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.
Lean Jean
Bill Haley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Real nice condition for the shape she's in.
Every time I see her, boy, I do a spin.
Lean Jean, seventeen.
She fell in a beauty shop to get away.
The owner said, "I dig your wig but you need a shave."
And yet there's something 'bout her, makes me be her slave.
I got a gal and she's long and thin.
Real nice condition for the shape she's in.
Every time I see her, boy, I do a spin.
Lean Jean, seventeen.
Jeannie baby's knock-kneed in her bobby socks.
I'm so barrel-legged, when the rhythm rocks.
When we stroll together we spell OX.
Lean Jean, seventeen.
The song Lean Jean by Bill Haley & His Comets is a classic rock and roll song which was released in 1958 as a single. The song is about a girl named Lean Jean who is described as being long and thin with a nice figure. The song starts off with the singer introducing his gal and describing her body type. He says that every time he sees her, he feels like doing a spin, indicating his admiration for her.
In the second verse, it is revealed that Jean fell in a beauty shop, and although the owner seems to make fun of her looks, there is something about her that makes him fall for her. The chorus is repeated in the end with an additional line that describes Jeannie baby's knock-kneed in her bobby socks, and the singer is described as being barrel-legged. When the two of them walk together, they spell OX. This indicates that they are not a perfect match, physical wise, but they still enjoy each other's company and have fun together.
Overall, the lyrics of the song Lean Jean are about a girl who is physically different from others but still makes an impression on the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a gal and she's long and thin.
I have a girlfriend who is tall and skinny.
Real nice condition for the shape she's in.
She is in good physical condition.
Every time I see her, boy, I do a spin.
I am so happy to see her that I dance around.
Lean Jean, seventeen.
Her name is Jean, she is seventeen years old, and she is skinny.
She fell in a beauty shop to get away.
She ended up in a beauty shop to escape from something.
The owner said, "I dig your wig but you need a shave."
The owner complimented her wig but suggested she needed to shave.
And yet there's something 'bout her, makes me be her slave.
There is something about her that makes me want to do anything for her.
Jeannie baby's knock-kneed in her bobby socks.
Jean has a slight bend in her knees when wearing her bobby socks.
I'm so barrel-legged, when the rhythm rocks.
I have thick legs that move like a barrel when I dance.
When we stroll together we spell OX.
When we walk together, our body shapes spell the letters OX.
Contributed by Isaac H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Paul Mason
This is Bill Haley went in an R&B direction which could have taken him into the ¹960s. This should have been a massive hit.