfeon 1243)

"Limbo Rock" / "Ana Maria" (Orfeon 1269)

1964

"Green Door" / "Yeah, She's Evil!" (Decca 31650)

"Adios Mariquita Linda" / "El Quelite" (Orfeon 1324)

"Mish Mash" / "Madero y Gante" (Orfeon 1333)

Jimmy Martinez/Al Compás del Reloj (Orfeon 1429)

1965

Burn That Candle (new version) /Stop, Look and Listen (APT 25081)

Tongue-Tied Tony/Haley-a-Go-Go (APT 25087)

A Gusto Contigo/Mish Mash (Orfeon 1570)

1966

Land of a Thousand Dances/Estomago Caliente (Orfeon 1825)

Rock Around the Clock/Rip it Up (new versions) (Orfeon 1894)

1968

That's How I Got to Memphis/Ain't Love Funny, Ha Ha Ha (United Artists 50483)

1970

Rock Around the Clock/Framed (live versions) (Kama Sutra 508)

1971

Travelin' Band/A Little Piece at a Time (Janus J-162)

Me and Bobby McGee/I Wouldn't Have Missed it for the World (Sonet 2016)

1978

Yodel Your Blues Away/Within This Broken Heart of Mine (previously unissued pre-Comets recordings) (Arzee 4677)

1979

Hail Hail Rock and Roll/Let the Good Times Roll Again (Sonet 2188)

Everyone Can Rock and Roll/I Need the Music (Sonet 2194)

1980

God Bless Rock and Roll/So Right Tonight (Sonet 2202)

Albums

1956 - ''Rock 'n' Roll Stage Show'' (Decca 8345)

1957 - ''Rockin' the Oldies'' (Decca 8569)

1958 - ''Rockin' Around the World'' (Decca 8692)

1959 - ''Bill Haley's Chicks'' (Decca 8821)

1959 - ''Strictly Instrumental'' (Decca 8964)

1960 - ''Bill Haley and His Comets'' (Warner Bros. 1378)

1960 - ''Haley's Juke Box'' (Warner Bros. 1391)

1961 - ''Twist'' (Dimsa 8255)

1961 - ''Bikini Twist'' (Dimsa 8259)

1962 - ''Twistin' Knights at the Roundtable'' (live) (Roulette SR-25174)

1962 - ''Twist Vol. 2'' (Dimsa 8275)

1962 - ''Twist en Mexico'' (Dimsa 8290)

1963 - ''Bill Haley & His Comets'' (compilation with unreleased tracks) (Vocalion 3696)

1963 - ''Rock Around the Clock King'' (Guest Star 1454)

1963 - ''Madison'' (Orfeon 12339)

1963 - ''Carnaval de Ritmos Modernos'' (Orfeon 12340)

1964 - ''Surf Surf Surf'' (Orfeon 12354)

1966 - ''Whiskey a Go-Go'' (Orfeon 12478)

1966 - ''Bill Haley a Go-Go'' (Dimsa 8381)

1968 - ''Biggest Hits'' (re-recordings plus new tracks) (Sonet 9945); issued in England as ''Rock Around the Clock'' (Hallmark SHM 668) and in North America as ''Rockin' ''(Pickwick SPC 3256)

1968 - ''On Stage Vol. 1'' (live) (Sonet SLP63)

1968 - ''On Stage Vol. 2'' (live) (Sonet SLP69)

* The above two albums have been reissued in many forms, including by Janus Records as the two-album set, ''Razzle-Dazzle'' (Janus 7003), a numerous releases on the Pickwick and Hallmark labels.

