The Swedish Connection | |
BILL HALEY |
It now seemed that Bill's renewed career in the recording studio had stalled before it had really got started and all we could look forward to were yet more cuts of the same old hits. Meanwhile,
back in the States . . .
First up was a country song written by Tom T. Hall - "That's How I Got To Memphis". Many Haley fans and historians have cited this as the finest record Bill ever made. And it's hard to argue with them. Everything about this recording is perfect, from the heartfelt vocal performance to the use of strings and harmonica in the beautiful arrangement. This was obviously going to be the 'A' side of the record, and it was to Bill's bitter disappointment it didn't make the charts. Despite favourable responses from DJ's, across the States, United Artists failed to put their full promotional backing behind the record. They even failed to release it in the very market, Europe, where Bill was enjoying his greatest success. The flip side of "That's How I Got To Memphis" was rooted firmly in late 60's 'pop' genre - "Ain't Love Funny Ha Ha Ha", was an interesting song featuring the same kind of string arrangement used on "Memphis". However while Bill did what he could with the lyrics it can't have been easy to put any kind of feeling into the "Ha Ha Ha's" demanded by the title! At the session the first 2 songs were polished off so quickly there was plenty of studio time left so they cut 3 more numbers. Again "Flip Flop & Fly" was brought out and dusted down! This cut is a complete contrast to the Sonet version recorded only 4 months previously. It really is a fantastic record and goes to show that Bill and the band could still come up with the goods when they had a mind to. Bill is in great form as he hollers "come on Moe go " at session piano player Moe Wexler. Amazingly this superb record lay dormant in the vaults until 1992 when it was released on a Jodimars and Haley compilation CD by Rockstar Records.
After only one session, Bill's contract with UA expired and he was not keen to renew it . . . . . . enter one
Samuel Charters, author and musicologist. An
authority on the 'Blues' having written a number of books
on the subject. He was also a talented record producer
and found the idea of recording Bill and the Comets a
fascinating challenge. As Bill still had a yearning to
record a country album Sonet relented and assigned
Charters to the project. The two men first met at a small
club in New York where the band were performing. Charters
was knocked out by the bands commitment and enthusiasm
and soon became great friends with Bill.
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