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.
La Tierra de las Mil Danzas
Bill Haley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One, two, three!
You gotta know how to pony like Bony Maronie
Mashed Potato, do the Alligator
Put your hands on your hips, let your back-bone slip
Do the Watusi, like my little Lucy
Na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na, na na na, na na na na.
Need somebody to help me say it one time
You know I feel alright.
Feel pretty good y'all.
Na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na, na na na, na na na na.
Need somebody to help me say it one time
Na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na, na na na, na na na na.
Dance with me honey, like Long Tall Sally
Twistin' with Lucy, doin the Watusi
Gotta hold of your back, I like it like that
Do the Jerk, watch me work
Ah, do it!
The lyrics to Bill Haley's song "Land of a Thousand Dances" are a call and response between the singer and the audience, with the singer leading a series of dance moves that the crowd can follow along with. The song starts with a simple count-off of "One, two, three!" before launching into the first verse. The singer urges the audience to "know how to pony like Bony Maronie," referring to a popular dance move at the time. He then goes through a series of other dance moves, including the Mashed Potato, the Alligator, and the Watusi.
The chorus of the song is a repeated set of na-na-nas, which the singer invites the audience to join in with. He also asks for someone to help him out with the lyrics, emphasizing the communal aspect of the dance floor. In the second verse, the singer references popular songs of the time, name-dropping "Long Tall Sally" and "Lucy" before urging the audience to do the Watusi again. He continues to call out dance moves, including the Jerk, before exhorting everyone to "do it!"
Overall, "Land of a Thousand Dances" is a classic example of a dance-craze song, designed to get people moving and grooving on the dance floor. The lyrics are simple and repetitive, but they work in service of the song's goal - to create a sense of communal joy and celebration through dance.
Line by Line Meaning
One, two, three!
Let's get ready to start dancing!
You gotta know how to pony like Bony Maronie
You need to know the dance move 'pony' in order to dance to this song properly.
Mashed Potato, do the Alligator
You can also dance other popular dances like 'Mashed Potato' and 'Alligator'.
Put your hands on your hips, let your back-bone slip
Put your hands on your hips and loosen yourself up, like you're letting your spine relax.
Do the Watusi, like my little Lucy
You can also do the Watusi dance move, which is similar to what Lucy (presumably a dancer he knows) does.
Na, na na na na, na na na na, na na na, na na na, na na na na.
This is just an up-tempo vocalization that's paired with the dance moves to create a fun atmosphere during the performance.
Need somebody to help me say it one time
He's looking for someone to join him in singing and dancing to the song.
You know I feel alright.
The singer is having a fun time and feels good while dancing and singing to this song.
Feel pretty good y'all.
He emphasizes how good he feels during this performance.
Dance with me honey, like Long Tall Sally
He's asking someone to dance with him in the style of 'Long Tall Sally' who may be another musician or dancer he knows.
Twistin' with Lucy, doin the Watusi
A variation to dancing with the Long Tall Sally style is to dance with Lucy's (the dancer he knows) style, such as the Watusi.
Gotta hold of your back, I like it like that
He enjoys a more intimate hold on his partner's back while dancing because it just feels good for him.
Do the Jerk, watch me work
He introduces another dance move (The Jerk) and invites his audience to watch him dance it.
Ah, do it!
He's encouraging his audience to dance and move their bodies along to the beat of the song.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Christopher Kenner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jose Manuel Plata Peralta
Hermosa época con una música extraordinaria y unas mujeres bellisimas, que afortunados los la disfrutaron en en su momento.
ANAREY
era lo increible de aquella epoca,, Bill haley en vivo y en mexico,, que tiempos y que calidad , desde entonces aprendi la buena musica
Matias Cohn
Increible!!, gracias por compartir estas maraviilas!!, soy fan del a go go y lo bailo bien!
Pickinbuddy
Thanks for posting this FABULOUS RARE footage...this is from the period in Bill Haley's career which we know the least about!
Ingvar Kristensen
Lineup here:Bill Haley on lead vocal and guitar,Rudy Pompilli on Tenor sax and vocal,Mike Shay also on sax,John Kay on guitar,Al Rappa on bass,John "Bam Bam"Lane on drums.1966.
Saul Marquez
En balderas me encontre con este 33rpm de orfeon viene toño quirazco los hermanos carrion y este temazo ♥
Emmanuel Garduño
Buen rock
D4Haley
Que bueno, y alta calidad! Gracias!
clifton haley
Excellent !!
sergio omar Fernandez
otra época , cuando la televisión era más sana e inocente, ahora es todo casi pornográfico , las malas palabras cualquier hora y las escenas de sexo casi explicita . No soy puritano pero hay lugar para ciertas cosas. La televisión no es un prostíbulo, dado que las novelas y series que se dan en tv son casi un prostíbulo.