1970 - ''Bill Haley Scrapbook'' (live) (Kama Sutra/Buddah 2014)

1971 - ''Rock Around the Country'' (Sonet 623); issued in North America by GNP-Crescendo (LP 2097) and as ''Travelin' Band'' on Janus (JLS 3035)

1973 - ''Just Rock 'n' Roll Music'' (Sonet 645); issued in North America by GNP-Crescendo (LP 2077)

1974 - ''Live in London '74'' (live) (Antic 51501)

1975 - ''Golden Favorites'' (compilation with unreleased tracks) (MCA Coral 7845P)

1976 - ''Rudy's Rock: The Sax That Changed the World'' (billed as Rudy Pompilli and the Comets; recorded without Haley) (Sonet 696)

1976 - ''R-O-C-K'' (re-recordings) (Sonet 710)

1978 - ''Golden Country Origins'' (previously unissued pre-Comets recordings) (Grassroots Records)

1979 - ''Everyone Can Rock and Roll'' (Sonet 808)

Compilation albums

''Rock with Bill Haley and the Comets'' (Essex 102; 1954)

''Shake, Rattle and Roll'' (Decca DL5560; 1955)

''Rock Around the Clock'' (Decca DL8225; 1956)

''Rockin' the Joint'' (Decca DL8775; 1958)

Unreleased recordings

As with Elvis Presley and other contemporaries of the 1950s, a large stock of previously unreleased recordings by Bill Haley exist and have been released periodically in the years following his death. Many of these are early country and western tracks recorded as demos or, for some reason, unreleased. However, occasionally tracks from the 1950s and 1960s have emerged, as have live recordings. Since the early 1990s several European labels have released a number of previously unreleased recordings, including Hydra Records, Rollercoaster Records, Rockstar Records, Buddah Records, and Bear Family Records.

Notable discoveries that have been commercially released have included:

Several 1946 radio recordings Haley made with the Down Homers (''Rock n' Roll Arrives'' box set, Bear Family Records, 2006);

A large cache of country-western recordings made by Haley in the 1946–51 era, before the formation of the Comets (also released on ''Rock 'n' Roll Arrives'');

An April 1955 concert in Cleveland, Ohio including the earliest known live recordings of "Rock Around the Clock" (''Rock 'n' Roll Show'', Hydra Records, 1995);

A concert recording from the German tour of 1958 (''Vive La Rock 'n' Roll'', Big Beat Records, 2002);

A 1957 radio recording from Haley's tour of Australia;

Soundtrack recordings from the 1958 film ''Here I Am, Here I Stay'' and the 1954 short film ''Round Up of Rhythm'' (''On Screen'', Hydra Records, 1998);

Previously unreleased live recordings from the 1969 ''Bill Haley's Scrapbook'' sessions at the Bitter End (CD release of ''Bill Haley's Scrapbook'' (Kama Sutra/Buddah, 1993) and ''The Warner Brothers Years and More'' box set (Bear Family, 1999);

Two Christmas recordings and a version of "Flip Flop and Fly" from the 1968 United Artists sessions;

In-studio discussion recordings and alternate takes from the 1979 ''Everyone Can Rock and Roll'' sessions (''The Journey to Fame'', Denton Media, 2004);

Assorted demos and alternate takes from the Decca and Warner Bros. era from the period 1958–1961, as well as additional alternate takes and unreleased tracks from the various labels Haley recorded with in the mid-1960s (''The Decca Years and More'' box set (Bear Family, 1991) and ''The Warner Brothers Years and More'' box set (Bear Family, 1999); and

Two 1962 broadcasts for Armed Forces Radio (''On the Air'', Hydra Records, 2001).

A number of recordings exist in the hands of private collectors and remain to be commercially released, including a number of privately made live recordings of several 1960s and 1970s concerts, and a number of rehearsal recordings from 1960. To date, however, no one has discovered any alternative takes of any of Haley's most famous recordings of the 1950s, in particular "Rock Around the Clock" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll".

Later Comets recordings

Several of the post-Haley contingents of Comets had their own single and album releases:

The 1981–82 Comets reunion group recorded on single in 1982, Bring Back the Music/The Hawk Talks (Music City Records). Musicians involved in this recording included former Comets Franny Beecher, Al Rappa and Joey Welz. Welz later released a single overdubbing two Haley demo recordings using a group of session musicians who were dubbed The Comets for the occasion.

