1. Marshall Lytle played on all of Haley's recordings between mid-1951 and the summer of 1955, including the epochal "Rock Around the Clock" in 1954.
19 Facts About Marshall Lytle
1. 2.
Marshall Lytle was paid $41.25 for the three-hour Decca recording session which included the original A side, "Thirteen Women ".
3.
Marshall Lytle played a late 1940s model Epiphone B5 upright double bass, purchased in October 1951, for about $275.
4.
Marshall Lytle used gut strings for the G and D strings while the A and E strings were wound.
5.
The athletic Marshall Lytle developed a stage routine, along with Ambrose, that involved doing acrobatic stunts with the bass fiddle, including throwing it in the air and riding it like a horse.
6.
Marshall Lytle was part of the band when they appeared on the NBC Texaco Star Theatre show hosted by Milton Berle and the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS in 1955.
7.
Marshall Lytle appeared in the 1954 Universal International Pictures movie short Round Up of Rhythm.
8.
Marshall Lytle continued to work in music off-and-on into the 1960s, but got involved in other interests, changing his name to Tommy Page and getting into real estate and later opening an interior design business.
9.
Marshall Lytle sang the lyrics of "Rock Around the Clock" out-of-order at the first performance though.
10.
Marshall Lytle continued to write music, and in the late 1990s he and his friend Warren Farren wrote a topical song called "Viagra Rock" that The Comets recorded; the song was popular on radio stations in Florida.
11.
The next day, the band played to a standing-room-only audience at the Viper Room in West Hollywood; the show ended with Marshall Lytle duetting with Bill Haley's youngest daughter, Gina Haley on "Rock the Joint" and a reprise of "Rock Around the Clock".
12.
In December 2009, Marshall Lytle retired from performing and touring with the Comets.
13.
Marshall Lytle stated that 20 years was a long enough reunion for him and that he wished to attempt other ventures, including concentrating on a solo project.
14.
In 2009 Marshall Lytle released his memoir, entitled Still Rockin' Around The Clock.
15.
In 2012, Marshall Lytle was inducted as a member of the Comets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
16.
On May 25,2013, Marshall Lytle died of lung cancer at his home in New Port Richey, Florida, at the age of 79.
17.
Marshall Lytle co-wrote the 1953 rock and roll classic "Crazy Man, Crazy" with Bill Haley although he was uncredited.
18.
Marshall Lytle wrote the song "I'm Lonesome" for Lou Graham which was released as a Gotham single in 1952.
19.
Marshall Lytle wrote "Please Make Up Your Fickle Mind" and "My Heart Tells Me" for Graham.