Bill Haley Part 3: My Final Meeting
- Place – The Venue London
- Time – November 1979
- Artist – Bill Haley
The next time I met Bill Haley was on November the 17th at The Venue in Victoria, London where he was appearing on stage.
This was also be the first time I would see the finished record and album cover.
To be honest I wasn’t very impressed with David Oxtoby’s artwork on the front cover.
To my astonishment on the back cover there were only photos and credits for the Fame musicians and not one mention of any of the UK musicians at all.
A Frosty Welcome
Looking for the band, I eventually found a dressing room labelled The UK Comets and went in to say hello. As I entered you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife, there were obviously feelings of disappointment and anger about the sleeve and it seemed to be directed towards me.
I was about as popular as Hillary at a Trump rally.
I really understood their disappointment and I tried to ameliorate the situation by explaining that I had no part in the design of the album cover whatsoever.
Sadly, my reasoning fell on deaf ears, no explanation could repair their hurt.
Realising I would never be asked to be best man at any of their weddings, I returned to the auditorium to watch the show.
The following Monday Bill, the UK band and I attended the BBC to record for tracks for the Stuart Coleman Radio show.
Despite the atmosphere with the band still being a little frosty, the recordings went well.
The next morning, I received a call from Bill asking if I would like to go and have lunch. Looking forward to the idea I picked him up at his hotel in Swiss Cottage and we headed into Central London.
Being just the two of us, this would be the finest day I would ever spend with Bill.
Our entire time together was filled with conversation about all sorts of subjects including Dave Miller.
Dave Miller, Bill Haley & Essex Records
It was 1950 and in Philadelphia Dave Miller created the Palda Record Company.
Amongst the acts on the label were The Navy Shipmates, The Four Aces and The Blind Boys of Alabama, all enjoying small volume sales in the local area.
Dave never missed an opportunity to shift vinyl. He would record anything that would sell, from children’s audio stories to local weddings ceremonies, even spoken pornographic records, all small but regular sellers.
His endeavours hit a slight hiccup when on one occasion the labels were mixed up and the pornographic recordings were sent to some very distressed wedding ceremony clientele.
Dave had always told me stories about those early days which I assumed were full of exaggeration and embellishments.
After listening to Bill’s versions of the same events undoubtedly Miller, if anything, had under sold the stories.
Bill explained,
“Miller was a wild man; do you know he invented payola? When he released a record, nothing could stop him, he would go to any lengths to get the record played on the radio and into the shops.”
One of Dave’s promotional efforts was to hire a club and invite the local DJ’s and distributors along.
It would start with everyone being given enough alcohol to wipe out an entire army and then the guests, now well oiled, would take positions on the balcony of the club overlooking the dance floor.
Dave along with another famous Miller of the time would then perform sexual acts with a couple of young ladies whilst being urged on from the balcony.
These gatherings were called the Battle of the Millers, and with each get-together the encounters got more outrageous.
Dave obtained two very strong tall glass tables and whilst the Millers were performing, the guests were invited to walk underneath.
Getting Paid
Bill went on to tell me that although Dave told everyone his start in the industry was funded by a US Government loan the finances were actually supplied by the Mafia, to record non-union bands.
There was a musicians strike at the time so the radio stations and jukeboxes were crying out for new material on the Eastern Seaboard.
As time went by Bill’s relationship with Dave worsened who was now spending more and more time in Europe.
Haley also told me,
“It was hard to get paid from Dave he would spend all the money before it came in.”
I did point out Dave told me that there were no royalties payable, as a flat fee of $25 was paid to Bill with The Saddlemen receiving $15 for each recording.
Over the years Miller became infamous as the man who turned down, Rock Around The Clock. Dave always denied this accusation and I believe him, an interview with Marshall Lytle also helps to confirm my belief.
KB: (Interviewer) “Who chose the songs at Essex? Did the band have any input there?”
ML: “At Essex, Bill Haley chose most of the material and if Dave Miller had a suggestion, it was just a suggestion, he never said do this or do that, but he would come up with some songs. Rocket 88 was one that Dave Miller came up with but Bill chose Rock The Joint and all the others.”
It would appear that if Bill had wanted to record Rock Around The Clock with Miller he would have done so.
My Last Meeting With Bill
On Saturday the 10th, in the morning Bill was rehearsing for the Royal Variety Show.
He had kindly invited my family and me to have lunch with Martha, his wife and himself at his hotel after the rehearsal.
After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon in Bill’s room.
We discussed the finished album and spoke briefly about the next record.
Bill signed several promotional Everyone Can Rock ‘n’ Roll posters for me, we then looked through the photographs that had been taken at Fame studios.
Bill burst into laughter at one of the pictures.
He pointed out that it looked like my arm was stretched around both Martha and Bill; this became my favourite photo of us all.
Bill suggested I bring my family for a holiday to his home in Harlingen, Texas where we could spend sometime working on the project.
I foolishly never took him up on his invitation.
The following week I had a meeting with Bill and Patrick, again discussing the next album. This would be the last time I would see Bill although we spoke on the phone a couple of times.
A Sad Loss
The end of my privileged time with Bill Haley was over. During 1979 there were rumours that Haley was losing his faculties – this was untrue. He was in complete control of his artistic ability and showed no vagueness in any situation during our time together.
When Bill died on the 9th February 1981, The Daily Mail wrote, “He died a bitter man.”
I don’t think so! He knew he was the first and as the first he influenced an entire generation.
He was a modest gentle courteous man, who throughout his career encouraged every change and newcomer in music, never criticising anyone.
Finally, Bill Haley and Dave Miller were both extraordinary men
Every era produces such people but it’s not often you have the chance to meet, work and become friends with them. I consider myself truly fortunate.
Recorded at KD’S STUDIO 1988
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