The Joey Rand version of Bill Haley's Comets recorded an album in the 1980s.

The John Lane version of Bill Haley's Comets recorded a live album in the early 2000s, along with a Christmas single.

Al Rappa's version of Bill Haley's Comets have recorded tracks with Joey Welz.

The 1954–55 Comets (a.k.a. The Original Comets) have been the most prolific, recording a half-dozen albums since 1993 -

* ''We're Gonna Party!'' (Hydra Records, 1993)

* ''You're Never Too Old to Rock'' (Hydra, 1994)

* ''The House is Rockin'' (Rollercoaster Records, 1998)

* ''Still Rockin' Around the Clock'' (Rollin' Rock Records, 1999)

* ''Aged to Perfection'' (Rollin' Rock, 2001)

* ''Bill Haley's Original Comets'' (CD-DVD hybrid; Bradley House Records, 2003)

The group has also appeared as guest stars on a number of other recordings by Andy Lee Lang, Schurli Weiss and others.

Chart positions (US and UK)

Billboard or Cash Box charts:

"Crazy Man, Crazy" - # 11, Cashbox; # 12, Billboard, June 27, 1953

"Fractured" - #24, Billboard, August 1953

"Live It Up" - #25, Billboard, October 1953

"(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" - US # 23 on May 29, 1954 [for only one week]; UK # 17, in December 1954

"(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" – US R'n'B #3 then # 1 (8 weeks), Billboard, US; # 1 (7 weeks), Cashbox, 06/1955; # 1, UK, 10/1955; UK recharts # 5 09/1956; # 24, 12/1956; #25 01/1957; #20 04/1968; #34 05/1968; #12 UK then #39 US, 04/1974

"Shake, Rattle and Roll" – # 7 [04/54]; # 4 UK, 12/1954

"Dim, Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere)" - # 11, Billboard; # 10 R&B; chart 01/1955

"Birth Of The Boogie" – #17, Billboard; # 18, Cashbox, 04/1955

"Mambo Rock" – (flipside of "Birth Of The Boogie") # 17, Billboard, US; # 14, UK, 04/1955

"Two Hound Dogs" – # 9, Billboard; # 31, Cashbox, (09/1955)

"Razzle-Dazzle" - (A-side of "Two Hound Dogs") # 15, 09/1955; # 13 UK, 09/1956

"Burn That Candle" - # 9, 11/1955

"Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" – (A-side) of "Burn That Candle") #23, Billboard; # 24, Cashbox; # 4 RU, 01/1956

"The Saints Rock 'n' Roll" - # 18, 04/1956 # 5 UK, 05/56

"R-O-C-K" - (A-side of "The Saints Rock and Roll") # 29, Billboard; # 21, Cashbox, 04/1956

"Hot Dog Buddy Buddy" - # 36, Cashbox; # 60, Billboard, 06/1956

"Rockin' Through the Rye" - (flipside of "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy") #39, Cashbox; #78, Billboard; # 3, UK, 08/1956; # 19 (UK), 01/1957

"See You Later, Alligator" – # 6, 02/1956; # 7 UK, 03/1956; # 12 UK, 09/1956 (new entry)

"Rip It Up" – # 25, 08/1956; # 4 UK, 11/1956

"Teenager's Mother (Are You Right?)" - (flipside of "Rip it Up") - #45, Cashbox; # 68, Billboard, 08/1956

"Rudy's Rock""- # 34, Billboard, US; # 38, Cashbox; # 30 (UK), 11/1956; re-charts # 26 (UK), 12/1956

"Don't Knock the Rock" - # 45, 12/1956; # 5, NME, UK, 02/1957

"Rock the Joint" (1952 recording) - # 20 UK, 02/1957

"Forty Cups of Coffee"/"Hook, Line and Sinker" - # 70, Billboard; "Forty Cups of Coffee", #46, Cashbox, 04/1957

