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.
Memphis
Bill Haley Lyrics
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If you love somebody enough
You follow them wherever they go
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
If you love somebody enough
Then you go where your heart needs to go
That's how I got to Memphis
I know if you'd seen her
You'd tell me cause you are my friend
I've got to find her
And find out the trouble she's in
If you tell me she isn't here
I'll follow by the trail of her tears
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
She' use to get mad and she'd say
She'd go back to Memphis someday
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
I got to find her
Tell her that I love her so
I'll never rest till I find out why she had to go
Thank you for your precious time
Forgive me if I start to cryin'
That's how I got to Memphis
That's how I got to Memphis
The song "That's How I Got to Memphis" by Tom T. Hall is a poignant portrayal of what it means to love someone and follow them no matter where they are. The lyrics convey an unwavering determination to find someone, no matter what it takes. The first stanza states that when you love someone enough, you follow them wherever they go, and that's how the singer got to Memphis. He insists that if his friend had seen her, he would have found out by now and that he needs to find her and determine what trouble she is in.
The second stanza shows how the singer is determined to find the woman he loves, even if it means following the trail of her tears. The third stanza reveals that the woman he loves used to get angry and say that she would go back to Memphis someday. The final lines of the song show how the singer will not stop searching for her until he can find out why she had to go.
The song's lyrics convey the theme of love and devotion, as well as how love can become an all-encompassing force. It's about the lengths one will go to in order to find and be with the person they love. The song uses simple language to convey this deep and relatable sentiment, making it a timeless classic.
Line by Line Meaning
If you love somebody enough
When you truly love someone, you are willing to do anything for them
You follow them wherever they go
You are willing to travel anywhere to be with the person you love
That's how I got to Memphis
This is my story of how I ended up in Memphis
I know if you'd seen her
I believe that you would have seen the person I am looking for if she was in Memphis
You'd tell me cause you are my friend
I trust you as a friend to share any information you have about her whereabouts
I've got to find her
My search for her is driven by my love for her
And find out the trouble she's in
I am concerned for her safety and well-being
If you tell me she isn't here
If she is not in Memphis, I will still search for her
I'll follow by the trail of her tears
I will follow any clues and signs of her emotional distress to locate her
She' use to get mad and she'd say
She had a tendency to get angry and make declarations about returning to Memphis
She'd go back to Memphis someday
She had expressed her desire to return to Memphis at some point
I got to find her
It is imperative that I locate her
Tell her that I love her so
I need to express my feelings of love to her when I locate her
I'll never rest till I find out why she had to go
I am determined to uncover the reason why she left in order to help her and our relationship
Thank you for your precious time
I appreciate your attention and help in my search
Forgive me if I start to cryin'
My emotions may overcome me and cause tears to flow as I search for her
That's how I got to Memphis
My motivation for coming to Memphis is my love and dedication to her
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Tom T. Hall
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind