![\"Johnny](\"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/pix-2006\/comet-j-grande.jpg\")
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I just learned that Johnny Grande<\/strong>, an original member of Bill Haley’s Comets<\/strong>, died recently. I had the privilege of working with Johnny when I was hired a few years ago to produce a video of a Comets concert in San Francisco. As a matter of fact, tonight I was preparing to work on editing the final program for a DVD release when I learned that Johnny was no longer a member of the living.<\/p>\n Johnny first joined Bill Haley’s band in 1949, back when it was known as “the Saddlemen<\/strong>.” He was an original member of Bill Haley and the Comets<\/strong>, and played with the band until 1963. Johnny not only played piano and accordian with the band, but also handled some of the arrangements, as he was one of the few members that could actually read music.<\/p>\n For many people including John Lennon<\/strong> of the Beatles<\/strong>, “Rock Around the Clock” was the quintesential song that started the rock and roll revolution. “Rock Around the Clock” was the first rock and roll recording to hit the top of the American record charts. Johnny was there when history was made, recording the song that changed a lot of people’s lives. <\/p>\n In 1987, Johnny participated in a reunion of original Comets that included Marshall Lytle<\/strong> (bass), Joey Ambrose<\/strong> (sax), Dick Richards <\/strong>(drums), and Franny Beecher<\/strong> (guitar). After receiving an enthusiastic reception for this music, the band turned this one-shot performance into a full-time career, touring all over the world to eager audiences. In 2006, the Comets joined Paul Revere & the Raiders<\/strong> and Bill Medley<\/strong> to become the first bands to perform at the new Dick Clark American Bandstand Theatre<\/strong> in Branson, Missouri.<\/p>\n Johnny died at the age of 76 on June 3 at his home in Clarksville, Tennessee. <\/p>\n For more information about Johnny and the Original Comets<\/strong>, be sure to check out:<\/p>\n The official webpage for the Original Comets<\/a> We’re going to miss you, Johnny. <\/p>\n – Eric Predoehl<\/strong>, producer\/director of upcoming Comets DVD release, as well as MEANING OF LOUIE documentary<\/p>\n POST-NOTE: It’s ironic that Johnny had to be the third rock piano player to pass away in the same week that also included the demise of Billy Preston<\/strong> (June 6) and Vince Welnick<\/strong> (June 2). I don’t know what to think about that….. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I just learned that Johnny Grande, an original member of Bill Haley’s Comets, died recently. I had the privilege of working with Johnny when I was hired a few years ago to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,24,30,16,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business","category-24","category-obituaries","category-pop-culture","category-production-at-louie-central"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.louielouie.net\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarshall Lytle’s Comets webpage<\/a>
\nThe Wiki-pedia entry on Bill Haley’s Comets<\/a>
\nThe Wiki-pedia entry for Johnny Grande<\/a>
\nRock Around the Clock: The Record That Started the Rock Revolution<\/a>, a superb book by my friend Jim Dawson<\/strong>
\nChet Helms<\/strong>‘ photos of the concert that will soon be available as a DVD<\/a> (featuring a few photos of yours truly)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n