"(You Hit the Wrong Note) Billy Goat" - # 60, Billboard; # 54, Cashbox, 06/1957

"Skinny Minnie" - # 22, Billboard; # 25, Cashbox, 05/1958

"Lean Jean" - # 67, Billboard; # 52 Cashbox, 08/1958

"Week End" - (recorded under the name The Kingsmen) # 35, Billboard Hot 100, November/1958

"Joey's Song" - # 46, Billboard; # 35, Cashbox, US; # 1 (8 weeks), Kent Music Report, Australia; # 26, Canada, 11/1959

"Skokiaan (South African Song)" - # 70, 1960

"Tamiami" - # 79, Cashbox, March 12, 1960

"Rock Around The Clock" - US Pop, # 39, Billboard; # 36, Cashbox; UK, # 12, in April 1974

"Haley's Golden Medley" - (posthumous edit of "Rock Around the Clock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie", and "See You Later Alligator" with "A-B-C Boogie" as the B side) # 50, UK, 04/1981

"Swing the Mood" - (featured samples of the original Decca recordings of "Rock Around the Clock", "Rock-a-Beatin' Boogie", and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" in a mix by Jive Bunny and the Mastermixers) #1, (5 weeks), UK; #11, Billboard Hot 100, #7, Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, US, July 1989

American Chart Toppers (Top 100)

Launched on January 1, 1955 (coast to coast, under control).

(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock: enters the "A.C.T." on 21/05/1955 topping on 9/07/1955 for 8 weeks.

British Chart Toppers (Top 20)

Also launched on January 1, 1955 (round 2 decades later under control of Scotland Yard).

(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock: enters the B.C.T. on 7/01/1955 reaching #17 two weeks later, re-enters on 14/10/1955 topping on 25/11/1955 for 11 weeks then re-enters once again on 21/09/1956 peaking at #5 a few weeks later.***Also B.C.T.'s #25 in January 1957 dropping out for a week before making its fifth and final re-entry on Columbia/Brunswick at #22.

Mexico and India

In addition, Bill Haley and the Comets also scored chart hits in Latin America, Mexico, and India during the period 1961–1966 with recordings such as "Twist Español", "Florida Twist", "Spanish Twist", "Caravan Twist", and "Land of a Thousand Dances". Reportedly, "Chick Safari", a 1960 recording, reached the No. 1 position on the Indian musical charts. Both the single "Florida Twist" and the ''Twist'' LP Record went to No. 1 in Mexico.

Based on the ''Billboard'' Hits of the World chart, Bill Haley and the Comets had the following chart hits in Mexico and India in 1962:

"Florida Twist", #3, Mexico, Billboard Hits of the World, April 28, 1962

"Caravan Twist", #5, Mexico, Billboard Hits of the World, April 28, 1962

"Spanish Twist", #3, India, Billboard Hits of the World, June 30, 1962

Sources

Jim Dawson, ''Rock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution!'' (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2005)

John W. Haley and John von Hoelle, ''Sound and Glory'' (Wilmington, DE: Dyne-American, 1990)

John Swenson, ''Bill Haley'' (London: W.H. Allen, 1982)

Discography information from Bill Haley Central and ''Bill Haley & His Comets, etc.: A Discography'', an unpublished reference work by Herbert Kamitz.

What Was The First Rock'N'Roll Record? ISBN 0-571-12939-0 (paper)

Rock File no 4 - Panther Books Ltd., Great Britain, 1st Pub. 1976. (ISBN unavailable). ISBN possibly (0?)-586-04370-5.

Billboard magazine.

Cash Box magazine.

References

External links

The Comets official website

IMDb listing

Rockabilly Hall of Fame - Biography of Bill Haley

Rockabilly Hall of Fame - List of Comets musicians

Bill Haley Central Web Portal

Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Bill Haley Category:Charly Records artists Category:Decca Records artists Category:Musical groups established in 1949 Category:Rock music groups from Pennsylvania

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