MARSHALL LYTLE - SLAPPIN' the BASS & LIFE!

What an honor I have; being able to talk with a man who was part of ONE of the most famous bands in Rock and Roll History. Coming up on March 21st beginning at 5pm (Mountain Time) please tune into JST KLSX for a musical interview with Marshall Lytle the original bass player for Bill Haley & the Comets.

Bill Haley's career with the Saddlemen began before Bill Haley with Halley's Comets came along in the summer of 1952, when Bill approached Marshall Lytle to ask; "Hey Marshall, why don't you come and play bass for my new group," which later became Bill Haley & the Comets.

For Marshall who was playing with the Jodimars after Bill Haley, it was the beginning in 1952 when he told Bill, "Well ... Hell Bill ... I don't know anything about playing the bass."

Enthusiastically, Bill came back with a comment that inspired Marshall to give it a try, saying: "Marshall I can teach you how to SLAP that bass in an hour" and the rest was the beginning of a career for Marshall who co-wrote 'Crazy Man ... Crazy' less than a year later, which became the first OFFICIAL Rock and Roll Song to hit the American Charts, peaking at number 15 and reaching to number 11 on Cash Box in 1953. Amazingly, Marshall had never received credit for the song until 2001, about twenty years after Bill Haley entered Rock and Roll Heaven in 1981.

Marshall's style of 'Slappin' the Bass' became one of those signature moves for the Comets like the Chuck Berry move, but only with Marshall's athletic style and the combined antics of Joey Ambrose, who played the Saxophone when; the two of them developed an onstage routine of throwing the Bass in the air and then riding it like a horse. The later 'Comets' after Marshall exited ... were asked to do the same type of routine since it was NOW a signature move for the 'Comets.'

In talking with Marshall, I was disheartened to hear how things played out in their relationship, but did not hear any bitterness that could have easily festered in the wrong soul, when Bill who was making thousands of dollars ... in the fifties; refused to give Marshall and other band members a fifty dollar a week raise, when the guys clearly saw a check laying on the desk from a record company for $34,000.00 --- and back in those days ... THAT WAS A LOT OF MONEY! It ultimately led to a parting of the ways, but not before Marshall contributed to Bill's legacy by 'Slappin' that Bass' to several of the world's greatest and most memorable tunes, including 'Rock Around the Clock' and a cover version of BIG Joe Turner's 'Shake Rattle & Roll."

Marshall ended up leaving the group in 1955 before 'See Ya Later Alligator' hit the cultural mainstream and continued on with the Jodimars ... setting up residency in Las Vegas showrooms but eventually began walking on another road in LIFE after the group broke up in 1958. Eventually Marshall went into Real Estate, and interior design, ... making his bones.

It was much later that Marshall in 1975 caught up with Bill backstage where Bill introduced Marshall to his last wife, "a beautiful young Mexican gal and Bill's newest infant son, Pedro Haley." Marshall laughed when he was telling me the story, chuckling that; "I could hardly keep a straight face when he told me his son's name, but he turned out to be a really fine guitar player ... playing Flamingo music" Marshall went on to say, "I picked up Pedro's CD and found it to be extremely good."

Marshall began performing again in 1987 with the 'Original Comets' when they were invited to perform in Philadelphia in honor of Dick Clark. The 'Original Comets' also performed for NASA honoring one of the programs DEEP IMPACT SPACE missions in 2005 and the very next day found themselves performing in West Hollywood where Marshall ended up finishing the show with Bill Haley's younger daughter Gina Haley doing a reprise of 'Rock Around the Clock' and a song called 'Rock the Joint.'

There is so much more to tell about Marshall including his NEW BOOK 'Still Rockin Around the Clock' which we will be giving away ... autographed copies to five lucky listeners very soon on JST KLSX, and if we can get our hands on a song that he co-wrote with a friend Warren Farren called Viagra Rock and recorded with THE COMETS, which reportedly did very well in the State of Florida ... I WILL BE PLAYING IT! I'm hoping that I can get my hands on it SOON!

And while Marshall has recently suffered a bout with an aneurysm resulting in an amputation of a leg, Marshall is 'Kicking IT, SLAPPING IT and ROCKING IT - with a GREAT SENSE of HUMOR!

If you have the opportunity of tuning into our Marshall Lytle Special - we'll air it on JST KLSX - http://www.rockandrollheaven.net/ on March 21st beginning at 5:00pm (Mountain Time).

Thank You Marshall for being such a wonderful soul and spirit and, allowing me the opportunity in sharing in a tremendous piece of Rock and Roll History with you. You truly ARE one of those COMETS that not only keep us Rockin' Around the Clock ... but KEEP IT ROCKIN' AROUND THE UNIVERSE! KEEP SLAPPIN' IT!