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.
Hide and Seek
Bill Haley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're lovely like the way I want you to
Release these thoughts about you like I do
Corrupt your mind, I will explore your mind
The morning after′s gone it's time to go
Convince this tainted wish that won't come true
The moment that you′ll slip into my brain
Treat me like a fool
Kiss me like I rule
Let me blow your mind
Use you from behind
Life′s not as beautiful as I saw it
There's something in the way it doesn′t fit
Release these thoughts about me like you do
Corrupt my mind, you will explore my mind
I wouldn't care less ′bout what you feel
I'll play you by the book like I′m used to
The moment that you'll slip into my brain
Ignore my plea, you cannot see
Treat me like a fool
Kiss me like I rule
Let me blow your mind
Use you from behind
Treat me like a fool
Kiss me like I rule
Let me blow your mind
Use you from behind
The lyrics of "Hide and Seek" by Bill Haley describe the singer's desire for a woman and his willingness to manipulate her to satisfy his own desires. The opening lines of the song suggest that the woman is still beautiful in the singer's eyes, and he wants her to be lovely in the way that he wants her to be. He talks about corrupting her mind and exploring it, which suggests that he wants to take advantage of her in some way.
The singer also talks about the morning after, indicating that this is a one-night stand or a casual encounter. He is trying to convince himself that his desire for her is tainted and won't come true, but he still wants her to slip into his brain. However, he also seems to be aware that the woman may not be interested in him, as he pleads with her to ignore his pleas.
The chorus of the song appears to be the singer's attempt to convince the woman to give in to him. He wants her to treat him like a fool and kiss him like he rules, suggesting that he wants her to use him for her own needs. He repeats this phrase multiple times, indicating that he is desperate for her.
Overall, the lyrics of "Hide and Seek" portray a man who is willing to manipulate a woman to satisfy his own desires, even if she doesn't feel the same way or is not interested in him. It suggests a toxic and unhealthy relationship dynamic, based on the singer's selfishness and manipulation.
Line by Line Meaning
You′re still as beautiful as I saw you
The person is still physically appealing to the singer
You're lovely like the way I want you to
The person is attractive in the way that the singer desires
Release these thoughts about you like I do
The singer wants to let go of their thoughts about the person
Corrupt your mind, I will explore your mind
The artist wants to manipulate and understand the person's thoughts
The morning after′s gone it's time to go
The time for intimacy or connection is over; it's time to move on
Convince this tainted wish that won't come true
The singer knows their desires won't be fulfilled but tries to convince themselves
The moment that you′ll slip into my brain
The singer wants the person to occupy their thoughts
Ignore my plea, you cannot see
The artist's requests are being ignored, and the person can't understand the artist's feelings
Treat me like a fool
The artist wants to be taken advantage of
Kiss me like I rule
The artist wants to be in control of the physical interaction
Let me blow your mind
The singer wants to impress and surprise the person
Use you from behind
The artist wants to use the person for their own pleasure without regard for the person's feelings
Life′s not as beautiful as I saw it
The singer's view of life is less optimistic or positive than before
There's something in the way it doesn′t fit
The singer sees flaws or issues with life that make it unsatisfying
Release these thoughts about me like you do
The singer wants the person to let go of thoughts about the singer
Corrupt my mind, you will explore my mind
The artist wants the person to manipulate and understand their thoughts
I wouldn't care less ′bout what you feel
The artist is indifferent to the person's emotions
I'll play you by the book like I′m used to
The singer will follow a set of rules or actions that have worked for them in the past to manipulate the person
Treat me like a fool
The singer wants to be taken advantage of
Kiss me like I rule
The artist wants to be in control of the physical interaction
Let me blow your mind
The artist wants to impress and surprise the person
Use you from behind
The artist wants to use the person for their own pleasure without regard for the person's feelings
Writer(s): P. Winley, E. Byrd
Contributed by Liliana H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@SlashManEXE
First time I heard Billy Williamson sing
@mowbray99
What a fantastic back beat
@Johnnralph
Billy Williamson singing lead. A founding member of the comets he was the only comet allowed to sing lead vocals (including this one) during Haleys tenure with Decca records
@bigdancd
Probably because Billy was a better singer on a lot of songs than Haley. Nothing against Haley, but I always preferred Billy's voice. Would have loved to hear some of the earlier hits with Billy.
@Ireland299
TOP SONG SHOULD VE BEEN CHARTS THAT TIME
@billoak2274
Sadly it wasn't.
@josedanilla8974
¿Quien la canta?porque no es Bill haley!
@alfieholloway
bass player singing
@jacksontuttle8229
@@alfieholloway it was actually the steel guitarist, Billy Williamson