Haley was blinded in his left eye as a child due to a botched operation. According to biographer John Swenson, Haley later adopted his distinctive spit-curl hairstyle to distract attention from his blind eye. The spit-curl caught on as a 50's style signature, although Haley and others had worn the hairstyle much earlier.
In 1946, Haley joined his first professional group, a Pennsylvania-based western swing band called The Down Homers run by Kenny Roberts. It has often been reported in musical reference works that Haley's first professional recordings were made with the Down Homers on a pair of singles released in 1946 by Vogue Records. This was later debunked by Roberts and others, stating Haley had already left the group by the time the singles were made. In the early 2000s, however, a set of 1946 radio recordings by the Down Homers were discovered and Haley is definitely present as he is identified by name and sings a solo number "She Taught Me to Yodel"; these recordings were commercially released for the first time in 2006.
After gaining experience with the Down Homers, Haley set out on his own, forming several groups such as the Range Drifters and the Four Aces of Western Swing. With the Four Aces, he made a number of regionally successful country music singles in the late 1940s for Cowboy Records while working as a touring musician and later a radio DJ at WPWA. (Many of Haley's early recordings from this period would not be released until after his death.) After disbanding the Four Aces and briefly trying a solo career using the names Jack Haley and Johnny Clifton (as chronicled in the biography Sound and Glory), Haley formed a new group called The Saddlemen in either 1949 or 1950 (sources vary as to the exact year); this new group recorded for several labels, including one single for Atlantic Records, Haley's first exposure to a major national record company. In 1951, Haley was signed to Dave Miller's Philadelphia-based Holiday Records and began to change musical styles, recording cover versions of "Rocket "88"" (previously recorded by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats), and in, 1952, "Rock the Joint", previously recorded by several bands including Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians. (By the time of "Rock the Joint", Haley had graduated from Holiday Records to Miller's larger Essex label.) The relative success of these recordings (both sold in the 75,000-100,000 copy range in the Pennsylvania-New England region) convinced Haley that his new and as-yet officially unnamed hybrid of country and rhythm and blues could be a commercial success.and some of his family lives in oklahoma and there is a road named after his family.
Burn That Candle
Bill Haley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be kinda late tonight, mother
There's a yellow moon above, mother
Shinin' on the one I love, mother
Burn that candle, night and day
Burn that candle, light our way
Keep that doorway open wide
While that candle's burnin' high, mother
I'll be with my sugar pie, mother
We'll be comin' home you know, mother
Lookin' for that candle glow, mother
Burn that candle, night and day
Burn that candle, light our way
Keep that doorway open wide
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
After we have had the wedding, mother
To that candle we'll be heading, mother
So, before we're wining, dining, mother
Start that candle light a shining, mother
Burn that candle, night and day
Burn that candle, light our way
Keep that doorway open wide
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
'Till I'm strolling through that doorway with my bride
The lyrics to Bill Haley & His Comets' song "Burn That Candle" depict a young man reassuring his mother that everything is well, while asking her to keep a candle burning, symbolizing hope, as he arrives late at night due to romantic engagements. The moonlight shining above him, and the "one he loves," hints at his love interest's presence as well, as they too are guided by light on their way home. With the young man's promise that he'll soon return in tow, the refrain of "Burn that candle, night and day/Burn that candle, light our way/Keep that doorway open wide/Until we come slowly strolling side by side" becomes a call to action that puts his affection for his mother and his lover in the same context.
Through the lyrics, there's a sense of growth and the passage of time: from the casual dating of a "sugar pie" to marriage, to the moment where the young man arrives with his bride, passing through the open doorway that the candle illuminated before, as the song ends. In essence, the song is a romantic ballad that feels nostalgic and timeless, replete with a sense of longing and sentimentality that will resonate with anyone reminiscing about the sweetness of young love.
Line by Line Meaning
Keep that candle burnin' birght, mother
Please keep the candle burning bright, mother.
I'll be kinda late tonight, mother
I'll be running a little late tonight, mother.
There's a yellow moon above, mother
There's a yellow moon shining above us, mother.
Shinin' on the one I love, mother
That yellow moon is shining on my loved one, mother.
Burn that candle, night and day
Please keep the candle burning day and night.
Burn that candle, light our way
May the candle light our way.
Keep that doorway open wide
Please keep the doorway open wide.
