He was not on the list.
Franny Beecher, lead guitarist for Bill Haley and the Comets,
which helped kick off the rock and roll era with the hit "Rock Around the
Clock" in 1955, has died. He was 92.
Beecher died in his sleep Monday night at a nursing home
near Philadelphia, daughter Pauline Grinstead said Tuesday.
The Comets, whose hits also included "See You Later,
Alligator," are credited by some music historians with having recorded the
first rock and roll song in 1953 with "Crazy Man, Crazy," the group's
biography on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website says.
Beecher, born Francis Beecher in 1921 in Norristown, started
playing guitar before crowds when he was 17 and continued until he was 90; before
the Comets, he performed with Buddy Greco and Benny Goodman, Grinstead said.
"My dad didn't play music for money. He was no
businessman," she said. "He played music for music."
Although Philadelphia session musician Danny Cedrone played
on the original recording of "Rock Around the Clock" before his death
in 1954, Beecher played the signature song for the first time on national
television in 1955 and also played with the group in films.
"Rock Around the Clock" became a hit again nearly
20 years after its release when it was included on the soundtrack of
"American Graffiti."
The Comets broke up in 1962, but in the 1980s, Beecher and
some of the original members reunited and played tour dates around the United
States and internationally for years.
By the time Beecher became associated with Bill Haley, he
had already had a lengthy career as a guitarist, having performed and recorded
with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, which he joined in 1948, at a time Goodman
was experimenting with music in the bebop idiom. He also worked with other big
bands, with singer and former Goodman "bop band" pianist Buddy Greco
and the Sharps, as well as with several country western groups. He played
guitar on the 1947 single by Buddy Greco "Baby I'm True to You"
backed with "How Many Times", released as Musicraft 569, and the 1948
single "Lillette" backed with "A Stranger in Town", as
Musicraft 588. His guitar work influenced young musicians playing the same
venues in the Philadelphia/Reading area where the Comets were based, among them
the guitarist and future legendary comic-book writer-artist Jim Steranko
Grinstead said her father also is survived by two sons and
six grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
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