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.
Rip It Up
Bill Haley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a fool about my money, don't try to save.
My heart says "go go, have a time"
Saturday night and I'm feelin' fine.
[Chorus]
I'm gonna rock it up,
Rip it up
Gonna ball it up
I'm gonna rock it
And ball tonight.
Well almost 'bout ten I'll be flying high
I'll rock on out unto the sky
I don't care if I spend my dough
Tonight I'm gonna be one happy soul
[Chorus]
Saturday night and I just got paid
I'm a fool about my money, don't try to save.
My heart says "go go, have a time"
Saturday night and I'm feelin' fine.
[Chorus]
Well almost 'bout ten I'll be flying high
I'm gonna rock on out unto the sky
I don't care if I spend my dough
Tonight I'm gonna be one happy soul
[Chorus]
Well, it's Saturday night and I just got paid
I'm a fool about my money, don't try to save.
My heart says "go go, have a time"
Saturday night and I'm feelin' fine
I'm gonna rock it up
I'm gonna rip it up
The lyrics of "Rip It Up" by Bill Haley are an ode to the enjoyment and thrill of the weekend, specifically Saturday night. The singer has just been paid and is willing to go all out, spend all of his money, and not worry about saving. His heart is set on having a good time, and he wants to rock it up and ball all night.
The chorus of the song reinforces his desire to enjoy himself, announcing that he will "rip it up," "shake it up," and "ball it up." He is prepared to go to any extent to have a good time, even if it means flying high or spending all his money.
The lyrics are essentially about living in the present and enjoying the moment, disregarding any potential consequences down the road. Overall, it's a fun and lighthearted song that perfectly captures the spirit of the weekend and the desire to let loose and have a good time.
Line by Line Meaning
Saturday night and I just got paid
It's Saturday night and I have just received my payment
I'm a fool about my money, don't try to save.
I'm not good at managing my money, so I don't try to save any of it
My heart says "go go, have a time"
My inner self is pushing me to go and enjoy myself
Saturday night and I'm feelin' fine.
It's Saturday night and I'm feeling great
"I'm gonna rock it up,"
I'm going to enjoy myself a lot
Rip it up
I'm going to have a wild time
I'm gonna shake it up
I'm going to dance and move my body
Gonna ball it up
I'm going to have a great time
I'm gonna rock it
I'm going to have a lot of fun
And ball tonight.
And I'm going to have a great time tonight
Well almost 'bout ten I'll be flying high
Around ten o'clock at night, I'll be having a great time
I'll rock on out unto the sky
I'm going to enjoy myself so much that it feels like I'm soaring in the sky
I don't care if I spend my dough
I don't care if I spend all my money
Tonight I'm gonna be one happy soul
Tonight I'm going to experience immense joy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EDWYN STEPHEN COLLINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@diankreczmer6595
I am 85 and this is what I call dancing
@robfromvan
Wait till you see breakdancing!!! 😮😳
@pompeyofuentes
and you are damn right. hello from chile, I am 38, this is music. period
@ZnenTitan
When you find out your grand parents were cooler than you will ever be.
@curvy71
I wish people would get together like this again.
@leelarson107
'Cool' means Not-So-Hot.
@ABSDEFRD
awesome comment and so true
@slyctonbits
@@curvy71 They get together like this, these dances are called "Lindy Hop" and "Boogie Woogie" and soooo many people around the world still dance this.
@slyctonbits
@Rockin Robin What do you mean by segregate? who? :O
@bilbobagginssword3926
One reason why our grandparents stayed together forever. Cool video