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
Wait until we slowly stroll side by side.
While that candle's burnin' high, mother
While the candle is burning high, mother.
I'll be with my sugar pie, mother
I'll be with my sweetheart, mother.
We'll be comin' home you know, mother
We'll be coming home, as you know, mother.
Lookin' for that candle glow, mother
We'll be looking for the warm glow of the candle, mother.
After we have had the wedding, mother
After we have had the wedding, mother.
To that candle we'll be heading, mother
We'll be heading towards the candle, mother.
So, before we're wining, dining, mother
So, before we feast and celebrate, mother.
Start that candle light a shining, mother
Please light the candle and let it shine bright, mother.
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
Please wait until we slowly stroll together, side by side.
'Till I'm strolling through that doorway with my bride
I'll stroll through the doorway with my bride, mother.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WINFIELD SCOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
n00se
Keep that candle burnin' bright, mother
I'll be kinda late tonight, mother
There's a yellow moon above, mother
Shinin' on the one I love, mother
Burn that candle night and day
Burn that candle light my way
Keep that doorway open wide
Till I'm strollin' thru that doorway with my bride
While that candle's burnin' high, mother
I'll be with my sugar pie, mother
We'll be comin' home you know, mother
Lookin' for that candle glow, mother
Burn that candle night and day
Burn that candle light my way
Keep that doorway open wide
Till I'm strollin' thru that doorway with my bride
After we have had the wedding, mother
To the candle we'll be headin, mother
So, before we're winin', dinin', mother
Start that candle light a shinin', mother
Burn that candle night and day
Burn that candle light my way
Keep that doorway open wide
Till I'm strollin' thru that doorway with my bride
mila corvalan
Keep that candle burnin' birght, mother
I'll be kinda late tonight, mother
There's a yellow moon above, mother
Shinin' on the one I love, mother
Burn that candle, night and day
Burn that candle, light our way
Keep that doorway open wide
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
While that candle's burnin' high, mother
I'll be with my sugar pie, mother
We'll be comin' home you know, mother
Lookin' for that candle glow, mother
Burn that candle, night and day
Burn that candle, light our way
Keep that doorway open wide
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
After we have had the wedding, mother
To that candle we'll be heading, mother
So, before we're wining, dining, mother
Start that candle light a shining, mother
Burn that candle, night and day
Burn that candle, light our way
Keep that doorway open wide
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
Until we come slowly strolling side by side
'Till I'm strolling through that doorway with my bride
Brian Pope
Shame Bill Haley never got the recognition he deserves, after all he started rock roll, I’ve never forgotten him.
Marcio Santos
Maravilhoso muito bom, Rockabilly puro Bill Haley um dos maiores cantores do mundo, parabéns.🙏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Luis Chavez
Ppp
Andrew Patton
This is outstanding💖💖💖💖💖👍👍👍
Tony Levy
Why do I love this tune so much ??? I'm far to young 😂😂
Violet. Senderhauf
its called good taste sweetie.
Mike Hudson
I concur with you, in my case it reminds me of my youth. One particular summer age 15 at school with all my friends around me. Such very happy memories and good music too. Music can do that i.e. transport you right back to a certain time.
Daniel G
i am 45 and i love it since i had 6 years old , you are not alone hahah
n00se
Keep that candle burnin' bright, mother
I'll be kinda late tonight, mother
There's a yellow moon above, mother
Shinin' on the one I love, mother
Burn that candle night and day
Burn that candle light my way
Keep that doorway open wide
Till I'm strollin' thru that doorway with my bride
While that candle's burnin' high, mother
I'll be with my sugar pie, mother
We'll be comin' home you know, mother
Lookin' for that candle glow, mother
Burn that candle night and day
Burn that candle light my way
Keep that doorway open wide
Till I'm strollin' thru that doorway with my bride
After we have had the wedding, mother
To the candle we'll be headin, mother
So, before we're winin', dinin', mother
Start that candle light a shinin', mother
Burn that candle night and day
Burn that candle light my way
Keep that doorway open wide
Till I'm strollin' thru that doorway with my bride
Ricardo Sales
Adoro Bill Harlley, e também adorei as meninas dançando!
veja que amor, no antigamente era assim, eu noto a beleza feminina, não falando por mal! más como as meninas na época dos anos dourados eram bonitinhas